It was the 4th edition of the tournament and took place at the Queensland Tennis Centre in Tennyson.

It was held from 1 to 8 January 2012 and was part of the Australian Open Series in preparation for the first Grand Slam of the year.

Andy Murray and Kaia Kanepi won the singles titles.

The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw: The following players received entry from the qualifying draw: The following pairs received wildcards into the doubles main draw: The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw: The following players received entry from the qualifying draw: The following pairs received wildcards into the doubles main draw: The following pair received entry as alternates: Andy Murray defeated Alexandr Dolgopolov, 6–1, 6–3 Kaia Kanepi defeated Daniela Hantuchová, 6–2, 6–1 Max Mirnyi / Daniel Nestor defeated Jürgen Melzer / Philipp Petzschner, 6–1, 6–2 Nuria Llagostera Vives / Arantxa Parra Santonja defeated Raquel Kops-Jones / Abigail Spears, 7–6(7–2), 7–6(7–2) The 2012 Brisbane International was, for the first time, broadcast live and in full to most states in Australia on digital channel 7Two.

In previous years, the event was broadcast only on certain days and often on significant delay on Channel Seven.