Great Keppel (Woppa) Island Master Plan Project

The Great Keppel (Woppa) Island (GKI) Master Plan Project forms a key part of the Queensland Government’s commitment to revitalise tourism on GKI, which includes the $30 million commitment towards common-user infrastructure.

The Queensland Government is committed to working closely with island stakeholders to facilitate tourism development and deliver the supporting infrastructure that will help grow tourism on the island and generate jobs and expenditure in Central Queensland.

The Master plan will guide the future actions of the community and private investors and present a vision for the future with long term goals and objectives. It will be an aspirational document that involves the community and other stakeholders.

The Master plan will aim to:

• enhance GKI as a premier tourism destination in Queensland
• facilitate development and investment aspirations through identifying preferred tourism development opportunities that align with the current and future tourism and investment market and the community’s vision for the island
• identify priority common-user infrastructure for improving island accessibility, amenity, appearance, sustainability, operability and supporting tourism opportunities
• consider the planning constraints and opportunities associated with infrastructure, land tenure, environmental and cultural heritage values and stakeholder aspirations
• protect the core characteristics that make GKI the special place that it is by protecting important resources on the island and preserving areas of environmental and cultural significance
• facilitate the revitalisation of GKI for the benefit of the visitors, businesses and the community
• acknowledge the Woppaburra People as the traditional owners of the island and surrounding Sea Country and ensure cultural values are considered.

Acknowledgement of country

The department acknowledge Woppa - Great Keppel Island the Traditional Woppaburra Land and Sea Country of the Keppel Islands. We pay our respects to Elders, past, present and future.

We acknowledge Woppaburra as the Traditional Custodians of Woppa - Great Keppel Island and their ongoing connection and Cultural Heritage, which includes responsibility for their Sacred Land and Sea Country, Totems, Language, Songlines.

The department recognises Woppaburra Elders/Custodians and commit to be part of shaping our future footsteps together.

Consultation

A project reference group which consists of internal and external stakeholders has been established with the following responsibilities:

• represent the interests of stakeholders and ensure the project scope aligns with the aspirations of the stakeholder groups
• provide the Project Coordinator with Queensland Government guidance and feedback to support the Master planning process
• help to drive the delivery of a Master plan with a shared vision.

Broader community input has been sought in the master planning through scheduled local community consultation and further public consultation on the Draft Master plan will occur.

The Queensland Government is working with the traditional owners of Great Keppel Island, the Woppaburra  people to develop a Master plan that will acknowledge and respect culture, social and environmental values.

If you're interested in the GKI Master plan and want to find out more, please register for updates.

Project Status

The GKI Master plan project comprises four stages following initial inception and mobilisation:

The project is currently in stage three - Draft master plan.

In July 2021, the department commenced master planning for Great Keppel Island informed by a community-based Project Reference Group.

Through a series of community-based workshops with the Project Reference Group, a shared vision, key supporting principles, a concept map and common user infrastructure priorities have been agreed.

Local community consultation on the shared vision and draft illustrative concept plan occurred in November 2022 as part of options generation to inform the drafting of the Master plan.

The Master planning process has also been informed by the current work of the Queensland Parliament Transport and Resources Committee Inquiry into the Economic and Regulatory Frameworks for Queensland’s Island Resorts that commenced in February 2022.

Further, the Department of Tourism, Innovation and Sport is continuing to deliver the GKI Rejuvenation Project to deliver the Queensland Government’s $30 million commitment for common-user infrastructure for GKI. Work is currently underway to evaluate options for improving access to GKI, which was identified by local stakeholders through the Master planning process as the top priority. Investigations are also underway on improvements to sewerage water treatment on Island, also identified as a common user infrastructure priority.

The draft master plan was released for public consultation on 10 July. View the draft master plan and have your say.

If you would like to know more about the progress of the master planning, register your interest to receive our community newsletter.

Input to the process