Frequently Asked Questions
What is a Community Benefit Agreement in Queensland?
A Community Benefit Agreement (CBA) is a binding contract between a council and a renewable energy or battery storage developer, covering funding, local infrastructure, workforce and procurement commitments, and monitoring. Wind and solar (≥1MW) projects have needed one since 18 July 2025; standalone battery storage (≥50MW) followed on 12 December 2025. Hybrid solar+BESS projects are covered from the solar trigger date.
When does our council actually have to negotiate one?
The negotiation window opens once the developer's Social Impact Assessment is complete and closes the moment the CBA is signed and the development application is lodged with the State Assessment and Referral Agency. It doesn't reopen once the DA is in — this is the only point where a council has real leverage.
How much should our council expect to receive?
Published Queensland benchmarks sit at roughly $850–$1,050 per MW per year for wind and solar, and around $150 per MWh per year for standalone battery storage. Real outcomes vary sharply with preparation — one 800MW project secured $840,000 a year under the new law, while a comparable legacy deal settled for $100,000.
What's the difference between the Social Impact Assessment and the CBA?
The Social Impact Assessment (SIA) is the developer's mandatory study of the project's effects on the community — housing, workforce, services, and infrastructure. The CBA is the binding agreement negotiated in response to that assessment, setting out what the council and community actually receive. The SIA informs the CBA; it isn't a substitute for it.
Can an existing voluntary agreement be renegotiated under the new law?
Not automatically. Legacy voluntary deals struck before the legislation stay in force as written — they aren't retrospectively upgraded to the new benchmark. The exception is a genuinely new approval trigger, such as a substantial project expansion, which can open a fresh negotiation window under current settings rather than the old ones.
Do we need a consultant, or can our council run this ourselves?
The toolkit is built so council staff can run most of it directly — regional profiling, project mapping, and benchmark calculation are self-serve. The CBA Readiness Pack engagement adds sourced comparables, negotiation strategy, and a QA-checked negotiating brief for councils that want that layer verified before it goes in front of a developer.
How long does the CBA Readiness process take?
It depends on how much groundwork the council has already done and where the project sits in its own timeline. Because negotiations can run over months and get re-opened as facts change, the toolkit is built to be re-entered — most councils move through it in stages rather than one sitting.
