Queensland is projected for growth – so much in fact, it will see an additional four million people over the next 50 years, Nicole Bennetts, national head of advocacy for the Planning Institute of Australia, said at the Local Government, Net Zero and Resilient Communities Summit last week.
“And that’s the medium growth projections; the [Queensland Government Statistician’s Office’s] high growth scenario is around 11.7 million by 2050, which is double our current population.”
Around half of this is expected to come from overseas migration, with 80-90 per cent to be focused on the southeast corner of Queensland.
“It’s a hell of a lot of growth in a fairly small area.”
But the climate impacts are also getting more severe, Bennetts said, with Queensland being the nation’s most disaster-affected state.
“We have cyclones, floods, bushfires, and urban heat. It’s having an enormous impact on people, property, and infrastructure.
“It’s also having a massive impact on councils financially. Following the 2022 floods, Brisbane City Council had to redirect around half a billion dollars into recovery and rebuild efforts.”
This mean rediverting funds from other areas within their budget.
“Climate extremes are part of the everyday planning task in Queensland,” Bennetts said, which was why she and many planners are working on embedding a “risk-based approach to natural hazards” in planning instruments.
And local planning schemes are “one stop shops” for both state and regional policies in regulating development.
In a variation on the common theme throughout Australia, in Queensland, applicants lead planning – meaning very little is prohibited and the state government can only prohibit development through legislation. Most development happens as code assessable or accepted development, while impact assessment requires a full assessment.
“It’s usually triggered where a land use that’s not envisaged in an area, like office in a residential area, or where key built form criteria aren’t met, so where you’re exceeding the building height, for example, the assessment is against the strategic policy and all parts of the planning scheme and any other relevant matters, like a housing crisis, like proximity to transport infrastructure, like community need, public notification is required, and there are third party appeal rights.
“So, the challenge we’re seeing is that whilst Queensland’s performance-based system is effective at enabling growth, it can create some tensions, because very little is outright prohibited. Many impact assessable projects are approved with conditions.”
This can lead to community unease in the system Bennett said.
“For example, a 16-storey building might be approved in an area planned for eight storeys. The community sees the height, and they react. But it’s important to explain that building height is just one of many criteria and outcomes that we consider.”
These other criteria can include issues such as deep planting, active street frontages, or integration with public transport.
Brisbane 2032
An example of ongoing tensions because local expectations and technical planning outcomes don’t align includes the Brisbane Games 2032, Bennetts said.
“As we prepare to host the biggest event on Earth, the games will put Brisbane, Queensland and Australia on the global stage.
“It promises big benefits, infrastructure brought forward for growth, a more connected region, opportunities shared outside of Brisbane.”
According to Bennetts, it will also be the first games delivered under the International Olympic Committee’s new rules, which stipulate building infrastructure for growth and not just for games.
However, since the bid was awarded, the plans had to be changed a few times, meaning “the advantage [in time] that we did have has slipped away”.
“Recent legislation was passed to make all game venues accepted development, meaning no planning approvals are required. And while that may accelerate delivery, it has frustrated some local communities.”
Wind and solar farms
On the other end of the spectrum, wind and solar farms were made impact assessable in the same bill, meaning developments need full assessment, public notification, third-party appeal rights, and proponents must enter into a community benefit agreement with councils before they can even lodge a development application with the state government.
“It’s a strong shift towards securing social licence and benefit sharing, but some in the renewal sector say it goes towards making projects harder and slower”, Bennetts said.
But the spinoff is that local governments and the state governments are now more aligned, and it’s giving councils more confidence to innovate.
Ipswich
Bennetts also provided a look at local areas, among them Ipswich, 45 minutes west of Brisbane and home to 250,000 people, with an annual growth rate of 3.5 per cent. About 40 per cent of residents commute to Brisbane for work every day, with the remaining jobs in the area being “lower value”.
But the council is trying to turn that around. It’s invested in the CBD to get more jobs containment, and it’s released the first new planning scheme since 2006.
It’s the first planning scheme in Queensland to integrate natural hazards planning with a settlement plan, truly, she said.
“They need to because they’re going to double their population over the next 20 years, and they’ve had some of the worst flooding in recent years, and that’s projected to only get worse.
Sunshine Coast
This city, located two hours north of Brisbane, is home to 375,000 people and growing by 2.5 per cent every year. Over the next 20 years, the city must accommodate 85,000 more dwellings, but the median house price is “well over a million” and homelessness is increasing.
Its new planning scheme is currently out for public consultation, and it strives to balance the demand for growth.
“Everyone wants to live on the Sunshine Coast,” Bennetts said, but this must be balanced with the community’s “deep desire to protect their lifestyle.”
The interesting part of this planning scheme, she adds, is its strong approach to integrating and recognising First Nations values.
“For the first time in Queensland, it embeds provisions that ensure cultural heritage is considered really early in the planning and development process and sets a higher benchmark for how planning can respect country.
“At the same time, they’re looking at transformational projects that are going to reshape the region. They’ve got the Maroochydore city centre that’ll be a brand new CBD for the Sunshine Coast. They’ve got some key Olympic venues and infrastructure. They’ve got the Beerwah – Maroochydore rail link, which the state government is getting in and funding. They’ve got [an] airport expansion; there is investment happening there.”
Also notable, Bennetts adds, is the Blue Heart project, a flagship environmental initiative to restore the river ecosystem, with a deep cultural significance to the Kabi Kabi people, and is Australia’s first blue carbon farming trial.
Logan
An inland city 30 minutes south of Brisbane is home to 400,000 people, recording 4 per cent growth every year, making it the fastest growing city in the state. The city is also one of Queensland’s most multicultural places, with a quarter of all residents born overseas and a median age of 34.
While housing is more affordable here, the biggest challenge is trying to install infrastructure at the pace of growth. In the past, growth was focused on greenfields, but now the city was grappling with how to make infill and gentle density work financially while addressing the real challenges of flooding.
In addition to a new planning scheme, the city signed up to be a pilot city for the UN-Habitat quality of life index – a tool that measures quality of life across multiple dimensions and gives the cities a “benchmark” score.
“They score highly for culture and education, but they lag a little in social and housing outcomes,” Bennetts said.
“Council is using this as a way to have an ongoing conversation with the community about what quality of life really means, and how planning and other functions within the council can play a key role in lifting those scores.”
Waraba
Also known as Caboolture West, based in Moreton Bay, is another major growth area in Southeast Queensland, Bennett said.
“It’s actually our largest new greenfield community in the region [and] at the moment it’s just paddocks.
“This growth area has been on the planning books for more than two decades. It’s been planned, revised, and replanned, but the infrastructure funding has never stacked up for the council”.
Economic Development Queensland (EDQ), the state government’s development arm, has declared it a priority development area with a comprehensive infrastructure plan, Bennetts said. The plan allows for a higher development contribution than allowed anywhere else to ensure funding stacks up.
“In practical terms, developers could be paying up to $80,000 to council for each lot compared to the state cap of $30,000 for the rest of the state.
“The scale is significant. So, over the next 20 years, Waraba could be the size of Rockhampton, with 70,000 new residents, 30,000 new homes, town centres, schools, industrial transport and more.”
“It’s going to be really interesting to see how they balance the urgent need for more homes with the well-considered, sustainable, and affordable growth.”
Cairns
Cairns, the state’s most northern major city, has a population of 180,000, but growing only by 1.5 per cent every year, which Bennetts said is “pretty good for anything outside of southeast Queensland”.
Median house prices are $800,000, attributed to high construction costs outside of southeast Queensland. It is a gateway to the reefs, making it a key tourism hub, with around 3 million visitors every year on top of its population.
And over the past two years, the city has been working on a new growth strategy with a strong focus on community input, including citizens’ assembly, a youth advisory group and an industry advisory group.
“The strategy ensures that growth doesn’t just happen; it happens in a way that respects their unique environment and lifestyle. Council is working to turn this strategy into their new planning scheme, setting the framework for sustainable, carefully managed growth into the future.”