This opinion article by Business Council of Australia Chief Executive Bran Black was published in The Courier Mail on 11 November 2025.
Queensland’s competitive edge today lies in its places and people, not its paperwork. If the Sunshine State wants to attract business, it needs to shine light on its planning maze and cut red tape.
As the latest Regulation Rumble report this week shows, there is ground to make up if Queensland is to become a seriously competitive business destination.
Queensland ranks sixth overall in our national ranking of states and territories based on how open they are for business, taking everything from taxes to red tape into account. That lags far behind competitors like SA, which topped our rankings again this year for the third year running.
Some things keeping Queensland in the race are the lowest workers’ compensation costs in the nation, and relatively light business licensing requirements.
Despite this, enterprising Queenslanders are too often weighed down by a patchwork of local rules that make it harder to build, expand or even open shop doors.
Look at retail trading. Queensland has the second most inflexible and restrictive trading hours in the country. In an age when online stores operate 24/7, a Brisbane supermarket still needs permission to trade early on Sundays or public holidays.
These kind of self-imposed and unnecessary speed bumps might have had a place last century, but not in the 21st.
Council planning is another drag. When every state is rushing to build more homes, too often inconsistent rules are pumping the brakes here.
Queensland also ranks second-last for planning consistency, as each of its 77 local councils does things differently. Identical projects can face very different timelines depending on postcode.
Queensland’s natural advantages are enormous, but to convert these advantages into a business edge, we need to cut duplication and delay. One digital planning portal, clearer zoning rules and modern trading laws would help small operators as much as major investors.