The Late Triassic-Early Jurassic Nambour Basin is a small, frontier, intracratonic basin in southeastern Queensland. The basin covers some 9500 km2, of which 2500 km2 lies offshore under water depths of up to 200 metres. The western boundary of the basin abuts Palaeozoic rocks of the D'Aguilar Block (to the northwest) and the Beenleigh Block (to the southwest). The southern basin overlies Palaeozoic basement and Lower Triassic sediments of the Ipswich Basin, whilst to the north the Nambour Basin grades into the Maryborough Basin. Structures in the Nambour Basin trend mainly north-northwest.
The geological evolution of the Clarence-Moreton, Surat, Eromanga, Nambour and Mulgildie Basins followed a Late Triassic Norian orogeny. Uplift at the end of the orogeny exposed the newly stabilised craton to erosion, with sediments being deposited in relatively small intermontane basins and structural depressions. The depositional history of the Nambour Basin parallels that of the eastern half of the Clarence-Moreton Basin. A comparable suite of high-energy fluviatile quartzose sandstones and polymictic conglomerate was deposited on the eroded surface of the Ipswich Coal Measures during the Late Triassic (Rhaetian). Following this up to 120 metres of quartzose and sub-labile sandstone interbedded with siltstone, mudstone and minor coal was deposited under less energetic fluviatile conditions. During the Early Jurassic, up to 400 metres of fine to medium grained sub-labile to labile sandstones were deposited under fluviatile and lacustrine conditions. The Nambour Basin has a limited sediment pile of 600 metres, with good reservoir but limited seal potential. Vitrinite reflectance data suggests that the sequence was significantly thicker in the past. Minor gas shows have been recorded in most of the basin's four petroleum exploration wells. Any hydrocarbons (probably gas) would be sourced from the underlying Ipswich Basin, but the Nambour Basin is regarded as being unlikely to contain commercial quantities of hydrocarbons.