iFUTURE THEME 1: VIBRANT AND GROWING

Desired Outcomes by 2026

1. Our city's design and development promote quality place making and liveability. Positive environmental, sustainable, inclusive and cultural outcomes are sought. Our city is also well connected with active and public transport options.

2. Our city is active and healthy with a variety of activities, facilities and services on offer for all to take part.

3. Our strategic planning enables us to prepare and respond to the city's rapid growth and expansion of infrastructure networks, and will be underpinned by an evidence based approach to determine community needs in meeting our growth.

4. Businesses and industry are supported with excellent customer service to start up, operate, grow and increase their resilience.

5. Ipswich is known as a sought after location for business, industry and visitors.

6. There is increased employment and a variety of educational opportunities across the city, especially for young people.

7. Ipswich continues to be an affordable city to live in.

8. Our city centres are alive with dining and entertainment for people to engage in that's open seven days a week and late at night.

Measuring Our Progress

Council will monitor performance against implementation of iFuture through quarterly reporting against our Annual Plan, as well as reporting against iFuture performance in our Annual Report. These regular reviews will help to ensure iFuture retains its currency and relevance, and is achieving progress towards the desired outcomes for the city in 2026.

 

For the iFuture Theme 1: Vibrant and Growing, we are measuring our progress through:

 

  • Community Perception Survey
  • Living in Ipswich Survey
  • Population growth
  • Development activity
  • Employment numbers by industry

 

You can view the results for measuring our progress outlined below. We will continue to publish the results of our progress on the Transparency Hub as data becomes available.

Community Perception Survey

 

The community perception survey was undertaken in 2021 with market research of 1000 people across Ipswich. This survey is a baseline for the commencement of iFuture and will be completed again at the end of the five years (2026). The key questions relating to Theme 1 are captured below.

 

The respondent profile in 2021 was:

Gender: Female (48.2%); Male (51.8%); Prefer not to say (0%)

Age Group: Under 18yrs (0%); 19-29yrs (7%); 30-39yrs (19%); 40-49yrs (26%); 50-64yrs (25%); 65-74yrs (17%); 75yrs+ (5%); Refused (1%)

 

The 2021 results show the percentage of people satisfied or very satisfied with:

• Delivery of transport infrastructure in Ipswich is keeping pace with our growing city (16.3%)

• Public transport in Ipswich (13.6%)

• Walking and cycling infrastructure in Ipswich (59.3%)

• Ipswich is alive with dining and entertainment for people to engage in day and night (30.2%)

Living in Ipswich Survey

The Overall Liveability Index shows what the community believes makes somewhere a good place to live and how they experience their local area in that regard. It highlights the liveability attributes where residents' local area experiences need to be maintained or improved to advance quality of life in their local area. The survey is undertaken every year. You can read more about the Living in Ipswich Survey here.

Population

According to the Local Government Infrastructure Plan (LGIP), the estimated resident population of the City of Ipswich in 2021 was 233,302. The current population of Ipswich is approximately 256,782 and is expected to grow to 535,000 by 2046. 

 

Development Activity

Development Activity is captured in a yearly report card developed by the Planning Regulatory Services Department in Council. The below data outlines the development activities that took place during each financial year.

Employment by Industry Sector

Employment data presented here are estimates based on findings outlined by the National Institute of Economic and Industry Research (NIEIR). Click here to view or explore the Census data further.

 

This data presents the number of people employed in the City of Ipswich. The number of individuals and subsequent percentage of the Ipswich population for 2021-2022 are outlined below.

 

Defence: 4114 (5.5%)

Health: 12,790 (17.0%)

Construction: 4,393 (5.8%)

Retail: 7,771 (10.3%)

Manufacturing: 7,436 (9.9%)

Education and Training: 8,711 (11.6)%

Accommodation and Food Services 5,872 (6.6%)