A Priority Infrastructure Plan is a planning tool historically used in Queensland, Australia, to coordinate urban growth with the infrastructure needed to support it. The term appears frequently in older Brisbane, Ipswich, and Moreton Bay planning documents, which can make current searches confusing.
Today, Queensland generally uses the term Local Government Infrastructure Plan (LGIP) instead. An LGIP forms part of a local planning scheme and connects expected development with trunk infrastructure such as major roads, stormwater facilities, parks, and community facilities. Understanding the change in terminology is especially important when researching older property, development, or infrastructure records.
A Priority Infrastructure Plan was a Queensland local-government planning framework used to coordinate anticipated urban growth with major infrastructure. Under the current Planning Act 2016 framework, the equivalent statutory planning document is generally called a Local Government Infrastructure Plan, or LGIP, which includes a defined Priority Infrastructure Area and plans for trunk infrastructure.
What Does Priority Infrastructure Plan Mean?
In its Queensland planning context, a Priority Infrastructure Plan, commonly shortened to PIP, was designed to connect decisions about future development with decisions about infrastructure.
Rather than treating new housing, commercial activity, roads, drainage, parks, and other services as separate issues, the infrastructure plan provided a framework for determining where growth was expected and what larger shared infrastructure would be needed to accommodate it.
The terminology has since changed. Current Queensland Government guidance refers to Local Government Infrastructure Plans. An LGIP is an integral part of a local planning scheme and identifies local shared infrastructure needed to support planned urban development.
This distinction matters because someone searching for a Brisbane Priority Infrastructure Plan, Ipswich Priority Infrastructure Plan, or MBRC Priority Infrastructure Plan may be looking at a historical document rather than the council’s current infrastructure planning framework.
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How Does the Current LGIP System Work?
The modern LGIP starts with assumptions about how an area is expected to develop. Councils examine matters such as population, employment, housing, non-residential development, development locations, timing, and the resulting demand on infrastructure.
Queensland’s infrastructure-planning guidance identifies four core elements of an LGIP: planning assumptions, the Priority Infrastructure Area, desired standards of service, and plans for trunk infrastructure, including schedules of works and supporting material.
These elements work together. Growth projections help estimate future infrastructure demand. The council can then identify where infrastructure capacity already exists, where upgrades may be required, and what new trunk infrastructure should be planned.
An LGIP is therefore more than a project wish list. It links land-use planning, infrastructure requirements, development assessment, and longer-term financial planning.
What Is a Priority Infrastructure Area?
The Priority Infrastructure Area, or PIA, should not be confused with the older Priority Infrastructure Plan.
Under Queensland’s current Planning Act 2016, a PIA is an area that is serviced, or intended to be serviced, by development infrastructure networks and is intended for specified forms of urban development. The legislation requires the area to accommodate at least 10 but no more than 15 years of relevant growth.
In practical terms, the PIA identifies where a council expects urban growth to be serviced efficiently during that planning period.
Development outside the PIA is not automatically prohibited. However, infrastructure implications can differ. Queensland Government guidance explains that development outside a PIA, or development that is out of sequence or inconsistent with LGIP assumptions, may result in additional trunk-infrastructure costs or conditions.
For developers and landowners, checking whether a property lies inside the current PIA can therefore be an important early step in investigating a proposal.
What Is Trunk Infrastructure?
Trunk infrastructure is major shared infrastructure that services broader areas or multiple developments, rather than infrastructure used only by an individual property.
Queensland’s local infrastructure framework can cover five trunk infrastructure networks: water supply, sewerage, transport, stormwater, and public parks and land for community facilities. Non-trunk infrastructure, such as infrastructure serving only an individual development, is generally outside the LGIP.
There is an important South East Queensland distinction. Water and wastewater infrastructure may instead be addressed through water netserv plans prepared by the relevant service providers. Queensland Urban Utilities serves areas including Brisbane and Ipswich, while Unitywater serves Moreton Bay, Sunshine Coast, and Noosa.
This helps explain why the precise infrastructure networks shown in an LGIP can vary between local government areas.
Brisbane Priority Infrastructure Plan 2014 and the Current System
The phrase Brisbane Priority Infrastructure Plan 2014 refers to the infrastructure-planning framework associated with Brisbane City Plan 2014 under the earlier system.
Brisbane has since transitioned to the LGIP framework. Brisbane City Council states that its current LGIP forms part of Brisbane City Plan 2014 and identifies future trunk stormwater, transport, parks, and community-facility infrastructure required to support existing and projected growth. The current LGIP took effect on June 27, 2025, with infrastructure planning extending to June 30, 2036.
For anyone investigating a Brisbane property, relying solely on the original Brisbane Priority Infrastructure Plan 2014 could therefore produce an outdated picture. Current City Plan mapping and LGIP documents should be checked.
Ipswich Priority Infrastructure Plan
Searches for an Ipswich Priority Infrastructure Plan can similarly lead to older planning records. Ipswich now operates under the Ipswich City Plan 2025 and its current Local Government Infrastructure Plan.
Ipswich City Council adopted the LGIP 2025 on May 29, 2025, and it took effect with the new planning scheme on July 1, 2025. It replaced the previous 2018 LGIP. The current plan considers the type, scale, location, and timing of development over the 2021–2046 period and identifies infrastructure required to service that growth.
Council describes the LGIP as a tool for integrating infrastructure and land-use planning, estimating infrastructure costs, supporting long-term financial planning, guiding capital works, and providing a basis for infrastructure-related development conditions.
What Happened to the MBRC Priority Infrastructure Plan?
The history of the MBRC Priority Infrastructure Plan provides a particularly clear example of the terminology change.
The Moreton Bay Regional Council Planning Scheme previously contained a Priority Infrastructure Plan. An administrative amendment effective July 3, 2017 formally replaced references to “Priority Infrastructure Plan” and “PIP” with “Local Government Infrastructure Plan” and “LGIP.”
The system has continued to evolve. City of Moreton Bay adopted LGIP Amendment No. 2 on September 9, 2026, and the amendment commenced on September 11, 2026, creating Version 8 of the planning scheme. It updates infrastructure planning in response to growth, network planning, schedules of works, costs, and other changes.
Therefore, anyone searching for the old MBRC Priority Infrastructure Plan should use the current City of Moreton Bay LGIP for present-day planning information.
Why These Plans Matter to Property Owners and Developers
Infrastructure plans can affect development feasibility even though they do not operate as a simple guarantee that a particular project will be approved or that a facility will be constructed immediately.
The plan can identify anticipated trunk infrastructure, development assumptions, service standards, and the relationship between growth and infrastructure delivery. Queensland’s Planning Act also establishes circumstances in which local governments may impose conditions relating to necessary trunk infrastructure.
Before making a significant property or development decision, a reader should therefore check the current council planning scheme, current LGIP maps, the PIA, relevant plans for trunk infrastructure, applicable infrastructure charges, and any site-specific development requirements.
Historical PIPs remain useful for understanding older approvals or documents, but they should not automatically be treated as the current statutory position.
Conclusion
A Priority Infrastructure Plan is best understood as the predecessor to Queensland’s current Local Government Infrastructure Plan framework. Both concepts are intended to coordinate urban growth with the major infrastructure needed to support communities, but the terminology and statutory framework have changed.
Today, the relevant document for Brisbane, Ipswich, Moreton Bay, and other Queensland councils is generally the current LGIP. It connects planning assumptions, the Priority Infrastructure Area, service standards, and trunk infrastructure planning. If a property search produces an older PIP, check the council’s current planning scheme before relying on it for a development or investment decision.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a Priority Infrastructure Plan still used in Queensland?
The term appears in historical Queensland planning schemes and documents, but current state guidance generally uses Local Government Infrastructure Plan (LGIP). Councils that previously had PIPs transitioned their infrastructure-planning provisions into the newer framework associated with the Planning Act 2016.
What is the difference between a PIP and an LGIP?
A Priority Infrastructure Plan is the older terminology found in previous Queensland planning frameworks. An LGIP is the current local infrastructure-planning instrument incorporated into a council planning scheme. It identifies planning assumptions, the Priority Infrastructure Area, service standards, and plans for trunk infrastructure.
Is a Priority Infrastructure Area the same as a Priority Infrastructure Plan?
No. A Priority Infrastructure Plan was the older planning document, while a Priority Infrastructure Area is a defined geographic area within the current infrastructure-planning framework. Under the Planning Act, a PIA is intended to accommodate between 10 and 15 years of specified urban growth.
What infrastructure can an LGIP cover?
Queensland’s framework allows LGIPs to cover water, sewerage, transport, stormwater, and public parks and land for community facilities. In parts of South East Queensland, water and wastewater infrastructure is planned separately through water netserv plans operated by designated service providers.
What is the current Brisbane Priority Infrastructure Plan?
Brisbane now uses an LGIP rather than the former PIP terminology. The current Brisbane LGIP became effective on June 27, 2025 and forms part of Brisbane City Plan 2014. It plans relevant trunk infrastructure to support projected growth through June 30, 2036.
Does Ipswich still have a Priority Infrastructure Plan?
Ipswich’s current framework is the LGIP 2025, not an active plan using the older PIP title. It forms part of Ipswich City Plan 2025 and took effect on July 1, 2025, replacing the previous 2018 Local Government Infrastructure Plan.
What is the current status of the Moreton Bay infrastructure plan?
City of Moreton Bay currently uses an LGIP. Its latest major update, LGIP Amendment No. 2, was adopted on September 9, 2026 and commenced on September 11, 2026. Older MBRC documents using “Priority Infrastructure Plan” refer to a superseded planning framework.
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