Better Projects, Stronger Communities
What Queensland’s Updated Social Impact Assessment Guideline Means in Practice
The Queensland Government’s revised Social Impact Assessment Guideline (July 2025) marks a substantive shift in how social risks and benefits are treated in central project planning and approval processes. While the previous 2018 version laid the foundation, this iteration embeds more structured, lifecycle-focused social assessments. It codifies the growing expectation that development should deliver tangible, lasting benefits to the communities it impacts.
The update reflects broader shifts in social licence, cumulative impact thinking, and stakeholder expectations, especially in relation to housing, workforce, and regional infrastructure stress. It also formalises practices that have, until now, been inconsistently applied.
Key changes at a glance
Mandatory early engagement with local governments: Proponents must now provide a formal notice of intent before commencing an SIA, with an offer to co-design the study’s scope. This frontloading aims to ensure local context is captured early, not retrospectively.
Lifecycle emphasis: SIAs must cover the entire project timeline, encompassing planning, construction, and operations, and include systems for ongoing monitoring and adaptation. Proponents may be required to update their assessment if conditions materially change.
Workforce planning tied to local benefit: FIFO models are explicitly constrained. Proponents must prioritise local and regional hiring and consider the secondary effects of labour demand on existing services and markets.
Housing pressure must be quantified: the impacts of housing and accommodation, often overlooked or under-analysed, now require a detailed assessment—including affordability, supply effects, and the availability of existing stock.
Cumulative impact and cross-agency coordination: Proponents are expected to address overlapping social effects from multiple developments in the region, with potential for state-led cross-agency reference groups (CARGs) to provide oversight.
A more formalised role for Community Benefit Agreements
Under the Planning Act, SIAs now serve as a precursor to negotiating Community Benefit Agreements (CBAs) with relevant parties. Local governments have a more explicit role here, both in the development of the SIA and as a counterparty to potential agreements. While SIMPs (Social Impact Management Plans) remain optional outside of the EIS process, they are clearly positioned as best practice.
Implications
The 2025 Guideline is a more enforceable, structured and adaptive framework for understanding and managing social impacts. Its application will likely lead to more consistent baseline analysis, better articulation of community risk, and stronger conditions tied to project approvals. However, it also raises the bar for proponents, requiring more sophisticated analysis and longer-term engagement than many are accustomed to.
From a systems perspective, the Guideline aims to bridge the gaps between environmental and social assessment processes, and to align more closely with the principles of planning integration and community co-design. Notably, the language surrounding First Nations engagement has also matured, with expectations that cultural knowledge and socio-economic conditions be incorporated into both baseline and impact assessments.
Read more
You can download the full Social Impact Assessment Guideline – July 2025 here.
