Southeast Qld population to surge by 50 per cent to 6 million by 2046

Six million people will call South East Queensland home by 2046, with the region’s population set to soar over the next two decades. See how your area will change

• Editor’s view: Boom a welcome challenge

Six million people will call South East Queensland home by 2046, with the region’s population set to soar by an additional 2.2 million people over the next two decades.

The Sunday Mail can reveal exclusive government modelling detailing which local areas will see the biggest population boosts, as work continues on updating the state’s SEQ Regional Plan – a key commitment of last year’s Housing Summit to ensure better housing supply for the future.

Growth projections reveal Ipswich City Council’s population would grow by a whopping 126 per cent by 2046, surging to more than half a million people.

Logan City Council’s population would almost double to 662,000 people, while Moreton Bay Council would see a 62 per cent rise with 787,000 people calling it home in two decades’ time.

Millions more people will call Queensland home by 2046. Photograph: Jason O'Brien

And Brisbane City Council would see its population grow to more than 1.7m – a 36 per cent increase from 2021.

Deputy Premier Steven Miles said the state was “in our decade of opportunity” – but that a growing state and the changing needs of the population meant not only were more homes needed, but a “better mix of housing options”.

“People are moving to Queensland in droves and who can blame them,” he said.

“We have a strong economy. We have a 10-year pipeline of infrastructure projects in the lead up to and beyond Brisbane 2032.

“And we are creating good, secure jobs in the key industries that will help us decarbonise.”

Dr Miles said all these factors – along with “our great Queensland lifestyle” – were reasons the state had experienced record levels of net interstate migration, and now a growing level of international immigration on top.

“Why live in Melbourne when you could live in SEQ?” he said.

“Because our population is growing, we need to get ready to build more of the Queensland we love.

“Investment in infrastructure is also vital to support growth.”

The modelling also revealed not only was SEQ’s population rapidly rising – but dramatically changing, with more people living alone.

Incredibly, over the period the number of one person households would rocket from about 23 per cent, to 40 per cent by 2046.

“So even without counting the massive population increase, we still need more homes to house the same number of people,” Dr Miles said.

“To meet the needs of our growing Queensland and ensure we maintain our great lifestyle, we need more housing supply and a better mix of housing options.

“This means building more units, townhouses and terraces.

“My elderly neighbour shouldn’t have to clean a four-bedroom, two storey house.

“They should be able to downsize to a unit or terrace, without being forced to move

away from their community.”

Jessy Meredith with three-year-old Oliver and two-year-old Eli at Scarborough Beach. Picture: Richard Walker

Jessy Meredith has an investment home in the Moreton Bay region and lives in one in the Brisbane City Council region because she saw both places booming.

“We bought the investment home for a reasonable price, thinking the area was likely to boom over the next ten years or so and it did,” Ms Meredith said.

“I think we knew it was a good rental area and also it’s close to the Sunshine Coast and it’s also close to Brisbane City so it’s in a good location.”

Ms Meredith said both Brisbane City Council and the Moreton Bay region were family friendly areas for kids, especially with lots of parks popping up.

“We knew now was the time to buy in Brisbane,” she said.

“We figured having something close to the city in Brisbane would be a great option for us.”

The Deputy Premier said the government would release the full draft SEQ regional plan “very soon”.

The government committed to review the plan following last year’s Housing Summit to “ensure responsiveness and enhance the framework for engaging with councils to accelerate the delivery of more housing”.