Local housing action plans

We are working with councils across Queensland to increase and diversify the supply of housing to meet the needs of communities.

In 2022, we funded the Western Queensland Alliance of Councils (WQAC) to prepare local housing action plans for their 22 member councils, considering each community’s current and future housing needs.

All 22 councils have adopted their plans and are using them to respond to housing challenges in their local government area.

We have also funded the Local Government Association of Queensland (LGAQ) to develop 38 local housing action plans with Queensland councils by mid-2024.

This is part of our commitment under Action 5 of the Housing and Homelessness Action Plan 2021-2025 to encourage community liveability, resilience, and social and economic growth and prosperity.

The release of Homes for Queenslanders plan on 6 February 2024 further supports this, with a vision for a fair and sustainable housing system that ensures better housing outcomes both now and for future generations.

What is a local housing action plan?

Local housing action plans support housing in a local government area.

A local housing action plan:

  • looks at factors impacting housing in a local government area, and current and future housing needs in each community
  • identifies priority actions to address immediate, emerging and longer-term housing challenges in the area
  • helps to coordinate responses to these challenges.

Each local housing action plan aims to:

  • develop agreed priority actions to respond to housing need
  • establish strong foundations for longer-term housing responses to improve housing and homelessness outcomes in the region into the future
  • incorporate existing information and plans that:
    • help with developing responses to housing need
    • acknowledge work already completed by the council, state agencies, and private and not-for-profit organisations
  • enable all stakeholders to work together to deliver the actions identified in the plan.

How local housing action plans drive housing outcomes

Through local housing action plans, councils have unlocked housing opportunities and taken actions for their communities, including:

  • preparing new housing strategies
  • developing new employee housing
  • establishing working groups with key stakeholders and community to progress actions
  • applying for funding for housing development, including in partnership with community housing providers
  • quantifying housing demand for specific cohorts, including key worker housing
  • identifying land for residential development, including sites for emergency housing responses
  • supporting greater diversity and density, including through planning scheme changes.

Completed action plans

Gympie Local Housing Action Plan

The Gympie Region Local Housing Action Plan was launched in December 2022 as a result of significant rainfall and flooding in the Gympie region.

The plan was developed through joint discussions between the Queensland Government and Gympie Regional Council, in consultation with key local housing stakeholders.

The Gympie Region Local Housing Action Plan 2022 focuses on actions to support housing needs after disaster events. We will use this work to identify longer-term priority group supports and responses for Gympie.

We are working with Gympie Regional Council to implement the local housing action plan for the region, which includes housing investments, new builds and extra support services for the community.

Find out more about our response in Gympie, including the Gympie Recovery Accommodation Park.

Western Downs Local Housing Action Plan

During preparation of the Western Downs Regional Council’s local housing action plan, the former Tara Caravan Park was identified as a potential site for emergency housing.

By the time bushfires hit the region in late 2023, resulting in devastating loss of property, the groundwork had been laid to help transform the former Tara Caravan Park into short-, medium- and long-term housing solutions for the community.

The former caravan park is now the Tara Accommodation Recovery Park. It is home to modular and transportable homes, support offices, communal spaces and public amenities to support a fresh start for households affected by the bushfires.

The Western Downs Local Housing Action Plan 2023 was formally adopted in February 2024.

We are continuing to work with Western Downs Regional Council to deliver the actions in the plan, including:

  • new housing investment
  • land and infrastructure investigations
  • natural disaster mitigation
  • additional support services.

The Western Downs Local Housing Action Plan is an early win for the Western Downs Futures initiative, which was developed by Western Downs Regional Council to strengthen collaboration across the region for a better future for their community.

Next steps

More than 30 local housing action plans have been adopted by councils across Queensland, and more will be adopted in coming months.

Each council is responsible for the actions in their plan. However, some actions will need help from the Queensland Government and local stakeholders to implement. Local housing action plans are living documents that councils can update as actions are completed and circumstances change.

The remaining local housing action plans will be completed by mid-2024.

Get involved

As each council implements their action plan, we encourage them to share information with their community.

If you have land or buildings that would be suitable for housing in your community, you can:

Contact us