Help people understand how to produce meals for themselves that stretch the dollar further
In a city where rising costs are quietly reshaping daily life, Brisbane's local government has chosen to meet the moment not with rhetoric but with access. The council's $5.6 million expansion of its Move Well Brisbane campaign — doubling fitness sessions to 20,000 and adding nutrition and cooking classes across 400 participating businesses — reflects a belief that preventive health is a civic responsibility, not a private luxury. By lowering the barrier to entry rather than raising the standard of advice, the initiative acknowledges that wellbeing is as much a question of economics as it is of intention.
- Cost-of-living pressures across Queensland are pushing households to make difficult trade-offs, and health and nutrition are among the first things to slip when budgets tighten.
- Brisbane City Council is responding with its largest-ever investment in active and healthy programming — $5.6 million committed in the 2026/2027 budget to expand what already exists and add what has been missing.
- The addition of cooking and nutrition classes, delivered by Nutrition Australia Queensland, signals a deliberate shift from exercise-only thinking toward a fuller model of affordable, everyday wellness.
- With sessions doubling to 20,000 and participating venues growing to 400, the program is designed to reach people across the city regardless of suburb, schedule, or income.
- The council is framing this not as a solution to every financial hardship, but as a concrete service it can control — sitting alongside a commitment to maintain the lowest council rates in south-east Queensland.
Brisbane City Council is wagering $5.6 million on a simple premise: people will show up if the barrier to entry disappears. The Move Well Brisbane campaign, announced in the 2026/2027 budget, expands the city's existing Active and Healthy program — a network of free and low-cost fitness classes already running across the region. Over the next two years, available sessions will double from roughly 10,000 to 20,000, and the number of participating businesses will grow to 400.
The most significant shift is not scale alone, but scope. Alongside the familiar yoga and Pilates offerings, the council is introducing nutrition and cooking classes — a practical acknowledgement that staying well involves more than movement. Nutrition Australia Queensland will deliver the food components, with chief executive Kirsty Elliott describing the goal plainly: help residents prepare meals at home that stretch their dollars further while remaining genuinely good to eat. The classes are designed to build kitchen confidence, not just dispense dietary advice.
The timing is deliberate. Queensland households are feeling the weight of rising living costs, and Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner has positioned Move Well Brisbane within the council's broader cost-of-living relief strategy. He was careful not to overstate what local government can achieve, but clear about what it can control — accessible services delivered at minimal or no cost to those who need them, alongside a maintained commitment to the lowest council rates in south-east Queensland.
With 400 venues and 20,000 sessions spread across two years, the program is designed so that almost anyone in Brisbane can find something nearby, at a time that fits. The council appears to be thinking beyond exercise toward a more complete picture of what it means to live actively and healthily on a modest budget.
Brisbane City Council is betting $5.6 million that people will show up if the barrier to entry disappears. The Move Well Brisbane campaign, unveiled in the council's 2026/2027 budget, represents an expansion of the city's existing Active and Healthy program—a network of free and low-cost fitness classes already woven into neighborhoods across the region. What's new is the scale and the addition of something beyond the usual yoga mat and Pilates reformer.
Over the next two years, the council plans to double the number of activity sessions available, from roughly 10,000 to 20,000. The number of participating businesses will grow to 400. But the real shift is the inclusion of nutrition and cooking classes alongside the fitness offerings. Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner framed it as the city's most significant investment in active and healthy programming to date, though his language was careful: the goal is to give Brisbane residents a genuine chance to stay fit and well without straining their budgets.
The timing matters. Households across Queensland are feeling the squeeze of rising living costs, and the council is positioning this program as part of its broader cost-of-living relief strategy. Nutrition Australia Queensland, which will deliver the food and cooking components, sees the classes as a practical response to that pressure. Chief executive Kirsty Elliott described the intention plainly: help people understand how to prepare meals at home that stretch their dollars further while remaining genuinely good to eat. The classes are designed to be accessible, budget-conscious, and focused on building confidence in the kitchen—teaching people what they can actually cook, not just what they should.
Schrinner emphasized that the council cannot solve every cost-of-living problem facing residents, but it can control what it controls. The budget announcement included a commitment to maintain the lowest council rates in south-east Queensland, a promise the mayor said the council had worked hard to keep. The Move Well campaign sits within that frame: a tangible service delivered at minimal or no cost to people who need it.
The program builds on existing fitness activities—Pilates, yoga, and other movement classes already running through the Active and Healthy network. What changes is availability and reach. Four hundred businesses participating means the program is no longer confined to a handful of venues or times. Twenty thousand sessions over two years means someone in almost any part of Brisbane should be able to find something happening near them, at a time that fits. And the addition of cooking and nutrition instruction suggests the council is thinking beyond exercise alone—toward a more complete picture of what it means to live actively and healthily on a modest budget.
Notable Quotes
The biggest boost to active and healthy programs that the city has ever seen— Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner
We're hoping that people can come away really understanding how to produce meals for themselves in their households that help them stretch the dollar a bit further— Kirsty Elliott, Nutrition Australia Queensland chief executive
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why add cooking classes to a fitness program? They seem like separate things.
They're not, really. If you teach someone to move but they can't afford to eat well, you've only solved half the problem. The council is saying: we'll help you get active, and we'll show you how to feed yourself properly without breaking the bank.
So this is about cost of living, not just health?
It's both. The cost-of-living crisis is the context, but the program itself is about removing barriers. Free classes, low-cost sessions, four hundred places to go. If you have to choose between a gym membership and groceries, you choose groceries. This way, you don't have to choose.
What does doubling from 10,000 to 20,000 sessions actually mean for someone living in Brisbane?
It means if you live in the outer suburbs, you're more likely to find something happening near you, at a time you can actually attend. It's about access. Right now, if the nearest class is an hour away, you probably don't go. Twenty thousand sessions changes the math.
And the cooking classes—is that new territory for the council?
For this program, yes. But it's smart. You can teach someone to cook a nutritious meal for five dollars instead of twenty. That's as much a health intervention as a fitness class, especially when people are stretched thin.
What's the risk here?
That it doesn't reach the people who need it most. Or that the sessions fill up and people can't get in. But the council is betting that by making it free or very cheap, and by having it everywhere, more people will actually show up.