State Infrastructure Plan

Education and training
High quality education is the cornerstone for preparing
Queenslanders to participate successfully in society.
Across the state, education infrastructure supports
the delivery of early childhood programs, primary and
secondary schooling, and vocational training to more
than half a million students.
Queensland continues to experience increased
demand for education services in line with population
growth. These have included the number of children
participating in kindergarten, increases in Year 12
completion, compulsory Prep enrolment, as well as
increases in special school enrolments and the
number of students accessing special education
programs and services.
In response to this service demand, the state has
continued to invest in education infrastructure across
urban, rural and remote school and training locations.
Some of the more significant education capital projects
in recent years have included provision of infrastructure
for the move of Year 7 students into secondary school,
addressing maintenance needs through the School
Infrastructure Enhancement program, investment in
new schools in Mackay, Toowoomba, Pimpama and
Burpengary, the announcement of a new special school
in Cairns and a new primary school in Townsville,
as well as a range of renewal projects in other
regional centres.
The future provision of education will be impacted by
many challenges that are expected to place additional
pressures on early childhood, school and training
infrastructure. These challenges include population
growth, delivering on the priorities of the Advancing
Education Action Plan, Closing the Gap and NAPLAN, as
well as national curriculum requirements.
To address these, we will need assets that are high
quality, flexible and future focused. This will entail
ongoing investment as many of Queensland’s
education assets are ageing, affecting overall
quality and suitability to respond to the future
of education. We will need to be judicious in our
planning methods, prioritising investment according
to highest need as well as adopting innovative
Integrated learning, Mackay (image courtesy Central Queensland
University)
solutions that accommodate our growing need for
education infrastructure. Some of these innovative
models may include public private partnerships,
community partnerships, co-investment and colocation
opportunities. In addition, innovative asset
management arrangements for TAFE Queensland will
ensure priority access to state-owned training assets,
to support the delivery of quality training that boosts
the skills of Queensland’s workforce.
The government will continue to support the provision
of early childhood education and care services
and training facilities, with delivery predominantly
undertaken by the private and not-for-profit sectors.
The Queensland Government has recently expanded
and strengthened the Building and Construction
Training Policy to maximise apprenticeship and
traineeship opportunities, and increased economic
benefits for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
people. The policy represents a partnership between
the building and construction industry and the
Queensland Government to develop the industry’s
skills base and future workforce capability on
government building and civil construction projects.
The future of investment in education infrastructure
will not only include built assets, but will also embrace
innovative, alternate models that are cost effective,
provide maximum benefit and appropriately support
the educational needs of the Queensland community.
EDUCATION AND TRAINING RESPONSES
The Queensland Government has developed responses to address identified challenges and guide investment across both the 1–4 year
program and future opportunities. Most projects or opportunities relate to at least one response, however some will relate to more than
one response. As the SIP matures, the relationship between responses and these programs will strengthen.
Create knowledge
precincts on the
sites we control
by co-locating
education with
industry and local
communities.
Provide fit-forpurpose
and
future focused
infrastructure
that maximises
educational
outcomes.
Support
infrastructure that
maximises export
earnings from
education.
Increase the use
of digital service
delivery to delay
the need for new
infrastructure.
Adopt a ‘renew
before new’
approach to
infrastructure to
meet the demand
for education.
Protect
Queensland’s
education heritage.
76 State Infrastructure Plan Part B: Program