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One in four schools building new sports facilities have overshot budgets dished out from a $93 million state grant, as major projects in the same scheme are delayed a second time.
The Queensland government provided funding to 120 state and private schools for sports builds – including fields, courts, and amenities such as change rooms – as a legacy program linked to the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
In mid-2024, the state announced six schools received the highest-available grants, valued between $2.5 million and $5 million.
On Wednesday, the Education Department said construction projects at the 120 schools had generally suffered “increases in material costs, labour availability and constraints associated with delivery in an operating school environment”.
“To date, approximately 28 per cent of Go for Gold projects have required additional funding allocation to support contract award, while a number of others have undergone scope refinement to remain within budget,” a department spokeswoman said.
The six schools receiving up to $5 million in funds would also be delayed potentially up to two years from their initial opening dates.
Those six schools were due to open facilities by the end of 2025, but the Education Department told Brisbane Times in November none would begin construction until after that deadline.
“All six projects are currently forecast for completion by the end of 2026, subject to weather conditions, market capacity and construction schedules,” the department said in 2025.
Glenala State High School was the only Brisbane school that received a significant grant, with the other five in north Queensland and Far North Queensland.
In July this year, Education Minister John-Paul Langbroek revealed the school was now not expected to open its new facilities until at least mid-2027.
“The Glenala State High School project has not yet commenced construction as additional time has been required in the preliminary design phase to address design complexities and allow geotechnical investigation and reporting,” he said.
In 2025, the department de-prioritised Glenala State High’s $4 million build, which included a refurbishment of playing courts linked to its netball academy.
At the time, it pointed to the less-predictable weather at the other schools possibly leading to larger impacts on schedules.
Revised timelines for schools receiving Go for Gold infrastructure grants between $2.5 million and $5 millon
- Cairns West State School: contract awarded in early July 2026.
- Tagai State College – Thursday Island Secondary: contract award expected in July 2026.
- White Rock State School: contract award expected in July 2026.
- Bentley Park College: contract award is expected in July 2026.
- Glenala State High School: tender closes in August 2026.
- Aitkenvale State School: tender closes in August 2026.
The department said across the six schools, “project timelines have been impacted by general and site-specific conditions”.
“All six projects are either awarded or progressing through procurement,” a department spokeswoman said.
The first and only school in this bracket to have been awarded a contract was Cairns West State School.
Cairns West received its contract within the past week, with work expected to begin in August. Most other schools were expected to award contracts to developers later in July.
Aitkenvale State School, in greater Townsville, was the only school aside from Glenala that still had projects open to tender, with the process expected to wrap up in August.
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