The government has committed to reviewing all regional plans in Queensland by 2028. The SEQ Regional Plan is currently under review and due for completion around the end of 2026. With this in mind, we would anticipate that consultation will occur around mid-year.

Given the climate, it is expected that the review will contemplate inclusion of additional land within the urban footprint, densification within the existing urban footprint, and more commercially responsive approaches to urban infill and centre areas.

As part of the last review of the SEQ Regional Plan, Tract successfully assisted a client with the inclusion of 155 ha of land within the urban footprint, within the Ipswich Corridor, and our team is well versed in the preparation of the supporting information required to support a submission, key challenges to overcome with the inclusion of additional land within the urban footprint and the necessary advocacy pathway in the lead up to the formal submission period.

Whilst formal submissions are not yet able to be made regarding the SEQ Regional Plan, early engagement and commentary to State Government is widely encouraged.

The review and evolution of local government planning schemes is an ongoing process, with local governments required to review their planning schemes every ten years.

Within and around South East Queensland, City of Gold Coast Council, Moreton Bay Regional Council, Southern Downs Regional Council, Toowoomba Regional Council, Logan City Council, Redlands City Council, Sunshine Coast Regional Council, Gympie Regional Council and Fraser Coast Regional Council are all in varying stages of preparing new planning schemes or major updates to existing planning schemes.

As a result, we expect consultation will occur on an ongoing basis in line with statutory timeframes over the next 1-3 years.

If you have a particular focus area for future acquisitions, please reach out and we can provide more specific information on the status of the local government planning scheme in your target areas.

We are continuing to see a push for increased density in infill areas right across South East Queensland. Specifically, Ipswich City Council’s new planning scheme has provided greater scope for density in existing centres, and Brisbane City Council’s recently released ‘More Homes Sooner’ amendment proposal seeks to increase density in low-medium density residential areas through increased height and smaller lot sizes and targeted reduction of car parking requirements in well-serviced areas.

Separate tailored amendment packages have also been released for further densification within the major centres of Nundah, Indooroopilly and Carindale, with public consultation starting in April. Taking advantage of well serviced infill areas is seen as a key pillar in providing more housing in South East Queensland.

This push for infill housing is also a focus for Economic Development Queensland (EDQ). In February, they launched their Land Activation Program (LAP) which is aimed at unlocking surplus or underutilised Government owned land, primarily for new housing, both through sites released by EDQ and industry led submissions.

To date, nine LAP and major precinct sites have been released, including five lots at Northshore Hamilton, the riverfront Visy site at South Brisbane, and the former dental school on Turbot Street in the CBD, with the soon to be vacated Griffith University Mt Gravatt campus also being progressed to market. Eligible LAP sites generally need to be Government owned and meet specific utility criteria, with submissions assessed by EDQ within 30 business days.

We have already undertaken a detailed review of many of these sites, so please reach out if we can provide further information.

The reinstated State Facilitated Development pathway in Queensland offers a streamlined, state led approval process for qualifying projects. Under this pathway, developments must be primarily residential in nature and located within zones that already support residential uses and have access to essential infrastructure, excluding areas such as environmental or limited development zones.

While local government support is required before a proposal can proceed through this route, once endorsed, applications are assessed by the State’s SFD team within a 30 business day timeframe. The pathway removes the need for State referrals and does not provide appeal rights, further expediting the overall approval process. As this pathway has only reinstated this week, it has not yet been tested by the market, however we expect that the streamlined process will be of particular interest for infill residential projects.

One of the great challenges for both housing supply and affordability in the current climate is the funding and delivery of infrastructure. Significant escalations in cost of materials and labour continue to impact the rollout of major trunk connections, and the cost margins of both new communities and urban infill projects. The Queensland Government has taken a multi-pronged approach to alleviating these impacts.

Economic Development Queensland has a long standing program of catalyst infrastructure funding in major greenfield Priority Development Areas such as Ripley Valley and Greater Flagstone. This program assists in relieving the bottlenecks often caused by trunk roads and service mains where cost of delivery is beyond the capacity of single developers, but benefit accrues across many.

The Catalyst Infrastructure Fund (CIF) 2022 saw $171.2M allocated to projects in Ripley and Flagstone PDAs. The CIF 2025 was announced in the 2025/26 State budget, and allocates $150M to assist accelerating infrastructure for the Waraba PDA. Funding applications for Waraba are to be called for by invitation.

The Department of State Development, Infrastructure and Planning administers the Residential Activation Fund (RAF). This fund was announced by the State in 2024 and comprises a $2B grant allocation for the delivery of trunk and essential infrastructure to accelerate housing delivery across the State. The fund has a staged release, with Round 1 funding totalling $1B being released in 2025, and Round 2 totalling $500M now out for submissions. Eligibility for funding allocation is based broadly on project readiness, with a requirement that projects are ready for commencement within 12 months and completion within 3 years of announcement. Eligibility for funding allocation is based broadly on project readiness, with a requirement that projects are ready for commencement within 12 months and completion within 3 years of announcement.

Further, the capacity of each project to unlock housing at scale remains as a core threshold. Applications for Round 2 of the RAF close at 5pm (AEST) on the 24th of April 2026. DSDIP are accepting applications presently and it is anticipated that by June 2026 the submission assessment process will be well underway – time is of the essence!

The Federal Government has recently released the findings of the Defence State Audit, which among other outcomes, recommended the partial or full divestment of 67 holdings across Australia.

While only a limited number of these sites are in Queensland, we have undertaken a coordinated national review of all sites and can provide further details on both Queensland and national opportunities within this portfolio.