Ipswich and Logan for OTs, speech pathologists and physios: health services, growth and what's being built

Written by Callum Trevorrow. Last checked 28 October 2026 against official sources.

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Ipswich had the fastest population growth rate of any Queensland council area in the year to June 2025, at 3.5%, and Logan was second at 3.1%, according to the Queensland Government Statistician’s Office. The two councils sit in different Queensland Health services, and those two services had Queensland Health’s largest published OT vacancy counts in April 2026: 16.66 FTE at Metro South (Logan) and 8.13 FTE at West Moreton (Ipswich), whole HHS and OT only. OT jobs in Australia has the statewide figures.

That doesn’t mean a job is waiting for you. I run a multi-site paediatric allied health practice in South East Queensland. This page sets out what official sources say about Ipswich and Logan at council level: the health facilities in each, what’s been built, where new housing is planned, and what that means for your profession. For the wider region, including which postcodes count as regional for visas, see Brisbane and South East Queensland.

Two council areas, two health services

Each Hospital and Health Service (HHS) recruits for itself, so it matters which side of the council boundary a job is on.

Springfield’s hospital isn’t Queensland Health. Mater Hospital Springfield is run by Mater, so jobs there won’t appear under West Moreton. The SEQ guide covers it. Who else employs allied health across the region, and where they advertise, is in allied health jobs in South East Queensland.

What’s open and what’s being built

• Ipswich: Stage 2 of the Ipswich Hospital expansion (200 new overnight beds, a new emergency department, more theatres and an expanded ICU/coronary care unit) is due mid 2028, and a 24-patient Transit Care Centre is expected late 2026. West Moreton says dates may change.
• Ripley: Ripley Specialised Inpatient Services has 90 overnight beds for rehabilitation, older persons’ care, palliative care and general medicine (patients over 16, referral only), alongside the Ripley Satellite Health Centre.
• Logan: Logan Hospital has been expanding in stages. A 36-bed maternity unit opened in 2022, birthing suites in 2023, two 28-bed medical wards in 2020 and 2023, and Stage 1 wards from early 2024 (cardiac, coronary care, medical assessment, general medicine, palliative care). A refurbished neonatal unit, maternity assessment centre and palliative care unit opened in 2024-25. The current stage adds 112 overnight beds plus endoscopy, theatres, a cardiac lab and a car park, due 2027; the roof was on the clinical services building by April 2026. An older Metro South page gave late 2026 for this stage; the newer Hospital Rescue Plan page says 2027, so I’ve used that.

None of these announcements gives allied health staffing numbers, so treat new beds as a sign of where services are growing, not as a count of therapy jobs.

Growth and new homes

Now. In 2024-25 Ipswich added 9,138 people and Logan 11,949. Logan’s increase was the second-largest in numbers of any Queensland council, after Brisbane. These are preliminary figures and the ABS will revise them.

To 2046. QGSO projects the Ipswich region (SA4, which also takes in Lockyer Valley, Somerset and part of the Scenic Rim) to grow 2.3% a year, tied with Moreton Bay - North as the fastest growing SA4 in Greater Brisbane, and Logan - Beaudesert 2.1% a year (2025 edition, medium series).

Homes. QGSO’s dwelling projections are by council area. Ipswich is projected to add 104,078 dwellings between 2021 and 2046, to about 190,800, and QGSO says the number of dwellings in Ipswich “is projected to more than double”. Logan is projected to add 83,036, to 208,236. Logan’s households stay larger: QGSO projects 2.81 people per dwelling there in 2046, against 2.52 in Ipswich.

The priority development areas

Economic Development Queensland (EDQ) runs priority development areas (PDAs): land set aside for accelerated development. Three are in Ipswich and Logan, and their figures are potential at completion, not timelines:

All three were declared in October 2010. Springfield isn’t a PDA: it’s not on EDQ’s list.

Regional postcodes

Both councils are split on Home Affairs’ regional postcode list: in Ipswich, 4300–4301 and 4303–4305 are Category 2 for visas granted from 5 March 2022 and 4302 is on neither list, while in Logan any postcode on neither list (such as 4114) isn’t regional. The SEQ guide’s postcode table sets out every range for both councils; it’s general information, not visa advice.

Rent

I don’t have verified current rents for Ipswich or Logan, so I won’t quote any. The Residential Tenancies Authority (RTA) publishes median weekly rents by council area and number of bedrooms every quarter: use its median rents data to compare Ipswich and Logan with Brisbane. In Queensland the bond is capped at four weeks’ rent, and it must be lodged with the RTA within 10 days. For the application process, see renting in Queensland.

Your profession in Ipswich and Logan

Queensland Health pay is statewide (HP3 A$83,824 to A$120,740 from 1 September 2026), and private employers must pay at least the award minimum; pay by setting compares the two.

• Occupational therapists: registration (general or limited) with the Occupational Therapy Board of Australia (Ahpra; registration fee A$138). The published OT vacancies are largest in these two HHSs, so this is where the public-sector data is strongest for you.
• Speech pathologists: no Ahpra registration; Queensland Health asks for eligibility for Speech Pathology Australia membership, and Medicare work needs SPA Certified Practising status. SPA’s 2026/27 fee table lists Certified Practising membership at A$640, or A$608 for CPSP status without membership; confirm the current fee with SPA (see Certified Practising, not Ahpra). There’s no published speech pathology vacancy figure for either HHS.
• Physiotherapists: registration (general or limited) with the Physiotherapy Board of Australia (Ahpra; registration fee A$220). There’s no published physio vacancy figure for either HHS.

Your next step

• OTs: decide whether you want West Moreton, Metro South, Mater or private work. The two HHSs recruit separately, so pick the side of the Ipswich–Logan boundary that suits where you live.
• Speech pathologists: confirm your SPA status (Certified Practising if you want Medicare work) before you approach private practices here, and note the public settings that have grown: Logan’s maternity and neonatal services and Mater Springfield’s paediatrics.
• Physios: check your Physiotherapy Board registration is current, and compare your experience with Ripley’s rehabilitation and older persons’ beds and Logan’s new cardiac and medical wards.

We place permanent and fixed-term contract roles, including parental leave cover; no locums. For clinicians already working in Australia it’s confidential and free, and we won’t promise you a role. A confidential chat is the quickest way to hear which Ipswich and Logan employers we know are hiring in your profession, without your current employer knowing.