The facility is open to anyone enrolled at an Australian university, TAFE, or registered training provider, regardless of where they live or study. The hub describes itself as institution-agnostic, meaning it works alongside a student’s chosen education provider rather than being tied to any single institution.
Services include personalised student support, one-on-one or group academic advising covering study planning, goal setting, and writing and research skills, as well as career guidance including CV and interview support.
The facility is equipped with quiet study zones, meeting and conference rooms, high-speed Wi-Fi, all-in-one PCs, video conferencing, printing and scanning, secure swipe card access, and a kitchenette.
Photo credit: Instagram/Inala Study Hub
The hub is managed by Dr Su-Ann Tan, who holds a PhD in Intercultural Communication and Cross-Cultural Psychology and has 18 years of experience in Australian higher education. She has worked with students and communities across Australia and Southeast Asia, and currently teaches intercultural communication at university level.
The hub also welcomes involvement from parents, local businesses, and community organisations looking to connect with students, offer work placements, or provide mentoring opportunities.
Why Inala?
According to Federal Member for Oxley Milton Dick, only around 22.4 per cent of young people in Inala hold a degree, compared to nearly half of young Australians nationally. The hub’s own materials note that evidence shows university participation tends to increase in areas where Study Hubs operate.
Students at Glenala State High School in Durack are still waiting for covered outdoor courts that were meant to be completed by the end of last year. With early 2026 now passed, no confirmed start date has been announced for the school’s courts.
Glenala is one of six Queensland schools awarded Category 3 funding under the Go for Gold program, with grants of between $2.5 million and $5 million earmarked for new or upgraded sports infrastructure in the lead-up to the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Category 3 projects are valued at between $2.5 million and $5 million. For Glenala, that funding was slated to deliver covered outdoor multipurpose courts designed to expand training spaces for the school’s netball program.
Photo credit: Facebook/Glenala State High School
The original plan had all Category 3 projects completed by December 2025. Not a single one of the six Category 3 schools had broken ground by late last year, according to previous reporting by Over the Walter Taylor Bridge.
Photo credit: Google Street View
The Education Department has since revised its timeline, with construction now expected to begin sometime in 2026 and completion pushed to the end of the year. That revised start date remains subject to weather conditions, market capacity, and construction schedules.
For Glenala, the delay has practical consequences. The school runs a netball excellence program, and without the planned courts, students remain without the dedicated training facilities the upgrade was intended to provide. Adequate sporting infrastructure matters both for students on elite pathways and for the broader school community.
The Go for Gold program was designed so that Queensland students could benefit from Olympic legacy infrastructure well before the Games arrive in 2032. For Glenala and the broader Durack community, the timeline for seeing that investment materialise remains unclear.
Early works on the Pallara District Sports Park at 65 Van Dieren Road are set to get underway from late March 2026, with main construction now scheduled to begin in late 2026, subject to weather conditions and approvals.
The February 2026 concept plan update confirms a revised timeline for the project, following the release of the final concept plan in November 2025. At that time, planners expected construction to begin in early 2026. The updated schedule sets out a two-stage delivery approach, with preparatory civil works on Van Dieren Road starting first before main construction of the park begins later in the year. Pallara and Forest Lake families who have followed the project since community engagement began in October 2023 continue to wait, although works are now set to commence on site.
What Early Works Involve
From late March 2026, early works will include building new kerb and channel and footpath on Van Dieren Road, planting new street trees, and installing a new stormwater outlet pipe in J.M. Sullivan Park. These civil works prepare the site’s surrounds and drainage infrastructure ahead of the larger construction effort later in the year. Residents near Van Dieren Road can expect some temporary changes in the area during this period, with a further update promised before works begin.
The early works phase reflects the complexity of delivering a district-level sporting facility from the ground up in a rapidly developing suburb. Eight properties along Van Dieren Road have already been purchased for the sports park and bushland conservation, a process that has been underway for several years as the site was assembled from multiple private landholdings. That land acquisition groundwork now gives the project a clear path to construction.
What the Park Will Include
The final concept plan, released in late 2025 and updated in February 2026, sets out a district-level sports and recreation facility designed to serve Pallara, Forest Lake and the broader southwest Brisbane community. The park will deliver two outdoor sports fields, a clubhouse with public amenities creating a central hub for players, families and visitors, on-site parking and a dedicated bus drop-off, sports lighting and irrigation to support evening use and quality playing surfaces, and a future playground area and picnic facilities site.
The concept plan also incorporates shared pathways, spectator areas, team shelters and water tanks for irrigation. The design responds directly to what Pallara residents told planners during the 2023 and 2024 community engagement rounds, with safe and clean facilities, good amenities, strong access and sufficient parking all identified as community priorities. Local clubs will be identified through future tender processes once construction is closer to completion.
Why This Matters to Pallara and Forest Lake
Pallara’s growth over the past decade has been extraordinary. According to the 2021 census, Pallara had 3,861 residents, a significant increase from the 511 recorded in 2016, and residential development has continued at pace since then, with multiple house and land estates delivered along Van Dieren Road itself. That growth has placed real pressure on the suburb’s recreational infrastructure, with families currently relying on parks and sporting facilities in neighbouring Forest Lake, Durack and Calamvale to meet their needs.
The Pallara District Sports Park directly addresses that gap. For local sporting clubs, the arrival of a district-level home ground with two lit playing fields, a clubhouse and proper amenities opens the door to formalising and growing their presence in the southwest Brisbane corridor. For families, it means a quality community space within the suburb rather than a drive across the city. And for Pallara as a whole, a well-designed district park anchors the suburb’s social infrastructure in a way that purely residential development cannot.
The Pallara District Sports Park also forms part of the broader Pallara Open Space Network Corridor, with further stages subject to future funding and planning processes as the suburb continues to grow.
Project Timeline and Contact
The current project schedule runs from early works in late March 2026 through to main construction commencing in late 2026, with the overall project timeframe extending through to 2028. Residents can expect further updates from the project team before each works phase begins.
For enquiries about the Pallara District Sports Park, the project team can be reached on 07 3178 5413 during business hours or on 07 3403 8888 at any time. Email enquiries can be sent to cityprojects@brisbane.qld.gov.au. Further information is available here.
In the face of growing concern over youth crime across Brisbane, Inspire Youth and Family Services, has secured a Kickstarter early intervention grant to deliver a new community-led program in Inala aimed at redirecting at-risk young people before offending escalates.
Based at 79 Poinsettia Street, the initiative, dubbed the Inspire Positive Redirection Program, is geared towards guiding young people aged 8 to 17 in the southwest Brisbane suburb who are already showing signs of antisocial or early criminal behaviour.
The program combines mentoring, family support and community engagement to help participants build positive life pathways before disengagement becomes entrenched.
It forms part of a broader round of four Kickstarter-funded early intervention initiatives across Greater Brisbane, with Inspire Youth and Family Services joining three other community organisations sharing more than $1 million in total funding.
Turning the Tide on Youth Crime
It comes as early intervention and rehabilitation are starting to turn the tide on Labor’s Youth Crime Crisis, delivering a 7.2 per cent drop in the number of victims of crime in 2025.
“We introduced our tough Adult Crime, Adult Time laws to hold offenders to account but, we are also investing in early intervention because it’s a critical step to stop youth from falling into a life of crime,” Minister for Youth Justice and Victim Support Laura Gerber said.
“Addressing the early signs of disengagement, anti-social or criminal behaviour is critical to breaking the cycle of crime and putting youth back on the right track.
“We are delivering safety where you live with tough laws, more police, early intervention, and rehabilitation to break Labor’s cycle of crime for good.”
Inspire Youth and Family Services has operated in Inala for more than 35 years, making it one of the longest-standing youth support organisations in southwest Brisbane. The organisation works with children and young people from birth to 25 years of age, offering a multidisciplinary mix of services that spans educational re-engagement, youth housing and homelessness support, bail and court support, family case management and school-based youth welfare.
Among its most recognisable community assets is The Hut, a youth outreach centre located in DJ Sherrington Park in Inala. The Hut provides a safe and creative space for young people aged 12 to 25, running educational workshops, facilitated discussions and creative engagement programs throughout the year.
That kind of embedded, accessible infrastructure sets Inspire apart from externally delivered programs, giving the organisation a genuine understanding of the community it serves and the trust of the families and young people who rely on it.
A Suburb Shaped by Long-Term Challenges
Inala sits approximately 22 kilometres southwest of Brisbane’s CBD and carries a long history as a planned public housing suburb, established in the early 1950s to address post-war housing shortages. That history has shaped the suburb’s demographics, with socioeconomic disadvantage remaining a real and persistent feature of life for many Inala families.
Forest Lake, the broader ward within which Inala sits, includes a diverse and growing residential population, and while crime across the ward decreased significantly between 2023 and 2024, the underlying pressures that drive youth disengagement remain present.
Inspire Youth and Family Services is not a new presence in Poinsettia Street. It has been part of the suburb’s fabric for decades, operating through the complex social challenges that many southwest Brisbane families navigate.
Families, schools and community members seeking more information about this program can phone on (07) 3372 2655, or email office@iys.org.au, or through the website at iys.org.au.
A proposed childcare centre and residential subdivision at 66 Crossacres Street in Doollandella remains under review, with further design changes requested as the application continues through assessment.
The development application, lodged in August 2025, seeks approval for a childcare centre and a reconfiguration of land within the Doollandella neighbourhood plan area.
The site covers approximately 10,185 square metres and is zoned Emerging Community. Public notification was carried out from 25 November to 16 December 2025, during which submissions were received. No decision notice has been issued.
Photo Credit: DA/A006831357
Inside The Proposed Childcare Centre
Plans outline a single-storey childcare facility designed to accommodate up to 165 children. The building is proposed to reach a maximum height of about 7.64 metres.
The design includes 11 playrooms, indoor and outdoor play areas, and supporting office space. Operating hours are listed from 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., Monday to Friday.
A total of 35 car parking spaces are proposed on site, including one accessible space. The childcare building has a gross floor area of 1,159.6 square metres.
Photo Credit: DA/A006831357
Subdivision Plans Raise Key Detail Differences
The proposal also includes a subdivision component involving residential lots, a drainage lot, and a new road reserve.
Published planning material differs on the number of residential lots, with one description listing 10 lots and another indicating 11. Both descriptions place the lot sizes between 312 and 368 square metres.
Submission Flags Road And Design Concerns
A submission lodged on 15 December 2025 supported development of the site but raised concerns about the proposed road layout.
The submission indicated the connection to a neighbouring property may be inefficient and could affect future housing yield. It also pointed to gaps in acoustic modelling, particularly regarding potential future residential development on nearby land.
Photo Credit: DA/A006831357
Further Design Changes Requested In 2026
Additional advice issued on 27 February 2026 identified unresolved matters relating to traffic, stormwater management and noise.
Traffic-related issues include verge width requirements, safe vehicle movement and maintaining functionality at the Avington Street intersection. Plans must also provide a compliant pedestrian footpath along Crossacres Street.
Stormwater documentation requires clearer detail on runoff treatment and pollutant control measures. Noise assessment material must address all site boundaries and clarify how acoustic barriers will operate without gaps.
What Happens Next For The Doollandella Site
The application remains under assessment, with no final determination recorded.
The Ellen Grove parks precinct project remains in the planning phase, with a final concept plan guiding future upgrades at Ellen Grove District Park and Waterford Road Park in Ellen Grove.
Planning for the Ellen Grove parks precinct began with community engagement between May and June 2023, allowing residents and stakeholders to share input on future park use.
A draft concept plan was later released in November 2024, followed by further consultation before the final concept plan was completed by late 2025.
Photo Credit: BCC
What Is Planned For Ellen Grove
The concept plan outlines a range of recreation and community features designed to meet the needs of a growing population.
Proposed inclusions feature open space, shelters, picnic tables and a playground, alongside tennis courts and other recreation areas. A clubhouse is also planned, with facilities including a kiosk, pro shop, bathroom and meeting spaces.
Photo Credit: BCC
Balancing Use With Natural Surroundings
The project aims to support both recreation and environmental outcomes across the precinct.
Planning documents indicate that natural environmental values within the parklands will be protected and enhanced, ensuring green space is maintained while new facilities are introduced.
Photo Credit: BCC
Community Input Shapes The Outcome
Feedback collected during the 2023 engagement period contributed to the overall design direction of the project.
Input from residents helped shape the mix of recreation spaces and family-friendly facilities included in the concept plan.
Timeline Points To Long-Term Delivery
The project remains listed as planned, with detailed design scheduled to begin in 2026.
Works are expected to commence in 2028, although timing remains subject to weather and future funding. Some project updates have referenced the 2027–28 financial year, but current planning outlines 2028 as the anticipated start for construction.
Photo Credit: BCC
What Happens Next For Ellen Grove
With the concept plan finalised, the next stage will focus on detailed design and preparation for delivery.
The project is intended to provide sport and recreation facilities, green space and community amenities for Ellen Grove as development in the area continues.
The shift is becoming hard to ignore. Across Forest Lake and its surrounding suburbs, entry prices are rising while top-end homes are pushing into new territory — a market now moving in two directions at once.
Market Overview
Four sales in March so far in Forest Lake were over $1 million, but none breached $1.5m (65 Booloumba Crescent settled at the end of February for $1.6m).
However, in Pallara, a 6-bedroom, 4-bathroom house on 416 square metres at 4 Tambor Crescent sold for $1.53m; and a 5-bedroom, 3-bathroom house on 334 square metres at 45 Botanical Circuit sold for $1.275m, both settling in March.
In Doolandella, a 4-bedroom, 2-bathroom house on 404 square metres at 17 Rockfield Road sold for $1.3m; whilst a 4-bedroom, 2-bathroom house on 500 square metres at 17 Sevenhill Place was sold for $1.21m.
The vendor of 123 Bagnall Street, Ellen Grove was delighted with Matt Groves after he mustered 29 bids that realised $1.39m for the property, where the nearest comparison had sold for $980,000 towards the end of last year. Matt takes 21 Durundur Court in Durack to auction on Saturday, a magnificent property on 1,680 square metres.
So 123 Bagnall Street, Ellen Grove sold at auction for $1.39 million. The bidding opened at $900,000, with around 29 bids and two parties competing right through to the end before the hammer fell. The vendor was absolutely delighted with the outcome of the deceased estate sale.
When the campaign began, the most comparable recent sale was 447 Waterford Road, which achieved $980,000 in the end of November. Reaching $1.39 million at 123 Bagnall Street should give confidence to many other property owners across the area.
This result is also unfolding alongside changes in the surrounding corridor. A proposed new housing estate in Pallara, covering around 5.6 hectares across Kraft Road, Laxton Road and Trivior Street, is set to deliver 82 new homes and reshape part of the area’s traditional large-lot character. The development reflects a broader shift toward more suburban-style living, while still maintaining connections to the established Forest Lake and Inala precincts.
That mix of new supply and strong buyer demand is part of what is driving the current market dynamic across Forest Lake, Ellen Grove, Doolandella and Pallara — where entry prices are lifting, competition is intensifying, and standout properties are pushing into higher price brackets.
I take 21 Durundur Court, Durack to auction on Saturday, March 28 at 12pm. This is a magnificent property on 1,680 square metres that has been held by the owners for 42 years.
Over that time, the owners have cultivated an extensive range of fruit and nut trees including mangoes, bananas, paw paws, macadamias, avocados, pineapples, kaffir limes, lychees, Brazilian cherries, loquats, achacha, longan, lemons, arrowroot, pomegranates and olives.
The home itself is substantial, with extensive outdoor entertaining areas, a renovated kitchen and multiple storage spaces and workshops.
Homes offering this level of versatility, outdoor space and long-term care are becoming increasingly rare. Properties like this continue to attract strong interest from buyers looking for space, lifestyle and flexibility within reach of major amenities.
I have sold several properties in Durack over the years, and five years ago I made a prediction that this pocket would be discovered. With a population of around 8,000 people, strong local amenities and access to Inala, Oxley and Forest Lake shopping, as well as schools and rail connections at Salisbury and Richlands, that shift is now clearly taking place.
What’s my property in Forest Lake worth?
Use this list of recent sales to estimate where the value of your property in Forest Lake fits.
Forest Lake Recent Sales (Last 90 days as of 20-March 2026)
These are the Top 5 sales at the top end of the market in Forest Lake:
What’s my property in Durack worth?
Use this list of recent sales to estimate where the value of your property in Durack fits.
Durack Recent Sales – last 90 days as of 20-March 2026
These are the Top 5 sales in Durack for the past 12 months:
Durack — Top 5 Sales (Past 12 months)
What’s my property in Ellen Grove worth?
Use this list of recent sales to estimate where the value of your property in Ellen Grove fits.
Ellen Grove Recent Sales (Nov 2025 to Mar 2026)
What’s my property in Pallara worth?
Use this list of recent sales to estimate where the value of your property in Pallara fits.
Pallara Sales (last 90 days as of 20-March 2026)
What’s my property in Doolandella worth?
Use this list of recent sales to estimate where the value of your property in Doolandella fits.
Recent Listings
Below are some recent listings in Forest Lake and surrounding suburbs:
Some Development Applications
Recent development activity in Forest Lake and surrounds is adding another layer to how the market is evolving. The map below highlights key proposals and applications in the area.
Published 23-March-2026.
Matt Groves is a Proud Promotional Partner of Brisbane Suburbs Online News
Note: This article is based on data from publicly available sources at the time of publication and is intended for general information only. Readers should conduct their own research and seek independent advice before making any property decisions.
Salvos Stores has opened Australia’s first automated Textile Recovery Facility at Carole Park, on the boundary of Forest Lake and Brisbane’s south-western industrial corridor, with the site set to process up to 5,000 tonnes of textiles per year and keep millions of items out of landfill.
The facility, which received $4.97 million in Queensland funding, delivers on a plan that was announced under the Project Boomerang initiative and supported by feasibility research from QUT. It is the first of its kind in Australia and draws on the model of an automated textile sorting and decontamination plant already operating in Amsterdam, replicating that technology in a Queensland context for the first time.
The opening marks a significant moment for The Salvation Army’s commercial arm, which has operated Salvos Stores across Australia for more than 140 years. The organisation kept 52 million items in circulation through its network of over 400 stores last year alone, and the Carole Park facility extends that work into a new tier, capturing textiles that cannot be resold in stores and redirecting them into recycling supply chains rather than landfill.
How the Facility Works
The Carole Park facility uses automated sorting and decommissioning technology to process donated textiles that fall below resale quality. The system sorts garments by fibre type, removes buttons and zippers, and prepares materials as feedstock for recycling and manufacturing processes. The result is a cleaner, more commercially viable supply of recycled textile material than manual sorting alone can produce.
The facility draws its supply from donations flowing through the broader Salvos Stores network and is designed to pilot and scale textile recovery solutions across Brisbane before expanding its reach. At full capacity, the site will handle up to 5,000 tonnes of textiles annually, generating additional revenue that feeds back into The Salvation Army’s frontline service programmes across the country.
The project has attracted support from a number of significant corporate partners looking to develop local supply chains and markets for recycled textile materials, including Kmart Group, Samsara Eco and Full Circle Fibres. Charitable Recycling Australia has also been involved in the collaborative structure underpinning the initiative. QUT’s feasibility research helped establish the technical and commercial case for the facility before the investment decision was made.
The Scale of Australia’s Textile Waste Problem
The Carole Park facility arrives at a moment when the scale of Australia’s textile waste challenge is becoming harder to ignore. More than 200,000 tonnes of clothing ends up in landfill in Australia each year, a figure that reflects both the volume of fast fashion entering the market and the limited infrastructure available to process garments at end of life. Most donated clothing that cannot be resold has historically had few options beyond landfill or export to lower-income markets, neither of which constitutes a sustainable long-term solution.
The circular economy model that underpins the Carole Park facility offers a different pathway. Rather than treating unsaleable textiles as waste, the facility treats them as raw material. Fibres recovered through the sorting and decommissioning process can re-enter manufacturing supply chains, reducing demand for virgin materials and closing the loop between consumption and production. The Amsterdam facility on which the Carole Park plant is modelled has demonstrated that this approach is commercially viable at scale, and the Queensland site is designed to replicate and build on that proof of concept.
Head of Salvos Stores Nic Baldwin described the opening as a proud moment reflecting the organisation’s commitment to practical environmental action alongside its longstanding social mission. Business Development Manager Meriel Chamberlin connected the facility to the broader Salvos Stores story, noting that the organisation has spent over 140 years turning second-hand goods into hope through its stores and that the recovery facility represents a new expression of that same purpose.
Why This Matters to the Forest Lake and Carole Park Community
For residents of Forest Lake, Carole Park and the surrounding south-western suburbs, the arrival of a nationally significant piece of circular economy infrastructure in their backyard is worth understanding. The facility creates ongoing employment in the local industrial corridor and positions the area as a hub for the kind of sustainable waste management work that is increasingly central to Queensland’s economic future.
More broadly, the facility gives local residents a clearer sense of where their Salvos Store donations go. When a bag of clothes is dropped at a donation point, the garments that cannot be resold now have a destination that keeps them productively in circulation rather than sending them to landfill. That outcome benefits the environment, supports The Salvation Army’s programmes and strengthens the case for donating rather than discarding.
For households across the south-western suburbs who want to reduce their contribution to textile waste, the simplest action remains donating usable and unusable clothing through Salvos Stores rather than placing it in general waste. More information about the Textile Recovery Facility is available at here.
Police data shows 401 vehicles were stolen in Inala, placing this suburb among the areas with the highest car theft totals in Queensland and drawing attention to the scale of vehicle-related offences affecting residents.
The figure comes from Queensland Police Service crime statistics referenced in statewide reporting, which examined trends in unlawful use of a motor vehicle across the state.
Police data showed 1,797 victims of unlawful use of a motor vehicle were recorded across Queensland in November 2025, making it one of the highest monthly totals since records began in 2001.
Across the first eleven months of 2025, there were 16,805 victims of vehicle theft statewide, according to publicly available Queensland Police statistics. The number was slightly lower than the same period in 2024 but had been trending upward since August.
Vehicle theft figures are recorded by the location where the offence occurs, meaning suburbs with larger populations or higher numbers of parked vehicles can record higher totals.
With a population of more than 15,000 residents, Inala is one of the larger suburbs on the statewide list of areas recording the most stolen vehicles.
Police have said they continue to target property offences such as vehicle theft through enforcement operations and prevention strategies aimed at reducing victim numbers.
Community groups supporting crime victims have also reported increasing numbers of people seeking assistance after having vehicles stolen, with some incidents involving threats or confrontations during the offence.
