Regional planning

Regional planning plays a key role in helping Queensland communities meet the challenges associated with rapid growth, population change and the increasing demand for public services at a local level.

In late 2006, the state government commenced implementing a strategy to accelerate regional planning in regional and rural Queensland. This was supported through an accelerated regional planning program following a three point plan:

  1. Developing and implementing a consistent and contemporary framework for effective regional planning across Queensland.
  1. Accelerating implementation of the existing regional plans.
  2. Delivering regional plans in rural Queensland.

The Integrated Planning Act 1997 (IPA) provides a framework for coordinating and integrating planning at the regional level to seek ecological sustainability.

The department is working in partnership with Queensland councils to consult and engage with the community and stakeholders in relation to regional planning. To achieve this, the department coordinates a range of regional planning projects throughout Queensland.

Draft regional plans

The state government is developing five regional plans across Queensland to build strong and sustainable communities. This is the first time western Queensland has been included in the regional planning program. Plans are currently being prepared for:

These five plans will be statutory plans, bringing a range of powerful regulatory processes under the IPA. Statutory plans are more powerful than other local plans, policies and schemes and other non-statutory plans which may have been undertaken in the past. The development of a comprehensive statutory regional planning program for Queensland is part of the state government planning reform program, which commenced in 2007 and will help proactively manage planning and development in Queensland.

The draft plan for Far North Queensland was released for public comment on 9 May 2008. The other draft plans will be released for consultation in the coming months.

Community input is an important component in finalising the regional plans to ensure that plans reflect community needs and aspirations. Each plan will be released for consultation for at least 60 business days. Within this period, any person may make a written submission. Only submissions that are properly-made will be accepted. Following consultation, the regional plans will be finalised and released towards the end of 2008.

Existing regional plans

Seven Queensland regions have non-statutory plans in place. These plans have been developed in close partnership with local councils, communities and business and industry representatives. These plans were developed before the commencement of statutory regional plans and do not have legislative power.

In 2003, state and local governments recognised that the non-statutory regional planning framework required more resources and a more effective implementation mechanism to manage the massive growth pressures that were impacting on South East Queensland (SEQ). In April 2004 the state undertook to manage these challenges by preparing and implementing key regional planning strategies in SEQ and developed the South East Queensland Regional Plan 2005-26. The plan is a statutory regional plan, having the status of a statutory instrument to provide a range of powerful, effective implementation mechanisms.

The Department of Infrastructure and Planning will work with local communities to review some of the non-statutory plans to bring them into the statutory framework.

Statutory regional plans

Non-statutory regional plans