The department is planning for a new primary school to relieve enrolment pressure at state schools in Brisbane's inner western suburbs.
The new primary school will provide long term enrolment capacity in the school network and enable the department to address the enrolment demand that is occurring in this area. It will ensure all families who wish to send their children to local state schools are able to do so.
The proposed school will provide general learning areas, specialist spaces, multimedia spaces, special education facilities and outdoor learning areas.
Once a site is selected, community consultation may be undertaken on the proposed master plan for the school, school design and integration within the local schooling network.
More information
Enrolment growth in Brisbane's inner west
The department has identified a need to relieve enrolment pressures at state primary schools in Brisbane's inner western suburbs, specifically the Indooroopilly and Ironside catchments.
You can download the
Inner West growth area guide to view Prep to Year 6 enrolment growth between 2015-2020 in a heat map.
Community consultation
January to February 2021
The first round of consultation regarding the location of the new school closed on 28 February 2021. In this round of consultation, the community was able to provide feedback on the option of Indooroopilly State High School (ISHS) as a site and suggest alternative sites for consideration by the department. A
summary report of the consultation outcomes is now available.
Following consultation, the department has also agreed to allow for more time to deliver the school, with the school now expected to open for the local community in 2024.
Throughout consultation, the department heard that, regardless of the specific location of the new school, the key issues for any potential site included:
- traffic and safety
- service need
- more time and information
- planning for the future
- green space.
In the first round of community consultation, more than 60 sites were nominated for consideration by the department. The most popular alternative sites nominated by the public were:
- Perrin Park – 56 Josling Street, Toowong
- Toowong Bowls Club – 59 Gailey Road, Taringa
- Queensland Academy for Science, Mathematics and Technology (QASMT) Campus – 78 Bywong Street, Toowong
- Tricare site – 52 Seven Oaks Street, Taringa
- University of Queensland (UQ) – identified as general option with multiple sites nominated.
The department has completed a preliminary review of all sites nominated and found the majority were unsuitable, as they were:
- located outside the area of need
- of insufficient size for a primary school
- unavailable for development.
A review was carried out on a longlist of the sites nominated, including the most popular community suggestions. Based on this review, the department has identified the Perrin Park Precinct, which includes both Perrin Park and the former Toowong Bowls Club, as an alternative to the ISHS site.
Based on the outcomes of the first round of community consultation, the department is now carrying out further investigations on the ISHS site and the Perrin Park Precinct.
June 2021
The second round of community consultation opened on 1 June 2021 and involved seeking feedback on the possible location of the new school at ISHS or the Perrin Park Precinct. The department received feedback through an online survey, drop-in sessions, written submissions via email and one-on-one stakeholder briefings.
Consultation closed at 5pm on 30 June 2021. A
summary report of the second round of consultation outcomes is now available.
The following key themes for each site were identified through the second round of consultation process:
- traffic congestion
- safety
- flooding
- flying fox colony (Perrin Park)
- loss of green space and amenity
- community facilities
- future expansion.
Based on the feedback received, the Perrin Park Precinct appears to be the preferred site compared to the ISHS site, but further considerations are required. The department will continue to do due diligence on both sites and engage with stakeholders from across government to help address the key themes raised during consultation.
The site selection process will be completed by the end of 2021. Following site selection, there will be further opportunities for the local community to provide feedback on the project.
For more information, please email the Building Future Schools project team at
BuildingFutureSchools@qed.qld.gov.au.