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ShapingSEQ: South East Queensland's regional plan

ShapingSEQ 2023 sets 900,000 dwelling targets across 12 SEQ LGAs with a 60/40 infill rule. It binds council scheme amendments directly.

By Dan Waring. Last updated 11 June 2026. Verified 11 June 2026.

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ShapingSEQ is the statutory regional plan for South East Queensland, made under the Planning Act 2016 (Qld). The current edition, ShapingSEQ 2023, took effect on 15 December 2023. It sits above every council planning scheme in the SEQ corridor and is binding: a scheme amendment that conflicts with ShapingSEQ cannot be approved.

ShapingSEQ is the flagship instance of a statutory regional plan in Queensland. The state’s other 12 regional plans (North QLD, Wide Bay Burnett, etc.) follow the same statutory pattern, but ShapingSEQ is the most frequently updated and the most consequential for land supply in the most populous corner of the state.

In plain English

ShapingSEQ sets the overall envelope for where and how South East Queensland grows over the next 20-plus years. It specifies how many dwellings each council must plan for, where urban development can and cannot occur, and what share of growth must come from infill versus new greenfield land. Councils must then align their scheme amendments to those settings.

What it requires

12 LGAs, one framework. ShapingSEQ 2023 covers Brisbane, Gold Coast, Ipswich, Lockyer Valley, Logan, Moreton Bay, Noosa, Redland, Scenic Rim, Somerset, Sunshine Coast, and Toowoomba (urban extent). Each LGA receives its own dwelling supply benchmark, specifying the number of new homes it is expected to provide capacity for to 2046.

Region-wide total: roughly 900,000 new homes. The plan projects the region will need approximately 900,000 additional dwellings by 2046 to house a population approaching six million people. The per-LGA benchmarks are how the state allocates that total across councils (verified 2026-06-11, source: planning.qld.gov.au ShapingSEQ 2023 materials).

60/40 consolidation target. At least 60 per cent of all new dwellings across the region must be accommodated in existing urban areas through consolidation (infill and redevelopment). The remaining 40 per cent may come from expansion into new urban areas (greenfield). This is a region-wide floor: individual LGAs may carry a higher consolidation share (verified 2026-06-11).

Urban footprint boundary. The urban footprint is the geographic line inside which the region’s urban development needs are to be met. It currently covers roughly 14 per cent of the SEQ region. Development outside the urban footprint is heavily constrained under council planning schemes and through state assessment. ShapingSEQ 2023 expanded the urban footprint by approximately 5,250 hectares relative to the earlier version to accommodate identified growth areas.

Legal force on schemes. Council planning schemes must be consistent with ShapingSEQ. When ShapingSEQ 2023 took effect, the Planning (SEQ Regulatory Provisions) Amendment Regulation 2023 (Qld) also amended the Planning Regulation 2017 to ensure scheme provisions align with the plan’s outcomes and strategies. A council cannot approve a scheme amendment that conflicts with ShapingSEQ’s outcomes or subregional directions.

What it doesn’t cover

ShapingSEQ is a land-use and growth framework, not a site-level approval mechanism. It does not:

  • Set assessable development categories for individual lots (that happens in the council scheme and QDC).
  • Replace the building approval pathway under the Building Act 1975 (Qld).
  • Bind individual DA decisions directly: the linkage is via scheme amendments that translate ShapingSEQ targets into zone controls and infill policies.
  • Cover state infrastructure delivery timelines; infrastructure planning runs through separate SEQIP documentation.

Practical implications

Land supply decisions trace back here. Whether englobo rural land in a growth corridor can be urbanised this cycle depends on whether it sits inside the urban footprint and whether the LGA has capacity against its dwelling supply benchmark. If the benchmark is exhausted or the land is outside the footprint, a scheme amendment to rezone it will be refused or heavily conditioned at the state interest stage.

Infill pressure follows. The 60 per cent consolidation target means state and local policy actively favours infill upzonings in established suburbs. Council scheme amendments enabling higher density in existing urban areas are consistent with ShapingSEQ; amendments resisting consolidation are not.

Scheme amendments require alignment. A developer or council pursuing a major scheme amendment in SEQ must demonstrate consistency with ShapingSEQ’s outcomes, strategies, and the LGA’s subregional directions. State interest review will test that alignment. See QLD planning scheme amendments for how the amendment pathway works.

Check the current plan, not the 2017 edition. ShapingSEQ has been revised multiple times since the 2017 baseline; dwelling targets and urban footprint mapping change with each revision. The operative version is ShapingSEQ 2023 (in effect 15 December 2023). A 2024 review process is under way; check planning.qld.gov.au for any update to the plan before relying on specific LGA benchmarks.

Also known as: South East Queensland Regional Plan, SEQ Regional Plan.

Category: Planning / regional planning / Queensland.

References

  • ShapingSEQ 2023, in effect 15 December 2023, Queensland Department of State Development, Infrastructure, Local Government and Planning, via planning.qld.gov.au (verified 2026-06-11).
  • Planning (SEQ Regulatory Provisions) Amendment Regulation 2023 (Qld), made under Planning Act 2016 (Qld), consequential amendments to Planning Regulation 2017 upon ShapingSEQ 2023 taking effect, via legislation.qld.gov.au (verified 2026-06-11).
  • ShapingSEQ 2023 background materials including dwelling supply benchmarks and 60/40 target, Queensland Government planning portal, via planning.qld.gov.au (verified 2026-06-11).

See also

Last updated: 2026-06-11. Verified: 2026-06-11. Quarterly review for currency. ShapingSEQ 2023 effective date (15 Dec 2023), 12 LGA list, 900,000 dwelling target, 60/40 infill/greenfield benchmark, urban footprint 14% of region, and Planning Regulation amendment verified against Queensland planning portal and search results on 2026-06-11.

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