Planning for Brisbane
Understand how Council and the Queensland Government work together to plan for our city’s future.
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About city planning
In Queensland, planning happens at different levels.
Under the Planning Act 2016 (the Act) and Council’s planning framework, there are 4 key levels that guide development in Brisbane:
- state planning
- regional planning
- citywide planning
- neighbourhood and precinct planning.
Council is responsible for citywide planning and neighbourhood and precinct planning. The Queensland Government is responsible for state planning and regional planning.
What is the role of Council in citywide planning?
As Brisbane’s local government, Council is responsible for planning for the future development of our expanding city.
Local governments prepare and maintain local planning schemes to help manage change and growth. These schemes:
- identify strategic outcomes
- guide how land is used and developed
- regulate different types of development based on land-use zones and overlays
- outline local infrastructure needed to support growth.
In Brisbane, our local planning scheme is Brisbane City Plan 2014opens in a new tab (City Plan).
We’re also responsible for neighbourhood plans and precinct plans, which we create together with residents and businesses. These form part of City Plan.
Our citywide planning meets Council’s obligations under the Act and Queensland’s State Planning Policy (SPP).
City planning and economic development
There are various strategies and plans that help to guide our city’s future and its growth, including:
- Brisbane Vision 2031
- Brisbane City Centre Master Plan 2014
- Brisbane Long Term Infrastructure Plan (BLTIP) 2012-2031
- Brisbane's Economic Development Plan 2031.
Learn more about these strategies and plans.
Virtual Brisbane
Virtual Brisbane is an innovative, computer-generated, three-dimensional (3D) model of urban development within our city.
We use it to visualise the height and design of proposed future development in relation to Brisbane’s existing landscape and architecture.
It plays a vital role in helping us plan for our city’s future growth and shape strategic planning, development assessment and community engagement.
For more information, email the project team.
State planning in Queensland
The Queensland Government is responsible for state and regional planning in Queensland. It works with local governments to ensure local planning reflects state interests.
The Queensland Government delivers these interests through:
- the State Planning Policyopens in a new tab (SPP): This ensures the State's interests in planning are protected and delivered as part of local government planning across Queensland. The SPP also contains guiding principles to ensure that Council's plans and development assessment systems are as effective as possible.
- legislation: The Planning Act 2016opens in a new tab (the Act) is the Queensland Government’s planning legislation. We write our City Plan and assess development applications under this Act.
- regional planningopens in a new tab: Regional plans guide land use planning and decisions. They also align with and protect state interests addressed in the SPP.
Brisbane is one of 12 local governments in the South East Queensland Regional Plan 2023opens in a new tab (ShapingSEQ 2023), the state’s long-term vision for sustainable growth in South East Queensland.