Queensland is experiencing unprecedented growth. From the Gold Coast’s urbanisation to emerging regional housing needs and the state’s renewable energy boom, the development landscape of the Sunshine State presents unique opportunities and challenges.
Our Brisbane-based team brings a collective 45+ years of on-ground experience with multidisciplinary expertise in town planning and transport engineering, supported by Ratio’s broader services of waste, urban design, landscape architecture and civil engineering.
As locals with experience across regional and metropolitan Queensland, Nick, John, Paul and Saurav understand our councils and community needs. We’re focused on outcomes that benefit both our clients and Queensland’s future.
Nicholas is a statutory planner with over 15 years’ experience working in both public and private sectors across Queensland. His thorough understanding of the Queensland legislative system and exposure to various Local Government Areas makes him particularly well-placed to assist with development projects throughout the state.
Q: How does Queensland’s planning system differ from other states?
A: Queensland comes out on top in terms of having a streamlined planning legislative system. Each local council has its own planning scheme with performance-based criteria, statutory timeframes and processes. The system makes a great deal of sense from a planning perspective, though it does mean requirements can be different between councils. What works in Brisbane might be different in Moreton Bay, Logan, or Gold Coast.
Q: What challenges do you see working across metropolitan and regional Queensland councils?
A: Regional areas often work with different planning frameworks. Some councils are transitioning between older and newer planning schemes, which can create interesting opportunities and challenges. There’s often less prescriptive requirements in regional areas, which can provide more flexibility. However, regional councils may have less exposure to certain types of complex developments, so there’s often valuable collaboration involved where we can share our experience with different project types and work together to find the best outcomes.
Q: How are you seeing developers adapt to current market conditions?
A: Due to ongoing construction costs and lack of available land, I’ve seen several clients shifting sectors entirely. For example, residential land developers are moving into industrial land subdivisions or delivering warehouse products – things they’ve never done before. You can pivot strategically and adapt to the market conditions, or risk not surviving.
John has over 20 years of engineering experience, including 10 years specializing in traffic and transport engineering with particular expertise in renewable energy projects. His approach focuses on keeping solutions simple and practical while providing sound advice to clients navigating complex transport challenges.
Q: What are the biggest transport challenges and opportunities facing Queensland’s growth?
A: We have satellite cities developing faster than public transport infrastructure can keep up, creating additional demand on road networks.
Initiatives like the $0.50 public transport fees are making a real difference in encouraging patronage. As we integrate projects like Cross River Rail and the Brisbane City metro system in the coming years, we should see more people shifting toward public transport over personal vehicles. The challenge is ensuring these infrastructure investments support the rapid population growth we’re seeing across the state.
Q: What makes renewable energy projects different for transport planning?
A: The biggest difference is we’re focused on construction impacts as these are typically considerably higher than when renewable projects are in operation. Construction involves moving oversize and over mass (OSOM) components from the seaports to the project site over a few hundred kilometres. Our key consideration is finding the best Project Transport Route for the largest components while minimising impacts on the road networks.
Q: How does transport infrastructure tie into community benefits?
A: There’s an interesting overlap here. While developers are implementing community benefit schemes, funding local sporting clubs and similar initiatives, the road upgrades we require for construction traffic can also be classified as community benefits. These infrastructure improvements provide lasting value to local communities well beyond the construction period.
Paul’s interest in liveable cities and urban environments led him to pursue a career in planning, and he previously worked at the City of Gold Coast before joining Ratio. He’s focused on facilitating appropriate planning outcomes for all stakeholders while helping to grow our Queensland team’s capabilities.
Q: What drew you to urban planning, particularly on the Gold Coast?
A: I’ve always been interested in the urban environment, and planning is a career which offers the opportunity to help shape how people experience places and how they live, work, and play. At its core, it’s about striking the balance between growth, sustainability, and quality of life. The Gold Coast is particularly fascinating in this regard as both a major tourist destination and a rapidly growing city, it presents unique challenges and opportunities. It’s about finding that balance between accommodating growth while ensuring it maintains its status as a desirable place to both live and visit.
Q: How does planning differ across Queensland?
A: While Queensland operates under the same planning framework across the state, the finer details and regulations vary significantly across local government areas. This highlights why strong local knowledge is essential in navigating the approval process effectively and facilitating successful outcomes for our clients. Understanding the unique context, priorities, and regulatory approach of each Council is very important.
Q: What trends are you seeing in Queensland’s planning landscape?
A: It’s interesting to see how housing preferences in Queensland are shifting. While large houses on big blocks were once the norm, there’s growing demand from wealthier buyers for apartments in prime inner-city and coastal locations with great views. The upcoming Brisbane Olympics are also starting to stimulate the construction industry and there’s critical work happening in regional areas to deliver much-needed affordable housing through Greenfield development, which is an important story that often gets overlooked.
Saurav is passionate about challenging conventional transport norms to create more sustainable solutions that connect communities and facilitate growth. He specialises in complex transport projects, providing design advice and Traffic Impact Assessments while engaging closely with clients and stakeholders throughout project delivery.
Q: What drives your passion for challenging transport norms and finding creative solutions?
A: It really stems from my personal experience growing up in Brisbane and later moving to Melbourne (and back again!). I struggled to get from point A to point B without a car in Brisbane. Everything was very car dependent, buses were unreliable, and it was just inaccessible compared to places like Melbourne’s inner east, where you have multiple transport modes. When I started my transport engineering career, I wanted to find different ways to approach these problems. More car parking spaces and more highway lanes aren’t the answer, and we need to think outside the box.
Q: How do you approach challenging conventional transport thinking in Queensland?
A: It’s about looking for practical alternatives. Whether providing high-quality bicycle parking, locating developments closer to public transport, or reducing parking rates where it makes sense. Often councils still require parking at standard rates even when a development is right next to a transport hub. That’s where advocating for alternative approaches that actually make sense for the site and context becomes important.
Q: How do you balance technical complexity with clear communication to clients?
A: Transport engineering can get very technical. It comes down to three key things: having a solid understanding of the engineering principles, understanding the project context and constraints, and knowing your audience. I need to understand what’s driving the project, what the client’s motivations are, and how authorities like Council will respond. Then it’s about figuring out how to tell the story in a way that’s understandable, whether I’m speaking to a developer, a council representative, or even residents objecting to a project.
Queensland is growing fast, from renewable energy infrastructure to housing growth across metropolitan and regional areas. Our Brisbane team is excited to play a role in shaping what’s next.
With local knowledge backed by Ratio’s multidisciplinary expertise, we understand Queensland’s planning and transport complexities, and how to deliver the best outcomes for the community and your projects.
Ready to discuss your Queensland project? Connect with our team at qldmail@ratio.com.au
