The South East Queensland Regional Plan 2017, known as ShapingSEQ 2017, took effect on 11 August 2017. It identified Southern Thornlands as a Potential Future Growth Area outside the Urban Footprint.
That designation meant the land might be needed for long-term regional growth and required further investigation of appropriate future uses. It did not itself rezone the land for urban development, set a dwelling target for the area or approve a development proposal.
This was nevertheless the first major step in the modern Southern Thornlands planning story: it established the area as a specific regional-planning investigation area and led to later Council and State planning work.