Quick Facts
- 2008 Population – 21.3 million
- 15 years of uninterrupted economic growth
- Australia's economy is ranked as the most resilient for the fifth successive year (ranking seventh in 2007)
- Ranked as having the highest level of political stability in the world since 2006
- Highest ranking within the Asia Pacific region for industry productivity
- First in the world for ease of starting a business (number of days, capital and procedures required)
- Australia is positioned in the Asian Time Zone and bridges the closing of the USA and the opening of the European business day
- Australia’s economy ranks second against amongst countries with populations of 20 million or more, behind only the USA
- First in the Asia Pacific region for quality of life
Economic Snapshot
Brisbane, the capital of Queensland, Australia, is the growth powerhouse of the Australian economy, outstripping all other major national centres. Consistently the fastest growing capital city in Australia, Brisbane is experiencing a fundamental shift in its business landscape.
Brisbane is the largest of Australia’s six capital cities by geographic area and the third largest in the world, occupying some 1,140 km². As the largest city council in the Asia Pacific, Brisbane City Council manages a budget of over $1.6 billion, with managed assets in excess of $16 billion. Recognised as Australia’s most liveable city, Brisbane has a well deserved reputation as Australia’s safest, cleanest and greenest capital city. KPMG’s 2006 Competitive Alternatives Guide, ranked Brisbane as the world’s second most cost competitive location for doing business.
In 2007, the IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook report ranked Australia’s economy as the 7th most resilient in the World; following five successive years as 1st. Queensland’s economy is contributing substantially to the national economic health, providing annual growth of 6.8 per cent over the 2006/07 financial year, well above the rest of Australia (2.5 per cent). The state also benefits from high business investment, low unemployment and strong exports. For 18 out of the past 20 years Queensland’s economic growth has exceeded the average economic growth for the rest of Australia.
Growth
Economic Growth
Economic growth in Queensland is 5.7 per cent, far above the 4.7 per cent national average . As Queensland’s thriving capital, Brisbane is the engine room of the state’s outstanding financial performance. Economic growth in the state accelerated to an eight-year high of 6.8 per cent in 2006/07, representing the eleventh consecutive year Queensland has recorded higher economic growth than the rest of Australia. Real GDP growth sees Queensland outperforming global competitors the UK, USA and Japan.
The climate of growth fostered in Brisbane stimulates business to invest and reinvest – Queensland’s business investment growth rate is more than double the national average. This economic growth is being fuelled by a low cost base for doing business and high levels of business investment, to the largest public infrastructure spending program in Australia’s history.
Figure 2 highlights the strength of Queensland’s economic growth over the past ten years compared with the rest of Australia. This has correlated with the emergence of Brisbane as a major centre for business not only within Australia but throughout Asia Pacific.
Population Growth
Brisbane is the largest growing capital city in Australia and continues to expand and develop at a breathtaking rate. The population of Brisbane has reached 1.8 million people and the larger South East Queensland corner has now reached over 2.7 million. This also represents over 65 per cent of Queensland’s population.
Brisbane’s population growth has consistently been the highest performer of all the capital cities, recording average annual growth of 2.2 per cent between 2001 and 2006. The trend of outstanding growth is forecasted to continue, with the Australian Bureau of Statistics placing Brisbane’s population at over 3.3 million by 2050. This growth is accompanied by Queensland’s continuing urbanisation, with Brisbane’s population expected to represent half of the state total by the end of 2051.
Much of this population growth is being driven by interstate and overseas migration, which has been the case for many decades. In 2006, Queensland had over 25,000 interstate migrants, with the vast majority of those settling in Brisbane. Inward interstate flows are driven by increasing education and employment opportunities combined with the unparalleled lifestyle advantages on offer.
Brisbane also experienced an influx of over 21,000 overseas migrants during 2005/06. The city’s share of overseas migration is on the rise, with Queensland’s stake of the national total forecast to grow by an additional 0.5 per cent per year between 2005 and 2008. This compares with NSW losing 0.5 per cent of the Australian total each year.
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Brisbane's Talent
The energy of our city is highly influenced by the talent it produces. Brisbane is home to young, well educated and skilled people – companies choosing to invest here have a deep and diverse talent pool from which to draw. With at times more than 1000 people per week migrating to Brisbane from southern states, the talent pool is constantly growing. Importantly, this is business migration, not just leisure migration – the largest age demographic is the 24 to 40-year-old age group, representing skilled workers. At 14 per cent, Brisbane has a 4 per cent higher proportion of graduates with bachelor degrees than the national average.
Our talent is extremely multicultural, with over 16 per cent of households speaking a language other than English at home. Many businesses are utilising this diverse language mix to service global consumer markets from Brisbane. IBM, Mindpearl, Macquarie Bank, DHL International and P&O Nedloyd all take advantage of this unique business asset.
Education
Brisbane draws great strength from its tertiary education sector, boasting three world-class universities each recognised for the quality of its graduates and its R&D. While each of these universities has specialised areas of research and teaching, all four offer comprehensive undergraduate and postgraduate programs. Our universities are also very active in partnering with industry to ensure courses delivered meet future industry requirements. In 2007 Brisbane’s universities collectively enrolled almost 140,000 students – there is no shortage to Brisbane’s talent.
The University of Queensland (UQ)
UQ was recently named among the top five Australian universities and is consistently ranked in the top 50 universities in the world. It receives the highest R&D funding of any university in the country and is home to the newly opened $70 million Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Technology. 2006 Australian of the Year Professor Ian Frazer developed the cervical cancer vaccine Gardisil at UQ’s Diamantina Institute for Cancer, Immunology and Metabolic Medicine. One of Asia Pacific’s leading research institutions, the Institute for Molecular Bioscience (IMB) undertakes globally competitive research to unlock the information contained in the genes and proteins of plants, animals and humans. The IMB's exploration of the genetic basis of life will greatly impact on the health and quality of life of humans, well into the next century. For further information, please see www.uq.edu.au
Queensland University of Technology (QUT)
QUT is one of nation’s major universities, and the largest provider of bachelor degree graduates into the Australian workforce. Its reputation as a “university for the real world” reflects close links with industry in teaching and research. QUT hosts the ICT backup for the Australian Stock Exchange and is home to the Information Security Research Centre (ISRC), headed by global e-security expert Bill Caelli AO – the only non-American serving on the board of Colloquium for Information Systems Security Education (CISSE). The ISRC’s multi-disciplinary approach provides QUT with an opportunity to play a leading role in research in the area of Safeguarding Australia which has been identified by the Australian Research Council as one of the key areas of applied research for Australia. QUT is internationally recognised for its focus on applied research; consequently QUT produced a significant portfolio of technologies which are commercially applicable, and in many cases industry backed. QUT’s Bluebox was founded in late 2006 to consolidate and develop commercial interactions with external communities of interest, including industry, government and the investment community. For further information, please see www.qut.edu.au
Griffith University
Griffith University is ranked in the top ten Australian Universities for industry funded research, and actively builds partnerships with industry across its comprehensive range of undergraduate programs and research centres. It has truly world-class research centres in drug discovery, health, the environment and the social sciences. The partnership between pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca and Griffith University is one of the most successful public private partnerships in Australia. Since establishing Australia's first university School of Environmental Studies 30 years ago, Griffith University's national leadership in climate adaptation research now underpins its success in leading the new $50 million National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility (NCCARF) from 2008. For further information, please see www.griffith.edu.au
There are also several other universities operating in niche fields in and around Brisbane, including:
Cooperative Research Centres
Each of these universities is home to many of Australia’s Cooperative Research Centres (CRCs). CRCs are commercially driven consortiums between universities and the private sector driving research and innovation in response to industry’s demands.
Leading examples of these cooperative research centres located in Brisbane include:
TAFE Network
The Technical and Further Education (TAFE) network in Queensland trains more than 230,000 people annually in trades and technical skills including engineering, electrical, plumbing, information technology and hospitality. It engages the private sector in consultation in order to better develop courses to train staff and provide for industry. Strong relationships exist between Southbank Institute of TAFE and Alphapharm, Boeing and Aviation Australia as well as Lockwood and QMI Systems.
The Queensland State Government is committed to continually raising the qualification levels of Queensland workers. A wealth of education and training information can be found on the Department of Employment & Training website at www.trainandemploy.qld.gov.au
Tax Incentives
There are a range of funding opportunities and government support available to companies choosing to locate in Brisbane. Invest Brisbane is able to assist in sourcing appropriate State and Federal Government incentives to encourage companies to locate their business in Brisbane. In all cases, companies will need to apply to the relevant government body for the grant or subsidy in question. Invest Brisbane can assist by facilitating introductions to the relevant agencies offering these grants and guide companies in making a winning application for funding opportunities.
Queensland Government
The Queensland Government offers a large and diverse range of incentives, which are open to a wide cross-section of industries.
Queensland Investment Incentives Scheme
The Queensland Investment Incentives Scheme (QIIS) aims to secure important investment projects that support current Government priorities and that, in the absence of incentives, would locate elsewhere. For further information on QIIS, please visit www.sd.qld.gov.au.
Support may be in the form of State tax rebates or establishment grants depending upon the type of short-term impediment affecting the development in Queensland. All offers are conditional and subject to the fulfilment of due diligence requirements and contractual obligations. For more information please contact Invest Brisbane.
Other Incentives Schemes
The Queensland Government also offers a range of other incentives programs, primarily focused on innovation and developing the government’s Smart State agenda. For instance, the Innovation Program offers a portfolio of grants with over $3 billion invested to date, targeted at innovative and research orientated projects.
Australian Government
The Australian Government through its AusIndustry department administers grant and incentives for the Federal Government. Some examples are listed below.
AusIndustry Research and Development Tax Concession
AusIndustry’s R&D Tax Concession is the principal Federal Government incentive to enhance and increase the amount of research and development being conducted within Australia. Eligible companies can claim a tax deduction of up to 125 per cent for eligible R&D expenditure when lodging their annual tax return. A 175 per cent Premium (Incremental) Tax Concession and an R&D Tax Offset (Rebate) are also available in certain circumstances.
Commercial Ready Program
The Commercial Ready Program provides financial assistance for companies undertaking industry research and development. The program provides grants from $50,000 to $5million for eligible projects of up to three years in duration. For further information on R&D Concessions and Commercial Ready Programs, please visit, www.ausindustry.gov.au.
Other Incentives Schemes
In addition to those mentioned above, AusIndustry also offers a large and diverse range of alternate incentives schemes, numbering over 35 programs and collectively worth around $2 billion each year. Some of these programs include:
- Commercialising Emerging Technologies (COMET) Grants
- Supports the commercialisation of innovative products, processes and services.
- Targeted at early-growth stage and spin-off companies.
- Renewable Energy Development Initiative
- Supports Australian renewable energy innovation projects which have strong commercial and emissions reduction potential.
- Targeted at Australian businesses involved in research and development, proof of concept, and early-stage commercialisation activities involving renewable energy technologies.
- Industry Co-operative Innovation Program
- Supports projects which encourage industry to develop and/or meet strategic industry sector needs, including those identified through an Australian Government and industry action agenda.
- Low Emissions Technology Demonstration Fund
- Supports the commercial demonstration of technologies with the potential to deliver long-term and large-scale greenhouse emission reductions in the energy sector.
Supported Skills Program
The Federal Government also coordinates the Supported Skills Program with support from specific State Government Agencies. The programme streamlines immigration for senior management specialists and is a valuable service in assisting foreign companies to invest in Australia.
For more information on any of the incentives schemes available at either the local, state, or federal level, please do not hesitate to contact Invest Brisbane for more detailed assistance.
Listed below are a number of links that can assist in setting up a business: