Local Housing Action Plan addresses Ipswich housing challenges
Published on 02 April 2026
One year on from the launch of Ipswich’s Local Housing Action Plan, strong progress has been made to improve housing equity and supply across the city.
A progress report of the City of Ipswich Local Housing Action Plan (LHAP) has revealed 15 of 40 priority actions, more than one third, have been completed in just the plan’s first 12 months.
A new planning scheme to replace a two-decade old scheme came into effect, more than 3,150 dwellings were delivered across the city and social housing supply has been boosted with 185 dwellings constructed or nearly complete, with more on the way.
Ipswich Mayor Teresa Harding said the report represented an A-plus grade for the plan’s first year of implementation.
“To have delivered almost 40 per cent of priority actions in the plan’s first year demonstrates council is serious about doing all that is within its power to address housing equity and supply amid the ongoing housing crisis,” Mayor Harding said.
“Local governments only have a certain number of levers to pull and we’re pulling all of them.”
“One of these included updating our planning scheme. The single-most significant completed action was the adoption of the Ipswich City Plan 2025 on 1 July 2025.
“The policy changes brought about by the Ipswich City Plan 2025 help activate housing supply and diversity through new residential zoned land, increase opportunities for infill housing in existing urban areas, provide a greater mix of lot sizes and housing types and remove regulatory barriers for secondary dwellings and dual occupancies across the city.”
Mayor Harding said Ipswich would need another 100,000 homes by 2046 and there needed to be a mixture of places available, including social and affordable housing, and supply for renters and first-home buyers.
“That is where the LHAP comes in. It identifies where further improvements to housing delivery may be possible as well as areas for further investigation,” Mayor Harding said.
“The LHAP aims to increase housing diversity, choice and affordability in well-serviced areas, close to employment and the places in our city that strengthen our community.”
The report notes about 185 social housing dwellings were delivered or nearly complete during 2025 by community housing providers. This included 43 new dwellings at Booval as part of the Meridian Residences project which provide safe and secure homes to women and families.
“While these figures still fall short of our region’s social housing need, they demonstrate social housing delivery is continuing and should be actively supported as a viable housing supply pathway,” the report said.
“The demand for social housing continues to grow at a rate exceeding both projected and realised supply,” Mayor Harding said.
“Social housing applications in Ipswich rose by 16 per cent (from September 2024 to September 2025). While budgets are increasing for social and affordable housing, without significant increases, long term, supply will be unlikely to meet demand.
“More positively, and perhaps in response to increased demand, the September quarter of 2025 saw residential dwelling construction in Ipswich increase by nearly 20 per cent.
“The plan will continue to be delivered and refined during 2026 to ensure council and its delivery partners are doing what they can to address a broad range of housing challenges in the City of Ipswich.”
Other key achievements include:
- The establishment of the Local Housing Action Plan working group
- Adoption of council’s Housing Diversity and Affordability Incentives Policy
- Progressing the Western Corridor Structure Plan
- Unlocking four hectares of land at Bundamba on surplus government land for housing by Economic Development Queensland
- Delivering housing for families recovering from domestic and family violence.
For more information, read the City of Ipswich Housing Action Plan on council’s website.