Narangba is emerging as a key test of how Moreton Bay can accommodate more industrial businesses and local jobs as available employment land becomes harder to find across the region.
City of Moreton Bay said on 6 October that manufacturing across the city generates more than $5 billion in sales, with industrial engineering, fabrication, marine products, building materials, electronics and robotics among the sectors operating locally. The city has linked further manufacturing growth to the availability of additional industrial land.
Narangba already carries a significant share of that industrial activity. The Narangba Innovation Precinct is recognised as a major enterprise and industrial area and accommodates industries that can be difficult to locate elsewhere, including manufacturing, recycling and other higher-impact operations. Earlier economic analysis also found the precinct had the highest concentration of manufacturing workers in Moreton Bay.
An established industrial base
The Narangba Innovation Precinct dates back to the 1970s, when the Queensland Government developed the area for larger and higher-impact industries.
Economic research commissioned as part of later planning work found the precinct generated about $740 million in gross regional product in 2021, while employment there had grown by almost 50 per cent between 2011 and 2016.
Its role remains significant enough that Moreton Bay adopted another temporary planning instrument in July 2026 for the area east of the Bruce Highway. The measure remains in effect until July 2027 while longer-term planning controls are progressed.
A proposed planning scheme amendment for the eastern precinct is intended to provide clearer rules for Special and High Impact Industry while managing potential effects on surrounding residential areas. City documents estimate the changes could support almost 600 additional industrial jobs and contribute about $129 million to the local economy.
A second employment area takes shape
A separate planning process is under way west of the Bruce Highway at Narangba East, where land currently characterised largely by rural residential development is being considered for a mix of future employment and housing.
Planning investigations released in 2024 identified Narangba East as one of the areas capable of helping address Moreton Bay’s industrial land shortage. Early estimates indicated a future employment precinct there could eventually support up to 10,500 jobs.
A temporary planning instrument introduced in June 2026 is preserving land for those longer-term uses while detailed planning continues. It also identifies an Early Release Area along parts of Old Gympie Road and Richards Road where employment development could begin sooner.
The Narangba East work is distinct from planning for the established Narangba Innovation Precinct east of the highway, although together they place Narangba at the centre of Moreton Bay’s longer-term employment planning.
Industrial land forecasts have shortened
Moreton Bay’s need for additional employment areas has become more pressing as industrial land is taken up faster than previously expected.
A 2022 assessment estimated about 26 years of general industry land and 32 years of light industry land remained across the city. By the 2024 update, both had fallen to an estimated 14 years of supply.
General industry land in southern Moreton Bay could be exhausted by 2031 or earlier if recent demand continues.
The shortage extends across Greater Brisbane. Research released in September 2026 estimated about 205 hectares of industrial land would be absorbed annually over the following five years, with some established precincts holding as little as three-and-a-half years of remaining supply.
More jobs for a growing population
The industrial expansion also sits against Moreton Bay’s much larger population challenge.
Around 80,000 residents were estimated in 2024 to travel outside the city for work each week. State planning requires Moreton Bay to accommodate at least 85,400 additional jobs and 125,800 additional dwellings by 2046.
Longer-term modelling prepared with the University of the Sunshine Coast examined a scenario in which Moreton Bay could eventually support about 402,000 local jobs as its population approaches one million.
Published 7-Oct-2026
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