Moreton Bay’s business boom

Moreton Bay’s new business registrations are outpacing Queensland and Australia, according to a new report.

Lawpath’s New Business Index says 24,422 businesses were registered in the City of Moreton Bay in the 2025-26 financial year.

That is a 43 per cent increase on 2024-25, when about 17,000 businesses registered here – beating the State (+35.7 per cent) and national (+31.3 per cent) averages.

Lawpath’s data, tracked by postcode, shows where the activity was highest in Moreton Bay, with four areas standing out:

1. Caboolture (4510)
2. Strathpine and Brendale (4500)
3. Kallangur, Dakabin and Murrumba Downs (4503)
4. North Lakes and Mango Hill (4509)

Redcliffe and Scarborough (4020), Morayfield (4506), Burpengary (4505), Narangba (4504), Deception Bay (4508) and Clontarf, Margate and Woody Point (4019) round out the top 10.

Personal, repair and other services were the largest group of new businesses, followed closely by professional services. In Strathpine, construction and health care are not far behind.

Nationally, the new business boom was strongest in the first half of the last financial year. 

New registrations were up 47 per cent to 73 per cent year-on-year between July and December 2025, before slowing to 8-14 per cent growth from January to June 2026.

The Index also reveals who is starting up. Nationally, founders aged 55 and over rose about 34 per cent with fastest-growing industries being communication services, property and business services, personal and other services.

Figures also show the business boom is following the people with Moreton Bay’s population forecast to grow from 480,000 to around 690,000 by 2041.

That means 88,300 more homes, with major new communities planned at Caboolture West and Morayfield South. 

Lawpath Chief Marketing Officer Tom Willis said the numbers showed real confidence in the Moreton Bay region.

“Moreton Bay is one of the clearest new-business stories in the country right now,” Willis said.

“People aren’t just living in the region, they’re choosing to build their businesses there. From what we see at Lawpath, a lot of this growth is local and practical.

“It’s tradies going out on their own, training and health providers taking on staff, and people setting up services their neighbours need.”

Willis encouraged the region’s newest business owners to get the fundamentals right early, saying: Registering a business is the easy part. 

“The first year is where people get caught out, on contracts, tax and taking on staff,” he said.

“Growth cooled nationally in the second half of the year, so getting the basics right early matters more than ever.”

Lawpath is an Australian legal and business platform that helps people start, run and grow their businesses, from registering a company to contracts, tax and employment advice.