Quarter Two 2013

Lord Mayor’s Brisbane Economic Snapshot

Brisbane – the state of play

Estimates of Brisbane’s economic growth, derived from the 2011 Census, confirm that Brisbane has been performing above expectations. Queensland Treasury’s Experimental Estimates of Gross Regional Product publication reports Brisbane’s Gross Regional Product (GRP) as $129.7 billion for 2010/11. GRP per capita indicates that since 2006 the economic wealth generated per resident has grown by $9000 to reach $63,600.

This means wages and salaries received by individuals, company profits and government expenditure on services have grown. Further, the report shows that Brisbane has increased its share of the national economy from 8.9% in 2006 to 9.2% in 2011, and currently accounts for 48% of the Queensland economy.

The new figures mean Brisbane is on track to achieve projected output targets outlined in Council’s Brisbane Economic Development Plan 2012-2031, which forecast per capita output of $75,000 and a $217 billion economy by 2031.

A key driver of this strong performance has been the growth of industries employing highly-skilled professional services in Brisbane. The latest Australian Bureau of Statistics labour force data show the Professional, Scientific and Technical Services industry generated an additional 10,500 jobs over the past 12 months, to contribute towards the 1.074 million jobs in Brisbane.

Indicator / Region
Annual Data unless Specified / Brisbane LGA1 / Greater Brisbane 2 / Information date
Key Facts
Value of Brisbane’s Economy / N/A / $135 Billion / Mar 2013
Employment / 797,100 / 1,073,400 / Mar 2013
Unemployment Rate / 5.6% / 5.7% / Mar 2013
Population / 1,089,743 / 2,082,696 / Jun 2011
International Visitors / N/A / 967,000 / Jun 2011
Brisbane CBD / Brisbane Fringe
Office Vacancy Rate / 9.1% / 9.6% / Jan 2013
Available Office Stock / 1,176,868 / 1,142,716 / Jan 2013

1Brisbane City Council Local Government Area

2Australian Bureau of Statistics Greater Capital City Area

Source: Queensland Treasury and Trade, Australian Bureau of Statistics, Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism, Property Council of Australia,

Investment in Brisbane’s office market

Sustaining strong office market development is a hallmark of a high-performing economy, and demonstrates business and investor confidence in a city’s growth potential. The latest data on Brisbane’s office market suggests the city is attracting record levels of investment, and has a bright future ahead, despite lower demand for leasing activity in 2012.

Leasing activity

The latest data from the Property Council of Australia shows Brisbane’s vacancy rates in the last six months (to January 2013) rose to 9.1% and 9.6% for the CBD and fringe areas respectively. This is an increase on the previous six months with 8% in the CBD and 8.4% in the fringe. This is due to the significant addition of new stock over the last 12 months, including major CBD developments such as ‘111 Eagle Street’ and ‘145 Ann Street’, and reduced demand associated with the slowing resource sector, which accounts for 30% of leased space in the CBD and fringe areas. A similar movement in vacancy rates is also being experienced in Perth. On a positive note, major business players such as Arrow Energy, BHP, BDO, Hatch and BOQ all pre-committed or moved sizeable operations to new or upgraded developments in the Brisbane CBD and fringe in 2012.

Investment demand

While leasing activity slowed over the past 12 months, continued strong development and investment in the Brisbane office market reflects the city’s economic credentials. Over this period, $1.33 billion in commercial property was purchased by investors, as shown in Table 1.

Table 1: Office Purchases in 2012 Brisbane CBD and Fringe
Domestic & Private Purchases / Foreign Purchases
1) 12 Creek St / $242 million / 1) 215 Adelaide St / $135 million
2) 10 Eagle St / $195 million / 2) 144 Montague Rd / $88 million
3) 40 Creek St / $85 million / 3) 150 Charlotte St / $71 million
Remainder / $428 million / Remainder / $82 million
Total / $950 million / Total / $376 million

Source: Knight Frank, Australia CBD Office Report, Dec 2012.

Of particular note is the substantial foreign investment into the city, accounting for almost 30% of office purchases in the CBD and fringe. Further, Brisbane has had the fastest growth in office stock (23.4%) of any Australian CBD over the past five years.

Indeed, Australian cities are becoming hotspots for office market investment as investors see potential in our high yield, low vacancy and economically-stable markets relative to Europe and the US. As shown in Figure 1, the conditions in Brisbane support a competitive investment environment from a global perspective.

Office development in the Brisbane CBD (2009-17)

Future outlook

The future outlook for Brisbane’s office market is strong, reflecting investor confidence in the city’s long-term growth potential. The graphic above provides a visual representation of the changing face of Brisbane’s office market. With the addition of these new developments, Brisbane is poised to accommodate the future demand for office space with 130,000 additional jobs to be created in the inner city by 2031.

As the CBD becomes denser and space more limited, office investment will shift outwards towards the fringe areas. This is already evidenced by the substantial development activity taking place across the fringe area, including the 15 storey ‘Wickham 358’ (Fortitude Valley), the mixed-use ‘Gasometer’ and ‘McLachlan & Ann’ developments (Fortitude Valley), the 16 storey ‘Joule’ (Newstead), and the 15 storey ‘Southpoint Tower B’ (South Bank).

Defining the Brisbane Fringe Area

The Brisbane fringe area includes Fortitude Valley, Newstead, Bowen Hills, South Brisbane, West End, Woolloongabba, Kangaroo Point, East Brisbane, Greenslopes, Milton, Spring Hill and Toowong. The area currently has 1.1 million square metres of net leasable office space available.

In comparison, the Brisbane CBD has 2.2 million square metres of net leasable office space available.

Daisho’s ‘180 Brisbane’ development

Japanese property investor, Daisho, recently commissioned construction of their $200 million office development at 174 Ann Street. The significance of this development is that it reached the construction phase without tenant pre-commitment, highlighting Daisho’s confidence in Brisbane’s ability to generate office demand.

Business News

Asia Pacific Cities Summit links Brisbane businesses to Asia

The next Asia Pacific Cities Summit will be held in Kaohsiung between 9-11 September this year.

Under the theme ‘Reshaping the Urbanomics of Cities’, the 2013 Summit will focus on achieving business growth, trade, investment and economic outcomes in the Asia Pacific region.

Previous summits have generated significant economic returns for participating Brisbane businesses. From the 2011 Brisbane summit, over $20 million in trade agreements and partnerships was generated between local and Asia-based businesses.

For more information on the summit, the business opportunities available for participants and how to register, visit or contact 133 BNE (263).

Council launches digital Brisbane strategy

The Digital Brisbane strategy, launched by the Lord Mayor in March this year, sets a five-year agenda to kick-start digital take-up in Brisbane.

The strategy sets forth three core programs aimed at providing Brisbane businesses with state-of-the-art digital information, encouraging high-potential digital start-up companies and improving the experiences of residents and visitors through digital technology.

To download the full strategy, visit

Brisbane-based Oniqua is a standout performer

Oniqua is a Brisbane-based maintenance, repair and operations analytics company headquartered in Milton. Established in 1990, the company has grown from a two person start-up to become a global exporter with offices in the US, Chile and South Africa.

Specialising in the provision of inventory and asset optimisation software to the resource sector, Oniqua has serviced eight of the top ten global mining companies, as well as oil and gas giants BP, Santos and Conoco Phillips.

In 2012, Oniqua was awarded the Australian Exporter of the Year Award by Austrade.

Mining services manufacturer relocates to Brisbane

In November last year, Brisbane welcomed Chilean mining services manufacturer Conymet-Duratray to the city. The company is a world leader in manufacturing dump trays for mining trucks, and has relocated factory operations from Victoria to maximise connectivity and minimise costs associated with transportation to Queensland’s major minefields.

Conymet-Duratray’s large-scale facility, located in Carole Park, will generate 85 jobs and contribute $50 million annually to the city’s economy. Jobs are expected to increase when the company relocates its corporate head office here in 2014.

*The information in this newsletter provides general information on the Brisbane economy, and is not intended to be relied upon for commercial decisions. While care is taken to ensure accuracy, Council disclaims all liability for any expenses, losses, damages or costs you might incur as a result of this content being inaccurate or incomplete.

** For more information, visit or email . To make a business-related enquiry, call Council’s 24 hour Brisbane Business Hotline on 133 BNE (133 263).