Early works have begun on the Pallara District Sports Park, with the project entering a new phase ahead of main construction scheduled to start in late 2026, subject to weather conditions and approvals.
The park has been in planning since 2023, shaped by community engagement, a detailed sports needs analysis and technical investigations that together informed a final concept plan released in late 2025. For Pallara residents who have watched the suburb’s population grow rapidly while its sporting infrastructure remained limited, the early works signal that delivery is finally underway.
Construction continues until 2028, delivering a major $15 million to $20 million boost to sporting infrastructure in Brisbane’s south-west.
A park designed around what the community asked for
Community engagement conducted through October 2023 invited Pallara residents to share how they wanted to use the future park. That feedback, combined with a detailed sports needs study, shaped a concept plan that reflects the suburb’s growing and active population.
The concept plan shows two sports fields surrounded by shared pathways, spectator areas and team shelters, a future playground zone, water tanks for irrigation, car parking and a clubhouse. Sports field lighting is also included, along with bus pick-up and drop-off zones, making the park accessible for sporting clubs and community groups travelling to and from the site.
The two-field layout gives the park capacity to host multiple sports simultaneously, and the clubhouse will provide facilities for the local clubs and sporting groups that will eventually call the park home. Those clubs will be identified through future tenders as the project progresses toward construction.
Sporting groups are already taking notice
The scale of the planned facility has already drawn attention from local sporting organisations assessing whether it suits their needs.
Algester Little Athletics centre manager Scott Mackay noted the Pallara District Sports Park would need to include a 400-metre running track for his club to consider relocating there, signalling genuine community interest in what the site could ultimately accommodate.
A detailed sports needs analysis has helped shape the plans, with local clubs to be identified through future tenders. The final mix of sports and user groups will be determined through that process, giving the community an ongoing stake in how the park takes shape.
What comes next on the timeline
The project’s current phase is early works, with main construction planned to begin in late 2026, subject to weather conditions and planning approvals. The full project timeline runs through to 2028, with further stages of the broader Pallara Open Space Network Corridor subject to future funding allocations and development agreements in the area.
Project budgets will be confirmed once planning, design and tender stages are complete.
For more information or to follow the project’s progress, contact the project team on 07 3178 5413 during business hours, email cityprojects@brisbane.qld.gov.au, or click here.
Construction on the first of two new bus stops on Ritchie Road in Pallara will begin next month. Crews will work between 8pm and 9am, Monday to Saturday, near Hideaway Street to deliver public transport infrastructure to the southern Brisbane suburb.
The announcement follows ongoing community petitions for improved bus access along Ritchie Road. The new stop near Hideaway Street will be the first to proceed to construction, scheduled to commence in June 2026.
Work on a second stop closer to Van Dieren Road is still in the consultation phase, with further planning updates expected in the coming months as design teams finalise utility and corridor requirements.
Years of growth, years of waiting
Pallara remains one of Brisbane’s fastest-growing suburbs, but local public transport options and civic amenities have historically lagged behind residential development approvals. Families moving into newly created estates anticipated future facilities including shops and public transport, though the delivery of these services has taken longer than early planning frameworks suggested.
Translink Route 126 provides Pallara’s primary public transport connection, linking the suburb through Sunnybank Plaza and Altandi Station to the broader network. Previous infrastructure work on Ritchie Road, completed in stages between 2022 and 2023, delivered bus stops near Pallara State School at Falkland Street and Atlantic Place as part of a broader corridor upgrade.
However, dedicated stops along the Hideaway Street and Van Dieren Road sections of the corridor have remained absent until now.
Daily traffic counts document significant pressure on Ritchie Road. The road functions as the primary arterial connector for the suburb, and peak-hour congestion persists because the resident population has grown faster than the surrounding road and transport network.
One stop confirmed, one still in progress
Construction on the first new stop near Hideaway Street is set to begin in June 2026, with works scheduled overnight and in the early morning to reduce disruption to daytime traffic on Ritchie Road.
Project teams are currently consulting stakeholders on the second stop near Van Dieren Road, with a construction timeline yet to be confirmed while design work awaits final utility and corridor clearances.
Together, the two stops will extend the usable bus network along Ritchie Road. The new infrastructure shortens walking distances to Route 126 for the surrounding catchment, dropping the commute down to under 400 metres for nearby estates.
For residents in the southern sections of the suburb, a stop near Van Dieren Road expands accessible public transport coverage to an area previously outside standard walking catchments.
Community concerns
Pallara residents have raised longstanding concerns over inadequate infrastructure, noting that the local road network and public transport services have struggled to keep pace with the suburb’s population growth.
Community advocates have consistently called for investment in Ritchie Road infrastructure, and the confirmation of these two new bus stops follows years of organised resident feedback.
The construction of the first stop begins in June 2026. For the latest updates on Translink bus services in Pallara, visit click here or call 13 12 30.
In this latest edition of our Local Property Market Snapshot, recent sales activity, current listings, median pricing, and a peek into local development applications, along with market commentary from Local Expert Matt Groves, provide a multi-layered view of how the market is tracking across Forest Lake and surrounding suburbs.
Rather than relying on a single metric, the combination of what’s selling, where prices are sitting and how activity varies between suburbs offers a practical benchmark for homeowners and buyers to assess value and compare conditions across the local area.
Property investors are very nervous about the potential impending CGT budget policy.
It is difficult to advise clients because there is a tendency to wait until after the budget on May 12, but that could mean selling into a glut of new listings, which may cause downward pressure on prices.
Despite testing economic conditions, with the oil price situation pushing diesel costs and the price of many plastic products, including plumber’s piping, through the roof, we had a satisfactory auction of 21 Durundur Court, Durack. Three bidders ended up taking the property to $1.45 million when the hammer came down, the vendor was happy, and when other properties in that price range are having to sell at a discount currently, this was fair value.
We are currently listing a 3-bedroom property in Inala at 19 Centaurus Street, set on 693 square metres of land. Subject to the necessary approvals, a buyer could decide to build a granny flat as it has good side access.
Did you know that until the 1950s, Inala was known as Serviceton because after World War II a group of ex-servicemen formed the Serviceton Co-Operative Society to build homes for their families. The word “Inala” is Aboriginal, meaning a peaceful or restful place.
On August 9, 1975, 326 Vietnamese refugees arrived in Brisbane and Inala became their favoured home. Inala Plaza is now an extraordinary cultural experience.
Over the last 90 days, 3-bedroom houses in Inala have ranged from $792,000 to $1,050,000, while 4-bedroom houses have ranged from $780,000 to $1,098,000, which is quite unusual as they seem very close. The sample size is small, being six 3-bedroom house sales in Inala, with five 4-bedroom house sales in Inala. However, this still seems out of whack.
For example, in Forest Lake, the 90-day window shows the following for the same 90-day window:
#Beds
#Sales
Median
Price Range
3
28
$979K
$800K – $1.18M
4
16
$1.25M
$985K – $1.65M
5
7
$1.42M
$1.15M – $1.60M
What’s my house worth in Forest Lake?
Use these lists of recent property listings and recent top sales to estimate where the value of your property fits, along with the pulse of the market in Forest Lake.
RECENT PROPERTY LISTINGS
FOREST LAKE
Address
Price
9 Paton Cres
5
2
$1.03M+
26 Dulwich Pl
4
2
$1.1M+
12 Cassatt Pl
4
2
$1.435M+
24 Harrison Cres
4
2
$900K+
78 Augusta Cres
3
2
$949K
FOREST LAKE
TOP 10 SALES | LAST 90 DAYS
Address
Price
17 Santorini Pl
$1.65M
4
2
65 Booloumba Cres
$1.60M
5
2
8 Unley Pl
$1.60M
5
2
14 Lilydale Pl
$1.56M
5
2
5 Fitzroy Pl
$1.42M
5
2
62 Toolara Cct
$1.379M
4
2
36 Pendula Cct
$1.365M
6
3
4 Burnside Pl
$1.355M
4
2
44 Pacific Pde
$1.35M
4
2
5 Baccata Pl
$1.29M
4
2
Forest Lake Medians (90-day and 1-year Overview)
Forest Lake’s recent sales point to a clear concentration of demand in the 3- and 4-bedroom segments, with the 3-bedroom market driving the highest transaction volume while 4-bedroom homes maintain a strong price premium without matching that volume.
Recent sales show higher pricing across all house segments compared to the 12-month figures, particularly in the core 3- and 4-bedroom markets.
The price ranges between these two segments show only limited overlap at the margins, suggesting buyers are largely operating within defined budget bands rather than stretching between categories. The 5-bedroom market, while naturally achieving higher prices, remains comparatively thin, indicating it plays a much smaller role in overall market movement than the core 3- and 4-bedroom segments.
Unit sales are only reflected in the 12-month data, with relatively low volumes across all configurations, indicating that recent activity is concentrated almost entirely in detached housing.
FOREST LAKE
90-day Overview
Type
Beds
Sales
Median
Price Range
House
3
28
$979K
$800K – $1.175M
House
4
16
$1.25M
$985K – $1.65M
House
5
7
$1.42M
$1.15M – $1.6M
1-year Overview
Type
Beds
Sales
Median
Price Range
House
3
156
$870.5K
$600K – $1.3M
House
4
146
$1.03M
$750K – $1.825M
House
5
34
$1.401M
$967.3K – $1.815M
Unit
2
8
$605K
$460K – $797K
Unit
3
15
$630K
$530K – $830K
Unit
4
1
$710K
$710K only
What’s my house worth in Pallara?
Use these lists of recent property listings and recent top sales to estimate where the value of your property fits, along with the pulse of the market in Pallara.
RECENT PROPERTY LISTINGS
PALLARA
Address
Price
14 Magnolia St
5
2
$1.649M+
86 Devries St
5
3
$1.435M
20 Tambor Cres
4
2
$1.1M+
12 Bill Watson Way
4
2
$1.079M+
42 Ferdinando St
4
2
$1.15M
PALLARA
TOP 10 SALES | LAST 90 DAYS
Address
Price
46 Landel St
$1.636M
2
1
4 Tambor Cres
$1.53M
6
4
30 Brookbent Rd
$1.395M
4
2
14 Harper St
$1.38M
5
3
16 Diamond St
$1.342M
4
2
18 Gilding Pl
$1.30M
4
2
12 Miami Pl
$1.30M
4
2
115 Brookbent Rd
$1.29M
4
2
35 Escalade Cct
$1.26M
4
2
7 Ponting Cct
$1.256M
4
2
Pallara Medians (90-day and 1-year Overview)
Pallara’s recent sales activity is concentrated in larger family homes, with 4-bedroom houses recording 17 sales in the past 90 days at a median of $1.16M, above the 12-month median of $1.09M.
Over the full year, 4-bedroom homes dominate in volume with 90 sales, while both 3- and 5-bedroom categories have comparatively lower transaction counts, indicating that most measurable pricing movement is centred in the 4-bedroom market.
PALLARA
90-day Overview
Type
Beds
Sales
Median
Price Range
House
4
17
$1.16M
$980K – $1.395M
House
5
3
$1.275M
$1.275M – $1.38M
1-year Overview
Type
Beds
Sales
Median
Price Range
House
3
5
$885K
$815K – $1.22M
House
4
90
$1.09M
$628K – $1.672M
House
5
21
$1.38M
$970K – $1.685M
What’s my house worth in Doolandella?
Use these lists of recent property listings and recent top sales to estimate where the value of your property fits, along with the pulse of the market in Doolandella.
RECENT PROPERTY LISTINGS
DOOLANDELLA
Address
Price
39/25 Paddington St
5
3
$1.5M+
11 Redhead St
4
2
$1.178M
67 Fred Pham Cres
4
2
$1.1M+
5 Cloverdale Rd
4
2
$1.0675M+
36 Westminster Blvd
4
2
$1.05-$1.1M
DOOLANDELLA
TOP 10 SALES | LAST 90 DAYS
Address
Price
17 Rockfield Rd
$1.30M
4
2
23/53 Crossacres St
$1.225M
4
2
17 Muhammad St
$1.215M
4
2
17 Sevenhill Pl
$1.21M
4
2
35 Mayfair St
$1.12M
4
2
5 Agostino Cl
$1.098M
4
2
9 Kokuso Pl
$1.076M
4
2
13 Redhead St
$1.05M
4
2
3 Hillingdon St
$1.05M
4
2
19 Tulip Ln
$1.03M
4
2
Doolandella Medians (90-day and 1-year Overview)
Doolandella’s recent sales data shows that 4-bedroom houses are the most active segment, with 8 sales in the past 90 days and a median of $1.087M, compared to a 12-month median of $987.5K, indicating stronger recent pricing in that category.
Unit and townhouse activity is more concentrated in the 3-bedroom segment, with the 90-day median broadly aligned with the 12-month median, indicating stable pricing for that segment over the last 12 months.
Other segments, including 5-bedroom houses and 4-bedroom units/townhouses, have relatively low recent sales volumes, making short-term comparisons less conclusive based on the available data.
DOOLANDELLA
90-day Overview
Type
Beds
Sales
Median
Price Range
House
4
8
$1.087M
$1.03M – $1.3M
Unit/TH
3
11
$781K
$700K – $850K
Unit/TH
4
2
$1.125M
$1.025M – $1.225M
1-year Overview
Type
Beds
Sales
Median
Price Range
House
3
4
$837.5K
$780K – $1M
House
4
50
$987.5K
$850K – $1.3M
House
5
7
$1.025M
$850K – $1.235M
Unit/TH
3
66
$712.75K
$596K – $890K
Unit/TH
4
6
$976K
$800K – $1.225M
What’s my property worth in Inala?
Use these lists of recent property listings and recent top sales to estimate where the value of your property fits, along with the pulse of the market in Inala.
RECENT PROPERTY LISTINGS
INALA
Address
Price
19 Japonica St
4
2
$950K
278 Freeman Rd
3
2
$875K
23 Hook St
3
2
$989K+
34 Sycamore St
3
1
$998,888
19 Centaurus St
3
1
$929K+
INALA
TOP 10 SALES | LAST 90 DAYS
Address
Price
46 Rosemary St
$1.10M
4
2
6 Lapwing St
$1.00M
3
1
55 Rosella St
$970K
3
1
30 Cypress St
$968K
3
1
32 Crater St
$965K
3
2
49 Crater St
$955K
3
1
81 Deodar St
$932K
3
1
50 Crater St
$928K
3
1
11 Yulan St
$905K
2
1
14 Aldebaran St
$792K
3
1
Inala Medians (90-day and 1-year Overview)
Inala shows evidence that recent detached-house sales are sitting above their broader 12-month medians, particularly in the core family-house categories.
The 3-bedroom house segment shows the strongest recent movement, with the 90-day median sitting about 8% above the 12-month median. The 5-bedroom category remains too thin in the recent period to draw a reliable short-term trend.
INALA
90-day Overview
Type
Beds
Sales
Median
House
3
8
$943,500
House
4
5
$850,000
House
5
0
—
1-year Overview
Type
Beds
Sales
Median
House
3
75
$870,000
House
4
15
$850,000
House
5
3
$975,000
What’s my property worth in Durack?
Use these lists of recent property listings and recent top sales to estimate where the value of your property fits, along with the pulse of the market in Durack.
RECENT PROPERTY LISTINGS
DURACK
Address
Price
28 Dionigan Cres
6
3
Auction
8 Chanel Pl
4
2
Auction
36 Thornlaw St
3
2
Inviting Offers
1 Jarrah Pl
3
1
Inviting Offers
27/8 Saint Kilda Ct
3
2
$759K – $789K
DURACK
TOP 10 SALES | LAST 90 DAYS
Address
Price
21 Durundur Ct
$1.45M
4
2
5 Boulia Ct
$1.31M
4
2
16 Emerson Cl
$1.26M
4
3
9 Kurrajong St
$1.13M
3
2
13 Chanel Pl
$1.10M
4
2
20 Glenala Rd
$1.10M
3
1
7 Altola St
$1.10M
3
2
57 Dinnigan Cres
$1.075M
4
2
87 Tinaroo St
$1.059M
4
2
40 Finetti Cct
$1.00M
4
2
Durack Medians (90-day and 1-year Overview)
Like Inala, recent detached-house sales in Durack are sitting above their broader 12-month medians, particularly in the core family-house categories.
The clearest lift in Durack is in 4-bedroom houses, where the recent median is around 10% higher than the 12-month figure.
DURACK
90-day Overview
Type
Beds
Sales
Median
House
3
3
$940,000
House
4
7
$1,075,000
House
5
0
—
1-year Overview
Type
Beds
Sales
Median
House
3
19
$910,000
House
4
30
$976,500
House
5
3
$1,015,000
Some Development Applications in Forest Lake and Surrounds
Click on the pins to view the details.Click +/- to zoom in/out
Published 30-April-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
Both students will be the first in their families to attend university, a milestone that carries a particular kind of weight. There is no parent who has been through orientation week, no sibling who can explain how HECS works, no family shorthand for navigating the early months of a university degree.
The bursary exists precisely for students in that position, covering the upfront costs that can derail a capable student before they even begin: textbooks, technology, equipment and other essentials.
For Shahd and Salman, the recognition is a signal that the talent and determination they have brought to their studies at Forest Lake State High School and Glenala State High School respectively has not gone unnoticed in their own community.
Two Schools, Two Suburbs, One Step That Changes Everything
Forest Lake State High School has served the western suburbs of Brisbane since 2001, building a reputation across academic and sporting programmes for over 1,600 students in Years 7 to 12. The school draws from a broad and diverse community, and Shahd’s selection reflects the kind of academic drive the school works to cultivate.
Glenala State High School in Durack has been a cornerstone of the Inala and Forest Lake area since 1996, formed from the amalgamation of Inala State High School and Richlands State High School. Its motto, “Believe and Achieve,” and its four core values of respect and responsibility, commitment to learning, pride and perseverance frame a school that serves some of Brisbane’s most culturally diverse communities. Salman’s path to university through Glenala is the kind of story that school motto was written for.
Both schools sit within the same community, a south-western Brisbane corridor where families from many different cultural and linguistic backgrounds have built their lives, and where being the first in a family to attend university is not unusual. It is, in many of these households, a quiet aspiration held for years before someone finally makes it real.
Helping Students Get Started
The bursary targets that gap directly, providing recipients with a one-off payment to establish a financial foundation. By covering these initial costs, the initiative ensures students focus on their studies rather than their bank balances from day one. The intent is not just to support the two individuals receiving it but to open a pathway for the generations that follow.
This practical support addresses a significant hurdle. Textbooks, a laptop, software licences, transport costs and enrolment fees can add up to hundreds or even thousands of dollars in the first weeks of semester. For a student without family experience in higher education, there is often no roadmap for managing those early expenses.
“Being the first in a family to attend university can be daunting, but with the right support and encouragement, it can also be life-changing,” the bursary announcement noted.
A Community Initiative from a Local Who Knows the Path
The First-in-Family Bursary is a personal initiative of Ms Margie Nightingale, the local member for the Inala electorate, which covers Forest Lake and the surrounding suburbs. Ms Nightingale has deep roots in the area, having grown up in Inala, attended local schools and raised her family in the community. She was herself the first in her family to attend university, a connection to this bursary that goes beyond policy.
The bursary reflects a view of community that is anchored in long-term investment: that supporting one student through a financial barrier at the right moment can ripple forward through families and communities for decades. Both Shahd and Salman represent, in Ms Nightingale’s words, “the talent, determination and potential that exists right in our electorate.”
Forest Lake State High School can be contacted at admin@forestlakeshs.eq.edu.au. Glenala State High School can be reached at admin@glenalashs.eq.edu.au.
A newly refurbished canteen has opened at a school in Forest Lake, providing students with a refreshed food service space and a varied menu for daily use.
Students at a Forest Lake high school are now using a refurbished canteen that opened in the first week of term earlier this year. The upgraded facility marked the completion of a project that had been a long-standing priority, particularly for canteen staff.
The redevelopment focused on improving the working environment behind the counter, where staff manage high demand during peak periods. The updated layout provides a more functional space to support daily operations during busy lunch breaks.
Photo Credit: Forest Lake SHS/Facebook
Menu Brings Familiar Favourites And Variety
The Forest Lake canteen offers a range of food options across the week, with a rotating schedule that includes items such as sausage sizzles, tacos and loaded nachos. Daily offerings also include burrito bowls, meatball subs, fried rice and roast vegetable wraps.
Students can choose from wraps and sandwiches, with fillings such as tuna, chicken, or egg and lettuce. Lighter options including fruit, yoghurt, salad cups and salad trays are available alongside hot foods such as noodles, pizza and potato wedges.
Lower-cost items are available on the menu, including loaded nachos priced at $6.50. The menu has also been revised to meet the Smart Choices Healthy Food and Drink Strategy, which encourages balanced food and drink choices for students.
Space Supports Daily School Use In Forest Lake
The refurbished Forest Lake canteen provides a more practical space for staff while serving students during the school day. The improved layout supports food preparation and service during high-demand periods, with students able to access meals between classes.
Students have already begun using the space regularly, with many contributing suggestions for menu updates during the early weeks of operation.
Photo Credit: Forest Lake SHS/Facebook
Opening Attended By School And Community Members
The official opening was attended by senior students, school leadership and members of the parent-led association. Ms Margie Nightingale also attended the opening and noted the role of the upgraded space in improving access to food and supporting working conditions for staff.
The canteen upgrade has been supported by the school’s parent-led association, which continues to assist with operations as the new facility becomes part of the school routine. A casual retail assistant role has also been advertised to support both the canteen and the uniform shop.
Fifteen-year-old Sabina Locke is making her mark on the Queensland pageant scene, having already secured a first runner-up finish in the teen division at Face of Australia Queensland. After traveling to Bangkok, Thailand, where she earned a massive medal haul at Kids Star International, the Forest Lake local is now preparing to take to the national stage this April for the Miss Teen Galaxy Australia competition.
At a young age, Sabina is proving that pageantry is about far more than just sashes and stage lights. Balancing her secondary school exams with a packed community schedule, she is using the stage to build her confidence and forge lasting connections. While she already has her sights set on university, Sabina’s current focus is firmly on the future opportunities her successes might bring, from modelling to community advocacy.
From Forest Lake to the International Stage
Her journey through the Galaxy system emphasizes real-world skills like public speaking, interview techniques, and community involvement. This April, she steps onto the national stage for the Miss Teen Galaxy Australia competition, continuing a rapid rise that has already seen her represent her community abroad. Her previous success at Kids Star International in Bangkok saw her compete against a global field including entrants from Bulgaria, Thailand, and the Philippines where she secured a significant medal haul for her talent, catwalk, and costume.
Her placement as Runner Up at Face of Australia Queensland, one of Brisbane’s most prominent multicultural pageants, preceded her Galaxy journey and helped lay the groundwork for the confidence and platform skills she brought to the international stage. Face of Australia Queensland has grown steadily since its 2019 inauguration, placing a strong emphasis on empowerment, diversity and community connection, values that clearly resonated with Sabina’s own approach.
Her friends from the competition have been quick to support her, and she credits the connections she has built through pageantry as one of the most meaningful aspects of the experience. “Everything I have earned has been a new learning experience for me and I hope that continues with the years to come,” she said.
More Than a Title
What sets Sabina apart is the way she has translated pageant participation into tangible community action. She is a regular at the local op shop and gives her time to Wendy’s Community Care. Both commitments point to a young woman who sees her platform not as something to display but as something to use.
Her advocacy interests are growing in focus too. Sabina has begun engaging more seriously with youth mental health, attending events and exploring how she can contribute to that space in a meaningful way. She is also planning to participate in Brisbane’s International Women’s Day Fun Run, with a particular gesture that says a lot about her character: rather than keeping her ticket, she intends to give it to someone who needs it.
Eyes on What Comes Next
While Sabina Locke is clear-eyed about her future, she is currently a 15-year-old student balancing her pageant commitments with secondary school exams. She hopes to attend university after finishing school while continuing to build her presence in the pageant world. Sabina views these experiences as a way to gain skills in public speaking, community service, and traditional runway categories that will open doors for future modelling and media opportunities. She remains focused on the learning process, noting that everything she has earned so far has been a new experience she hopes to build on in the years to come.
The Galaxy system she competes in provides a genuine pathway for that ambition. Sabina is now putting her energy into April’s national competition, where she will represent her community on the Australian stage. Community support has already begun to grow around her, and she has secured local sponsorship from a skincare clinic and a traditional Filipino clothing boutique.
For more information about Australia Galaxy Pageants and the 2026 national final, visit australiagalaxypageants.com.
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.
Early Works
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.
Final Concept Plan
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.
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.
