Compact and efficient, diverse, sustainable and resilient, liveable and accessible. These five themes of the 2018 ACT Planning Strategy outline our shared vision for a future Canberra that is responsive and resilient to change.

As our city continues to grow, we have considered how our current planning system could be improved to deliver our shared vision for a future Canberra. Throughout 2019 and into 2020 we have considered the gaps and challenges with our current system and where the opportunities are for reform. We have consulted with a range of stakeholders and with the broader Canberra community to understand what is unique about areas of Canberra and how we can best capture those characteristics within the planning system. More information about our consultation and engagement to date is available on the engagement outcomes page.

We have collated our findings from local engagement and our research into other planning systems into a series of proposed reform papers for a better planning system for the ACT:

1. ACT Planning System Review and Reform Overview
2. System Structure
3. Strategic Planning
4. Development Controls
5. Development Assessment
6. System Operation

The release of these papers signals a shift from the ‘review’ of the ACT planning system to a period of ‘reform’. We are doing further work to determine what changes best reflect our reform goals and will come back to the Canberra community for further conversations in 2021.

To find out how you can have your say and to receive updates on the ACT Planning Review and Reform project, return to the project home page and click ‘follow’ in the banner at the top of the page.