In July 2024, Regional Development Australia Tropical North (RDATN), in partnership with the Far North Queensland Organisation of Councils (FNQROC) and Torres and Cape Indigenous Councils Alliance (TCICA), convened the Far North Queensland (FNQ) Housing Summit at James Cook University, Cairns.  The summit brought together over 100 representatives from all levels of government, industry, and the not-for-profit sector to address critical housing challenges across the region.

FNQ is experiencing acute housing pressures, reflecting national trends but compounded by regional and remote conditions. Key challenges include limited land availability, ageing infrastructure, rising construction and insurance costs, and workforce housing shortages. These issues are further intensified in remote and Indigenous communities across Cape York and the Torres Strait.

The Tropical North Queensland Economic Development Strategy (TEDS) identifies housing as a critical enabler of workforce participation, economic growth, and liveability.

The summit established a unified regional position and identified priority actions, including:

• Renewal of the National Partnership Agreement on Remote Indigenous Housing (NPARIH) to address overcrowding and infrastructure gaps in Cape York, Torres Strait and Yarrabah
• Investment in enabling infrastructure, including a proposed Trunk Infrastructure Fund to unlock housing-ready land across the region
• Workforce housing solutions, including new delivery models and incentives for employers and developers
• Attraction of community housing providers to regional Queensland to increase supply of social and affordable housing
• Reform of short-term rental settings to improve long-term rental availability for essential workers
• Action on strata insurance affordability, which continues to constrain medium-density development despite the introduction of the reinsurance pool.

Importantly, the summit reinforced that “one-size-fits-all” approaches—such as standard modular housing—are not always suitable for remote tropical environments, highlighting the need for locally appropriate, climate-resilient housing solutions.

The outcomes of the summit now underpin RDATN’s regional housing advocacy, co-led with TCICA, and have been formally presented to the Australian and Queensland Governments.

The region is advocating for coordinated, place-based investment in housing and enabling infrastructure to support economic development, workforce attraction, and improved living conditions—particularly in Indigenous communities.

The Summit successfully aligned regional stakeholders around a shared understanding of housing challenges and solutions. It has strengthened the region’s collective voice and established a clear pathway for government engagement and investment.

Addressing housing in FNQ is not only a social priority—it is fundamental to unlocking the region’s economic potential.