Queensland opens door to private infrastructure investors

The Palaszczuk Government will introduce a streamlined assessment process to encourage infrastructure investment and development in Tuesday’s State Budget.

Treasurer Curtis Pitt said the time was right to encourage market led proposals to play a greater role in promoting growth and investment opportunities in Queensland.

“We want to send out a very clear message to developers and investors that Queensland is open for business,” he said.

“Our government is focused on infrastructure delivery, which is why we want to harness the knowledge and expertise of the private sector.

“We want to engage more seamlessly with industry to secure new projects and attract more investment.

“That’s why we're making it easier for the private sector to submit proposals which can capture economic uplift and job opportunities.

“We want Queensland to lead the nation in working with the private sector to implement innovative financial arrangements which can deliver infrastructure, new projects and more jobs.”

Mr Pitt said a new online portal would go live this week, enabling proponents to put forward proposals for priority consideration.

“This portal will make it easier for industry proponents to submit a proposal, especially complex proposals with interest from multiple government departments,” he said.

“We’re going to require government agencies to consider private sector collaboration to bring projects online as a priority.

“An expert panel comprised of representatives from key government agencies will assess any market-led proposals.”

Mr Pitt said the streamlined assessment process for market-led proposals aimed to attract unique proposals.

The guidelines now state that a proposal and/or proponent may be considered unique if, for example:

• The proponent owns or controls land, intellectual property or other legal rights that limit competitors from being able to deliver the same outcomes;
• There are no competitors or those currently in the market would be unable to deliver the same outcomes; or
• A combination of unique attributes are demonstrated by the proponent to create a unique proposal and constitute an innovative departure from previous practice.
“Queensland needs a whole-of-government project assessment process that establishes a common approach to assessing infrastructure projects at critical stages in their lifecycle,” he said.

Media contact: Martin Philip 0427 919 548