Qld town planning industry raises alarm as UniSQ, James Cook, Bond cut courses due to low demand
A regional Queensland university is suspending enrolments for a drastically under-subscribed profession next year after getting just one new student in 2024, in a move that has alarm bells in the industry ringing.
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Queensland’s urban and town planning industry has raised alarm bells about the future of the sector after another regional university announced it will cut its course due to low enrolments.
Toowoomba’s University of Southern Queensland will suspend its Bachelor of Urban and Regional Planning program in 2025 after receiving just one new student this year, and less than 10 since 2022.
It is believed the suspension would not lead to staffing cuts at this stage.
It comes after Townsville’s James Cook University and Bond University on the Gold Coast also closed its planning courses for similar reasons in recent years.
Urban and town planners are essential cogs for both private development and urban planning by the public sector, most notably for local governments.
But a spokesman for UniSQ said the lack of interest in town planning from high school graduates had left the course in the lurch.
“In line with national trends, demand for the UniSQ Bachelor of Urban and Regional Planning has declined significantly over the past three years,” he said.
“Less than 10 students have commenced the program since 2022, with one student in 2024.
“The Trimester One 2025 intake will be suspended as the University considers the future of the program.
“It is not viable with such low student numbers.”
Current UniSQ planning student and Toowoomba Regional Council employee Sarah Fuller said she was personally concerned about the future of the profession locally if the suspension was made permanent.
“I began my degree while working full-time, and later transitioned to part-time work and study to raise a young family,” she said.
“During this period, I have been advancing my career without attending any on-campus lectures, and the flexibility has allowed my family to remain in the region to support my studies.
“Without a local program offering external options, I would have needed to leave Toowoomba to study, or not pursued study at all.
“Australia already faces an alarming shortage of planners, and the availability of regional and online study options opens up opportunities for many Australians such as myself in regional areas to pursue a career in planning.”
The Planning Institute of Australia says the industry needs an extra 2000 planners by 2026 nationally just to keep up with demand and population growth, launching a massive new recruitment drive last month through a new website.
PIA Queensland branch president Sean Cullen said the UniSQ decision was “disappointing” but also a sign that the sector needed to examine why enrolments had been sluggish.
“It’s disappointing, planners are critical to meeting the challenges of the future and we need a strong pipeline of professionals,” he said.
“That includes raising awareness of the industry, promote it to schools and graduating students as a profession.
“We’re advocating the government, and for universities it’s about keeping the doors open — we need the diversity of options across our regions.”
Mr Cullen said nearly half of local councils in Australia had no planners on their payroll, expressing concern for what a prolonged shortfall would do to future communities.
“In 232 local government areas there are no planners working at all — that’s 43 per cent of all local government areas,” he said.
“Not all councils have the same planning needs, but local governments employ around 44 per cent of all planners in Australia, and they’re in the coal face for planning our communities.
“In terms of the here and now, it’s the town planners that operate the machinery of government (and) you (also) need planners in private practices to advise developers about their rights and prepare quality applications.
“Planners are the ones that engage with the community to talk about the growth needs and take the community’s ideas and translate them into concrete plans and legal instruments that will bring those ideas into reality.”
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