Where the businesses actually are in Ipswich

Ipswich’s oldest industrial suburb, on the Brisbane City boundary next to Wacol, served by the Ipswich Motorway and Progress Road. The Logan Motorway runs east from here to the Gateway and the Pacific Motorway.

Named together as a Major Enterprise Industrial Area in council’s 2021 industrial land study, and among the locations identified for short term infill and expansion. Citiswich Industrial Park at Bundamba is a private estate marketed on its Ipswich Motorway frontage between Brisbane and Ipswich.

The former Swanbank power station site and the waste and resource recovery cluster around it. The Queensland Government’s odour monitoring program names the licensed operators, including Nugrow, Wood Mulching Industries, Lantrak, Remondis, Redirect Recycling, Cleanaway, Veolia and Chip Tyre. CleanCo’s 250 MW, 500 MWh Swanbank Battery is on the old Swanbank B site.

The greenfield manufacturing and freight precinct about 15 kilometres south west of the Ipswich CBD, with road access from the Cunningham Highway. The business case was completed in the first quarter of 2019. Economic Development Queensland owns about 290 hectares of Regional Industry Investigation land at Willowbank.

Named in the Ipswich Economic Development Strategy 2023-2027 as the site of an Australia Post facility described as a $240 million investment generating over 500 jobs. Officeworks is building an omnichannel distribution centre on the same estate.

A Major Enterprise Industrial Area on the western side of the city, and the site of Queensland Rail’s New Generation Rollingstock maintenance centre at Wulkuraka. That facility runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with 10 rail roads for stabling, maintenance, repairs and overhauls, a dedicated wheel lathe and four fully pitted roads.

Defence’s largest operational air base, about 40 kilometres south west of Brisbane, established in 1940, hosting the headquarters of No 95 Wing and No 96 Wing among 13 major organisational elements in residence. Ipswich City Council records approximately 5,000 employees there. Defence does not publish a personnel count, so council’s figure is the one used here.

The council owned CBD redevelopment, described in the Economic Development Strategy 2023-2027 as a $300 million investment. The 1 Nicholas Street administration building opened on 28 June 2021 at approximately $125 million, the Ipswich Central Library on 7 December 2020, and Hotel Commonwealth and the Nicholas Street Venue building in November 2024. Riverlink at North Ipswich, Booval Fair, Brassall, Yamanto Central and Redbank Plaza carry the suburban retail.

The two eastern and southern growth nodes. Springfield Central is the office, health and education node, holding Mater Private Hospital Springfield, the new Mater Hospital Springfield public hospital and Orion Springfield Central. Ripley Valley is a Priority Development Area administered by Economic Development Queensland, described in council’s strategy as a $1.5 billion master planned vision, with Ripley Town Centre at its heart.

The administrative and service centre of the Lockyer Valley, on the Warrego Highway. The University of Queensland Gatton campus is a 1,000 hectare working farm and the university’s centre for agricultural, environmental and animal science, home to the Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation. Seqwater’s Central Lockyer Valley Water Supply Scheme sits east of the town.

Laidley is the second town of the Lockyer Valley, south of the highway, with Forest Hill, Grandchester, Plainland, Withcott and Helidon along the corridor. Transport and Main Roads describes the Warrego Highway as Queensland’s principal east to west freight corridor, running from Ipswich to Charleville. Inland Rail’s Helidon to Calvert section passes Placid Hills, Gatton, Forest Hill, Laidley and Grandchester.

Beaudesert is the administrative centre of Scenic Rim and, in council’s own words, the Principal Rural Activity Centre for the region. Bromelton was declared a State Development Area in 2008, about 6 kilometres west of Beaudesert, covering 15,610 hectares with approximately 1,800 hectares designated for major industrial uses and direct access to the standard gauge Sydney to Brisbane rail corridor. Named operators include SCT Logistics, GELITA Australia, A J Bush and Sons, Bromelton Quarry, The Neilsen Group and Quickcell Technology Products.

The western Scenic Rim towns on the Cunningham Highway side. Council describes Boonah as a district centre with a traditional High Street character and an important functional centre for the surrounding rural economic base, with 1,439 households at 2021 and its own industrial estate. Boral’s Peak Crossing basalt quarry at Purga has operated since 1990 across about 50 hectares, supplying about 500,000 tonnes a year with 12 full time staff.

Over 7,500 residents live across North Tamborine, Eagle Heights and Mount Tamborine. Gallery Walk on Long Road at Eagle Heights is a row of shops, craft outlets and cafes, and Main Street at North Tamborine holds the council customer service centre and library. The mountain receives over 1,550 millimetres of rainfall a year and commercially grows avocados, kiwifruit and rhubarb.