The Planning (Social Impact and Community Benefit) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2025 passed Queensland Parliament on 25 June 2025, introducing changes to Queensland’s planning framework. It introduces a new “community benefit system” designed to frontload social impact considerations, particularly for projects likely to generate cumulative or indirect impacts, such as renewable energy and resource developments.
At the heart of the changes is a requirement for certain development applications to be accompanied by a Social Impact Assessment (SIA) and a Community Benefit Agreement (CBA). These tools aim to ensure proponents engage early and deeply with host communities, effectively building a social licence before the statutory assessment process begins.
The framework is supported by reserve powers for the chief executive to waive or direct conditions in relation to a SIA or CBA. Assessment managers will be able to impose conditions addressing social impacts, even beyond the terms of a CBA, provided those conditions are not unreasonable in the circumstances. Notably, third-party appeal rights around those conditions are limited, reinforcing the Government’s intention to reduce dispute risk once community benefit terms are agreed.
The Bill also proposed amendments to the Economic Development Act 2012 to give Economic Development Queensland more operational flexibility, particularly in support of housing delivery in Priority Development Areas.
Separately, the Bill deals with Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games infrastructure by amending the Brisbane Olympic and Paralympic Games Arrangements Act 2021. The changes remove the Games Independent Infrastructure and Coordination Authority’s (GIICA’s) planning and land acquisition powers, repurposing it as a delivery agency for “Authority Venues” with tighter governance. Planning approvals for identified venues, villages and transport infrastructure are now dealt with outside the Planning Act, essentially it becomes an override for Games-related infrastructure.
While the headline reform is the integration of social impact and community benefit into the planning process, the broader objective is clear: align planning outcomes with public benefit outcomes, with a strong emphasis on early engagement, streamlined approvals for State-priority projects, and clearer institutional roles.
This article has been authored by the Mullins Planning & Environment team; Partner, Mitchell Osborne, Partner, Anthony O’Dwyer, and Associate, Gus Haseler.