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Natural assets are just one of the reasons for the current buzz around Brisbane. Sunshine and a subtropical lifestyle are part of Brisbane’s appeal, but exceptional economic growth? That only happens in an environment primed for realising opportunity.
The 2024 State of the City report, developed by the Brisbane Economic Development Agency (BEDA) and Deloitte Access Economics, details the nuts and bolts of the city’s key economic drivers. “It’s the city’s capacity to commercialise emerging industries coupled with the nation’s fastest-growing working-age population growth that is spurring innovation and economic prosperity,” says a BEDA summary of the report.
Brisbane’s economy is forecast to grow by 34% by 2031, according to the report. The boom in tourism, cafes and restaurants may be the most visible representation of the city’s growing economy and confidence, but Brisbane’s economic success is also being fuelled by demand for exports and growth in property and construction, transport and logistics, advanced manufacturing, and professional services.
Support for innovation is a key factor. Brisbane is a world leader in robotics skills and research, and with more than 140 innovation hubs, has the highest density of hubs per capita in Australia, the report says. The city’s support for emerging technologies and innovators makes it an attractive base for investors and new businesses.
Advances in tech
Rino Recycling is a Brisbane-based company with big ambitions and cutting-edge automated facilities. Established in 2021, it wants to transform the recycling industry in Brisbane, and beyond. Rino takes construction waste and transforms it into useful products such as road base, soil and sand products.
The company diverts from landfill 95-96% of waste that comes through its facility. This year, it expects that figure to rise to 99%, and the ultimate goal is to get to 100%, says Rino’s general manager, Daniel Blaser. “I look at our facility as a manufacturing facility, not a recycling centre,” he says.
For Rino, Brisbane didn’t just offer the right site in the right location. It provided advantages that other cities couldn’t. “It has a significant infrastructure pipeline, a growing population, the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic games, and it wants to become a net zero waste society,” Blaser says. “With all those economic factors, it’s a great place to drive recycling.”
Like many of the businesses establishing themselves in Brisbane, Rino is a pioneer. The company claims to be the first processing facility in the world to fully integrate wet and dry waste processing under one roof.
“When you take the lead and do something that hasn’t really been done before, there’s a whole heap of challenges that you have to negotiate on the way through, but it then paves the way for others to be able to do the same,” Blaser says. “That’s benefiting every person in society. It’s really exciting.”
The scope of innovation in Brisbane crosses many sectors. Carbonaught, for example, is helping farmers adjust to the increasing demands for emissions reductions in global agricultural trade. The startup uses enhanced weathering (in which finely ground silicate rock reacts with water and air to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere) to lower carbon emissions while helping to cut fertiliser costs and improve soils.
Vaxxas, meanwhile, is a medical technology company developing a patch that could transform the delivery of vaccines. It’s no accident that the business is based in Brisbane, says its CEO, David Hoey.
“We have certainly benefited from the world-class research facilities we have in Brisbane, like the Translational Research Institute, and access to the pool of high-quality local STEM talent coming from Queensland’s academic institutions,” Hoey says.
A skilled and growing workforce
The State of the City report identifies Brisbane’s highly competitive, skilled, and growing workforce as a key economic driver: the city experienced a 32% increase in university graduates over the five years to 2023, and in 2022 Queensland had the highest rates of technical and trades education participation in the country. Brisbane has also recorded the fastest growing working age population among Australia’s major centres, with 7.7% growth, compared with an average of 4% across other major cities, the report says.
BEDA supports economic development. It helps businesses with on- and off-market property site selection, supports new and expanded aviation routes to Brisbane from key markets to bring more visitors and facilitate exports, and helps create partnerships and build networks by facilitating introductions between industry stakeholders, public and private businesses and state and federal government agencies.
“The BEDA team has been terrific in fostering valuable connections and programs for Brisbane’s biotech and medtech sector,” Hoey says. “Programs such as the MedTech accelerator program supporting early-stage medtech companies and the Better Brisbane Alliance … provide companies like Vaxxas great access to industry connections and opportunities at both a local and global level.”
BEDA’s CEO, Anthony Ryan, says: “Brisbane stands out as one of the best cities in the world for businesses to expand, invest and thrive.
“Fuelled by our strategic location, global reputation for innovation, highly skilled workforce, and an unbeatable lifestyle that attracts and retains top talent, Brisbane is now an economic powerhouse in the Asia Pacific.”
The sunshine state capital is alive with opportunity. Choose Brisbane.
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