Council Infrastructure Charges Finally Made Public

Queensland’s Councils are now required to publicly disclose the amount of Infrastructure Charges they collect from developers and where that money is being spent. Announced by Planning Minister Cameron Dick last September, the amendment to the legislation will help create much needed transparency between the council, the developer and the community. 

“The amendments will create a better understanding of how development activity benefits the broader community, through improved infrastructure and services such as stormwater, transport, public parks and land for community facilities,” said Cameron Dick (Brisbane Times, 2019).

UDIA research found that often the community does not realise that charges are being collected or how they are spent. What is often not understood is that all new developments are required to make a significant contribution to the cost of upgrading local infrastructure. In the past communities often felt there was little effort given to offsetting population growth pressures. Additionally, this update to the legislation will help build genuine engagement with the community.

Many people are unaware that infrastructure contributions are among the largest revenue sources for local governments. This change in reporting could see a significant increase of knowledge surrounding the developer’s contribution of new local infrastructure to support growth and prosperity of communities. 

This update is likely to change the conversation around development and increase the community’s knowledge on what role we play as a developer. From January 2020, any resident can search their suburb online and see where and how much money had been spent on infrastructure. 

And here at Bluebird we are 100% in support of this!