Project status: In progress

Thank you for having your say

Our city is growing. With more people living and working in Canberra than ever before, we need a planning system that can facilitate this growth without compromising the characteristics of the city that we value. The new planning system will deliver better outcomes for communities, the environment and people across Canberra. The reforms include a new Planning Act, new district strategies and a new Territory Plan.

Thank you to everyone who participated in the consultation on the draft district strategies and draft Territory Plan. You can now take a high-level look at what we heard during consultation in the Listening Report. The ACT Government is now considering all feedback and will release a more detailed consultation report soon.

During the consultation on the draft district strategies and draft Territory Plan, the community had the opportunity to ask questions to our planners. You can find these on the Ask a Question page. You can also view the range of consultation activities we undertook with the community during February on the Engagement schedule page.

How your feedback will help shape the planning reforms

Since the start of the Planning System Review and Reform Project in 2019, we have been listening to the community, industry, and professional associations to inform changes to the planning system.

We are now considering the feedback that was provided to us on the draft district strategies and the draft new Territory Plan (and its accompanying documents) to help shape the final documents. This means the final documents, which are due for release in 2023, will meet the needs and aspirations of as many Canberrans as possible, recognising the wide and varied views of the community.

Written submissions

These submissions were received from the recent public consultation on the draft district strategies, draft Territory Plan, and the Explanation of Intended Effects (EIE) for design guides. These are the documents where we have publishing permissions from the authors. All submissions, regardless of their publishing permissions, will be considered by the policy teams and reflected in the upcoming Consultation Report.

About the reforms

Because planning affects you, we want your help in making the reforms work for you. Watch the video below to find out more about the new planning system and how the reforms will help shape the future of our city.

The key changes to the planning system are:

  • a new Planning Act (Planning Bill)
  • a new Territory Plan
  • introducing district strategies

In 2022 we consulted the community on the daft Planning Bill. This set the scene for our recent consultation on draft district strategies and a new draft Territory Plan.

Overview of the new planning system