Here’s the question we keep dodging in housing debates: Who is the end user—today and in a decade? What we approve now lasts 50+ years. If we keep designing for yesterday’s buyer because “the stats say it worked,” we lock tomorrow’s Fraser Coast into yesterday’s shape.
We’re good at producing what we already know: over-55s lifestyle villages and large houses on large blocks. But look at the demographic runway: constrained land supply, an affordability crunch, and an ageing population. Within the next decade, a big share of our current workforce will retire. To care for our community—and power local businesses—we’ll need an influx of 25–40 year-old workers and young families, especially in health and allied services. If they can’t find the right homes near the right amenities at the right price, they won’t come—or won’t stay.
So let’s plan for tomorrow’s housing today and grow into it.
That means more choice at a human scale: small lots, duplexes, terrace rows, walk-ups over shops, and well-managed apartments—close to transport, schools, parks, clinics, and everyday retail. It means neighbourhoods that are greener, more walkable, and more flexible for changing family shapes and work patterns.
The proposal is simple: adopt a User-Lens Checklist for every Development, Council & State decision and DA application. Three questions, every time:
- Key workers: Can a nurse, tradie, teacher or hospitality worker live within a reasonable commute at a price that works?
- Downsizers: Can locals right-size without leaving their suburb, freeing up family homes?
- First-home buyers/young families: Are there attainable, well-located options that reduce car dependence and weekly costs?
If a project can’t point to “yes” for at least two of the three, why are we building it?
Let’s stop planning today with yesterday’s mirror. Build for the people we need next—so the Fraser Coast we love can actually function, care, and prosper.
