Bribie Island emergency works

The Bribie Island Emergency Works aim to address the significant environmental challenges caused by breakthroughs along Bribie Island resulting from recent cyclone activity, which has threatened coastal communities, the stability of the island and Pumicestone Passage.

The works are focused on closing the two southern breakthroughs, buffering Bribie Island to enhance protection of Golden Beach and the Pumicestone Passage marine environment, and improving access and water flows to the northern section of the Passage.

Undertaking the emergency works now creates time to plan for longer-term strategies and solutions.

The emergency works will:

• stabilise Bribie Island to reduce risk of storm damage to private property, essential community infrastructure and areas of natural and cultural significance within the Pumicestone Passage area, including Ramsar-listed wetland
• support the health of Pumicestone Passage by ensuring proper tidal flow and sediment management
• provide increased resilience to future weather events by reinstating a physical barrier at Bribie Island and reducing the risk of further environmental damage.

The purpose of the emergency works is to provide immediate protection for the Pumicestone Passage and Golden Beach coastline whilst long-term solutions are investigated and developed.

The design and scope for the immediate emergency works were informed by independent expert advice and include design principles to a one-in-10-year storm event.

If a significant weather event occurred without the emergency works intervention, additional erosion would further degrade the island, widening the breakthroughs. This would pose a significant risk to private property, essential community infrastructure and areas of natural and cultural significance within Pumicestone Passage, as well as ecological values throughout the Moreton Bay Marine Park region and associated Ramsar-listed wetland.

The Queensland Government approved a works regulation directing the Coordinator-General to undertake the Bribie Island Emergency works and enliven powers under the State Development and Public Works Organisation Act 1971.

The works regulation authorises the Coordinator-General to undertake emergency works in, on, over, through or across the foreshore of Bribie Island, Caloundra, Golden Beach or Pelican Waters, or on land laying under the waters of Moreton Bay, including the taking of various types of material from those places for use in the works. Additionally, these powers relevantly include power to enter and occupy land for the purposes of the works, for example to establish compounds for equipment laydown, stockpiling and contractor facilities.

In practice, this allows the Coordinator-General to work in the foreshore or submerged land and take sand from the Pumicestone Passage and the designated offshore areas.

The Australian Minister for the Environment and Water determined that it is in the national interest to grant an exemption for the emergency works from provisions of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. The reasons for the decision are available on the website of the Commonwealth Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water.

In response to the Breakthroughs, the Queensland Government commissioned an independent expert review to investigate the ongoing erosion and breakthrough events and their impacts on Bribie Island.

On 12 June 2025, RPS and ICM issued the Review’s Part 2 report to the State, which outlined the issues and recommended immediate options in response to the Breakthroughs. The Part 2 Report recommended four immediate actions:

1. closure of Breakthroughs 2 and 3
2. buffering of the remaining island segment between Breakthroughs 1 and 2
3. further buffering of the island or construction of an inner sandbank inside Breakthrough 1
4. dredging of a temporary channel, linking Breakthrough 1 to the northern passage.

The Report considered these urgent recommendations qualified as ‘emergency works’ given the situation.

In response to the findings and recommendations of the Review, on 26 June 2025, the Queensland Government announced funding for the rapid deployment of immediate and urgent works to remediate erosion impacts caused by the Breakthroughs and undertaking resilience works to reinstate features to mitigate against further degradation.

You can read the Queensland Government’s response to the recommendations of the independent review of the Bribie Island Erosion and Breakthrough Events along with all four reports.

The government has asked the Coordinator-General to lead the investigation and implementation of the recommendations for longer-term solutions for Bribie Island. While remaining focused on completing the emergency works, the Office of the Coordinator-General has commenced planning to assess the longer-term options.

Re-opening the Caloundra Bar at Happy Valley is not included in the immediate emergency works scope program.

To improve water circulation, water quality and navigational access for mariners at the northern end of Pumicestone Passage nearest Caloundra, channel deepening works will be undertaken near the tidal entrance at Breakthrough #1.

Vegetation planting on the reclaimed sand dunes is a fundamental part of the emergency works. Planting atop of newly placed sand will help to stabilise the dunes by trapping sand, reducing wind speed and binding sub-surface materials with their roots. Detailed design is underway for implementation once beach nourishment is complete.

Also known as beach nourishment, a sand erosion buffer is a layer of sand placed directly onto or adjacent to an eroding beach. A wide, nourished beach system absorbs wave energy and helps mitigate erosion by providing a buffer between waves and the island’s landform.

When sand is naturally moved offshore from a nourished beach, it prevents waves from directly hitting and eroding the land behind it. It causes waves to break further away from the shoreline and reduces wave energy before it reaches the shore.

Beach nourishment is a common worldwide practice that has been used to manage coastlines for nearly a century.