City of Moreton Bay Council and developers are sharing the costs of establishing CCTV in new housing estates as part of an innovative partnership model designed to enhance community safety.
Council says the initiative will enable a reduction in installation costs for ratepayers and ensure public safety CCTV is quickly deployed in areas experiencing rapid development, which can have an increased risk of crime and anti-social behaviour due to unoccupied homes and construction sites.
The partnership model builds on efforts to strengthen public safety in City of Moreton Bay, which now has 2080 CCTV cameras – one of the largest local government networks in Queensland.
Lennium Group (Lilywood Landings) was the first to partner with Council after initiating discussions about a new approach to CCTV, with Stockland (Rivermont) and Orchard Property Group (Aire Lilywood) joining the initiative shortly afterwards. These initial three partnerships have delivered 15 CCTV cameras at Waraba, a key growth area that will eventually be home to 70,000 people.
The developers’ contribution includes CCTV infrastructure including power supply, while Council covers the camera and network installation, configuration and ongoing management. This project also received grant funding from the Australian Government.
Mayor, Peter Flannery (pictured) said the innovative partnership model between Council and developers would help ensure new communities were safe, connected and resilient as they experienced rapid growth.
“Residents deserve to feel secure in their own homes and in public spaces, which is why Council is making CCTV a priority across the City including in our newest housing areas,” he said.
“By working with developers to share the cost of providing CCTV, we can ensure public safety infrastructure is installed at the earliest opportunity and for a fraction of a cost to ratepayers.
“Most importantly, it will improve community safety by deterring crime including vandalism, illegal dumping and anti-social behaviour.
“I’m proud of the work we’ve done with developers on this initiative, which is yet another new way to support crime prevention.”
City of Moreton Bay was the first council to provide Vehicle of Interest alerts to the Queensland Police Service through Licence Plate Recognition Units, playing an important role in managing unlawful activities. The licence plate recognition technology is embedded in the 50-odd mobile CCTV cameras that can be deployed across the City to address a range of issues such as dangerous driving, break-ins or theft. Last financial year alone, there were 10,795 real-time alerts sent to police.
According to police data, there were just over 950 reported offences for unlawful use of a motor vehicle in City of Moreton Bay in 2024/25, an approximately 17.5% decrease from the previous financial year and less than most other policing areas within South-East Queensland.
The figure for the 2025/26 financial year up until late May was just under 900 offences.
Mayor Flannery said it was important to remember CCTV cameras didn’t result in law enforcement outcomes on their own.
“When it comes to public safety, the community has an important role to play,” he said.
“We encourage people to report crime to police so they can investigate and enforce the law.”
