As someone who lives in Mackay I have a fair idea of what is happening in the Bowen Basin.  While the mining towns can sound promising, you will be paying capital city prices, both for out there and in Mackay, which is the industry hub.  If you can afford that, then the rents can be worth it – according to one agent that I have spoken with recently rents out in Moranbah (the largest town in the Basin) are averaging about $1000/week.  You need to consider that a number of the mining communities are owned by the mines (such as Glenden).  Almost all of the communities are alike in design and facilities.  The mines go to great effort to ensure that the workers have all the facilities that they need.  I know that some towns have gyms, swimming pools, and various clubs, such as shooting clubs, sports clubs, and even a surf lifesaving club (despite being a couple of hours from the coast!).  There is a significant increase occuring at the moment in the number of mines – there have been several open this year, with many others either being built, or in the planning stage. 

As for outside of the Basin, Mackay is the city with the biggest gain to be had from the boom, as it is an industrial city, and has 2 of the state's major coal ports.  Bowen has had an increase, courtesy of mining, as it also has a coal port – the same applies for Gladstone.  Rockhampton and Townsville have been impacted upon to a certain extent, but nowhere near as much as Mackay, where house prices are just as high as the mining towns.  The rents in Mackay, however, are nowhere near as high, but that is likely to change as there is a large number of people looking to rent, and there will be more coming to the city as more mines open.

Hope this helps those from outside the area who are interested in buying here.