Our February Business Connect event in Brisbane was our biggest ever.

It was great to see the depth and diversity of Queensland’s business community come together to unpack both the opportunities and challenges impacting our state.

Hot topics of night included:

• Now QPP 2026 is in effect, the State Government are looking to execute on a number of transformative projects, but there are gaps to fill for businesses in terms of both awareness and capability – something the Chamber is working hard to address through our Ahead of the Game initiatives.

• AI continues to be a big part of the productivity conversation but businesses, both large and small, are still working to figure it out. Tony rightfully pointed out even large businesses are struggling to see a significant impact beyond the productivity gains from writing emails.

• Finding workforces with the right skills continues to be a challenge and businesses need government to make it easier by reducing red tape, streamlining skilled interstate and international migration, and facilitating targeted retraining and upskilling.

Thank you to our Board Chair Tony Schiffmann for sharing his valuable insights on the local and global business environment, to our corporate partners in the room Australian Made, Commonwealth Bank, McGrathNicol, McCullough Robertson, Mulpha International, and The University of Queensland, and to our valued business partners and members.

Thank you also to our Board Directors Jennifer Nielsen and Sarah Kirk for joining us.

We look forward to working alongside the Queensland business community to tackle the challenges and seize the opportunities ahead in 2026.