Moving on the New Farm peninsula

New Farm sits on a large bend of the Brisbane River, about 2 kilometres east of the CBD. The river wraps around much of it, and by land you can only reach it from the north-west through Fortitude Valley or from the north through Newstead. Brunswick Street, the main road up the centre of the peninsula, carries on through the Valley to Bowen Hills.

It is also one of Brisbane's most tightly settled suburbs. At the 2011 Census, New Farm had the highest population density in Greater Brisbane. By 2021, flats and apartments made up 74.5 per cent of its occupied private dwellings and separate houses 20.4 per cent, and just over half of all homes were rented.

So a New Farm move is mostly an access job. The drive is short. The stairs, lifts, kerb space and building rules take the planning. The rate stays simple: $125 to $169 an hour + GST for a moving truck and two professional movers, with blankets, pads and straps included.

Not every New Farm flat is in a modern tower. The suburb has a number of art deco buildings, and some older houses were divided into flats long ago. Brisbane City Council's heritage record for 453 Bowen Terrace describes a timber house designed by Robin Dods around 1905 and approved as registered flats for eight people around 1951, during the post-war housing shortage.

In a walk-up, everything moves by the stairs. Shared stairwells, tight landings and doorways sized for another era decide how the furniture travels.

• Count the flights. Where a stair charge applies, it's $48 including GST per flight. Count them at both addresses.
• Measure the tightest turn. It's usually a landing, not the front door. Measure it, and your longest pieces.
• Dismantle first. We take beds, tables and shelving apart when that's the safer way down, then put them back together at the new place.
• Protect the shared areas. Ask the body corporate or owner whether walls, handrails or common floors need covering, and tell us before the day.

If a piece can't go down the stairs safely, hoisting may be possible where the site allows it. It's $48 including GST per item and always assessed first. If it can't be done safely, we'll say so.

Newer apartment buildings bring a different set of rules, and most of the planning happens with building management before we arrive.

• Lift and loading bay. Book them, and ask about lift padding, permitted move hours and whether weekend moves are allowed.
• Truck clearance. Find out the loading bay's height limit, or where a truck can stand at the kerb.
• Fobs and keys. Arrange access to lifts, car parks and service doors at both addresses for moving day.
• Packing time. A short lift window goes further when everything is boxed. Our packing team can pack a kitchen, a wardrobe or the whole apartment ahead of the move.

Our apartment removals follow each building's requirements, from a studio to a penthouse.

New Farm's houses are fewer but varied. Nineteenth-century colonial homes, traditional Queenslanders and Federation houses stand among the apartment blocks. 453 Bowen Terrace also shows a quirk worth planning for: Council describes a lowset house on falling land, raised towards the rear to make up for the slope. On a block like that, the front door can be at ground level while the back of the house sits well above the yard.

• Check the route to the truck. If the only way from the back of the house is a side path, measure its narrowest point.
• Pianos. Piano relocation is $149 including GST on top of the hourly rate, subject to an access assessment. Send photos of the stairs and turns.
• Fragile pieces. Mirrors, framed art and glass-fronted cabinets get their own packing plan, with bubble wrap and dish paper on request at no extra charge.

In a suburb this dense, the scarce thing on moving day is kerb space. The truck needs to park near the entry, with safe room to load.

• Sort parking early. If your street needs a permit or loading zone, arrange it before the day. Parking and permit costs are passed on.
• Watch the Valley end. Where Brunswick Street runs through Fortitude Valley, it is Brisbane's major nightclub precinct. Near that end, an earlier start keeps the truck clear of the evening crowds.
• Plan around the park. New Farm Park covers about 15 hectares at the tip of the peninsula, with the Brisbane Powerhouse at its eastern end. From mid-October to early November its jacarandas flower and families gather under them. Moving nearby in that window? A weekday is the better bet.
• Use quieter hours. After-hours, weekend and public holiday moves are available, subject to availability.

• Next door. Teneriffe shares New Farm's northern edge. A move between the two is a short drive, usually with building rules at both ends.
• Across the river. Moves to Hawthorne or Norman Park, on the other bank, are short trips, with travel confirmed before you book.
• The home office. If you work from home or run a small office nearby, label equipment and files separately. Our office removals cover commercial moves, though IT and network setup aren't included.
• Further away. We move between Brisbane and the Gold Coast in both directions, and offer interstate removals and packing for overseas moves.

Travel is charged depot-to-depot or as a call-out fee and confirmed before you book.

In New Farm, access usually shapes the bill more than distance does, so we price it openly.

• $125 to $169 per hour + GST for a moving truck and two professional movers.
• Included at no extra charge: quilted blankets, furniture pads, flat dollies, hand trolleys, ratchet straps, stretch wrap, and bubble wrap and dish paper on request.
• Stairs: $48 incl. GST per flight, where a stair charge applies.
• Other extras, $48 incl. GST each where they apply: appliances, items over 90 kg, extra pick-ups or drop-offs, an extra trip, a truck-inaccessible driveway and hoisting.
• Piano relocation: $149 incl. GST, subject to access.
• Parking, permits and waiting: parking and permit costs are passed on, and waiting time is chargeable.

A deposit secures your booking, and we ask for 48 hours' notice to cancel or reschedule. See our pricing page for the full list, then request a quote with both addresses, the flights of stairs at each end and any lift booking times. Our team aims to call new enquiries back within five minutes during business hours.