Brisbane City Council Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner has unveiled plans that will see more high-rise apartments built close to Indooroopilly and Carindale shopping centres, as well as Nundah Village. The proposal marks a significant shift in how the council manages suburban growth, but it has exposed sharp divisions between those who see density as essential and those who fear the changes will erode neighbourhood character.
Current allowable building heights around Carindale Shopping Centre are up to 10 storeys and at Indooroopilly Shopping centre are up to 20 storeys. At Indooroopilly, towers could exceed the current 20-storey limit, while Carindale's 10-storey cap may also be lifted. In Nundah, the existing heights of up to 12 storeys are planned to remain with changes to allow greater flexibility to deliver more residential homes in mixed-use buildings. These suburban centres had been chosen because of their excellent public transport, including the Indooroopilly train station, Carindale bus interchange and the Nundah train station.
The council's case rests on a simple problem statement. More than 600 people move to Brisbane every single week, and the council needs more homes while also resisting the sprawl that impacts on bushland and adds to traffic congestion. Development in Brisbane low-medium density residential zones has fallen sharply, from around 1100 homes annually to just 445 in 2023, as rising costs have made smaller projects commercially challenging. The logic is straightforward: build upward near existing transport and shops, not outward into bushland.
The plan will update planning rules to make it easier to allow taller buildings to deliver more housing and mixed-use projects, with these centres able to accommodate taller buildings and more housing while ensuring development is well-designed and in line with community expectations. Brisbane City Council's planning amendment page provides details on the proposed changes.
Yet the proposal faces stiff resistance. Critics argue Brisbane's 'More Homes, Sooner' policy threatens neighbourhood character, overloads infrastructure, and benefits developers over residents. Council proposes to add up to 6,000 new dwellings by 2032, but there are no corresponding plans to expand public transport, roads, water, or sewerage. Some Brisbaneites question whether allowing developers to build higher will actually translate into more affordable housing, or simply more expensive apartments.
There is evidence of public division. A poll on a Courier Mail article asked whether voters support the height limit changes for Indooroopilly and Carindale shopping centres, with 70% of 1300 responders saying yes. However, that same poll suggests roughly 30 per cent of respondents remain unconvinced the proposal is the right approach.
Work on the changes around the three suburban centres will now begin, with community consultation expected in 2026 so residents can have their say. Public consultation on the proposed changes is open from 20 February to 20 March 2026. This consultation period will test whether the council can build enough confidence in the plan or whether community concerns about infrastructure, parking and character preservation force a rethink.
The fundamental tension is clear. Brisbane's growth is real and rapid; housing costs are rising; and sprawl comes with genuine environmental costs. Yet residents also have a stake in their suburbs remaining liveable places with adequate parking, water pressure and street parking. Neither concern is trivial. Research has found that simply rezoning land for higher density is not enough to transform low-density and car-centric neighbourhoods into the mixed-use and walkable neighbourhoods envisioned in planning schemes. Whether these three shopping centres prove to be the right locations for growth, and whether the council moves quickly enough on infrastructure, will become clear once consultation ends and the real development begins.