Regional communities will have more input into the approval process of energy projects, following the passage of legislation in Queensland Parliament this week.
Deputy Premier and State Development, Infrastructure and Planning Minister Jarrod Bleijie said the Planning (Social Impact and Community Benefit) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2025 introduced reforms that would strengthen social licence requirements for renewable energy projects and provide consistent development assessment rules across the State.
Minister Bleijie said it would deliver a clear, transparent, and consistent framework and empower communities on renewables and streamline the delivery of Games legacy infrastructure.
He said key changes in the Bill included:
- Requiring large-scale solar farms and wind farms to be impact assessable, with mandatory public consultation.
- Introducing a binding community benefit system that mandates social impact assessments and agreements between proponents and local governments.
- Making the State the assessment manager for large-scale solar farms to ensure consistent rules and certainty across Queensland’s 77 council areas.
- Amending the Brisbane Olympic and Paralympic Games Arrangements Act 2021 to streamline the delivery of generational Games infrastructure.
- Updating the Queensland Building and Construction Commission Act 1991 to ensure continued protection for homeowners under the Queensland Home Warranty Scheme.
Minister Bleijie said the changes would ensure renewable energy projects were assessed with the same rigour as other major developments.
“If you want to build a wind farm or large-scale solar farm in Queensland, you now need to build trust and deliver benefits for the communities you’re entering,” he said.
“We’re not imposing unreasonable costs or delays. We’re asking proponents to do what’s right.”
State Olympic and Paralympic Games Minister Tim Mander said the legislation would streamline the delivery of Games infrastructure and Games governance processes.
“The amendments to the Act will see the total number of directors on the Brisbane 2032 Organising Committee Board reduce from 24 to 15, reducing bureaucracy and streamlining processes to allow us to deliver a successful Games.”
Local Government Association of Queensland CEO Alison Smith said legislation enshrining community benefit had been a long-held plea of Queensland councils.
Ms Smith said statutory guidelines and tools to support implementation of the new community benefit system had already been made available in draft.
She said these would be finalised and rolled out in the coming weeks to prepare local governments and industry stakeholders for the commencement.
For more information on the planning framework for renewable energy development, visit the Queensland Government website.
