Ipswich, Logan, Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast revealed in ABS data as new business hotspots

An unlikely town has emerged as Queensland’s fastest-growing commercial hotspot, with population growth seeing the number of registered businesses in the region’s surge more than 35 per cent in five years. See the interactive map

Ipswich has emerged as Queensland’s fastest-growing commercial hotspot, with population growth and affordable development opportunities seeing the number of registered businesses in the region’s surge more than 35 per cent in five years.

Regional Queensland towns lead a charge that saw the state ranked third in the nation for growth in the number of new businesses, according to a new report by digital business card provider Tapt.

The data, drawn from Australian Bureau of Statistics data from 2019 to 2024 showed

Logan had also enjoyed strong growth – up 27.9 per cent, while and tourist hubs the Sunshine Coast (24.2 per cent) and Gold Coast (21.4 per cent) were close behind.

Among the self starters creating a new business in the past year is Evan and Mandy Douglas, who have been running their own car detailing business, Elite Car Spa Whitsundays, for a year.

Mr Douglas said he previously worked in the mines, “seven days on, seven days off”, but

made the decision to spend more time with his young children after after two of his mining colleagues died.

“We threw our heads together over the course of a month or so and come up with this idea

and put it into action,” he said.

“I don’t really have to answer to anyone anymore, which is great.

“I don’t have to deal with the politics of a normal job.

“I just love the fact that I get to stay at home with my family now and watch my little kids

grow up.”

He added demand for deep cleans had been high, with customers travelling from Bowen,

Collinsville, Bloomsbury and other parts of the region.

“We get along here because there aren’t really any options here for car detailing in

Proserpine,” Mr Douglas said.

“There is one other guy and he’s super busy as well.

“We get a lot of busy working mums as customers.

“If you have little kids, it’s just hard to keep up for a lot of mums, so we get a lot of thankful mums out of if.”

Evan and Mandy Douglas, who have been running their own car detailing business, Elite Car Spa Whitsundays at Proserpine, for a year.

Queensland ranked third out of all states, behind the ACT and Victoria, with its total number of businesses increasing by 16.8 per cent over the five years, to about 510,400.

The Sunshine State had an average annual increase in its total businesses of 3.17 per cent,

compared to 4.64 per cent in the ACT and 3.86 per cent in Victoria.

Tasmania and NSW trailed behind with respective growth rates of 3.11 per cent and 3.02

per cent.

The Tapt report noted much of the growth has come from non-employing businesses, such

as sole traders, freelancers and contactors.

Nationally, the healthcare and social assistance sector recorded the most growth, with total

businesses up by 41.2 per cent in the five years to 2024.

“Queensland’s fastest-growing LGAs for business highlight a mix of booming outer-metro

areas and lifestyle-driven regional hubs,” the report stated.

“Regional LGAs such as Livingstone, Isaac and Fraser Coast also recorded solid gains of

around 18-20 per cent, suggesting Queenslanders are increasingly embracing

entrepreneurship outside major city centres.”

Originally published as Ipswich, Logan, Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast revealed in ABS data as new business hotspots