Aerial image of Canberra's City Centre.
The City Renewal Authority leads design-led, people-focused urban renewal in the designated City Renewal Precinct (the Precinct).
We work with the community, business, and government to deliver new buildings and places that are of exemplary quality, excite interest, and attract investment.
Using our design principles, City Renewal provides advice and endorsement to the City and Environment Directorate (CED) to achieve desired outcomes from development activity.
Under the City Renewal Authority and Suburban Land Agency Act 2017 (CRASLA ), the objects and functions state City Renewal is to “carry out urban renewal”.
Under CRASLA definitions, urban renewal includes reviewing and giving advice about work and development proposed to be carried out on private land.
The Planning Act 2023, prescribes the City Renewal Authority as a referral entity. All
development activity within the Precinct is referred to City Renewal for consideration, advice, and endorsement.
The NCDRP is a joint initiative by the ACT Government and the National Capital Authority to provide a single city-wide design review panel process to development proponents prior to lodging a Development Application (DA) or Works Approval.
We provide feedback to the panel on development proposals before the submission of a Development Application or Works Approval.
More information about the NCDRP is available on the CED website.
We want to create a positive, inclusive City Centre with a unique urban identity. Memorable places invite people to stay, return, and connect with others, which is key to a successful city.
City Renewal collaborates with CED to encourage high-quality design, sustainability, and community wellbeing outcomes.
For consistency with the NCDRP, we review DAs using the same ten key design quality principles:
As a referral entity, City Renewal evaluates every development within the Precinct using these principles. This includes reviewing elements of the design like communal open space, scale of development, sustainability measures, building uses, and impacts on neighbouring environments.
We provide detailed advice on each design quality principle using our response template . This can include suggestions to improve elements of a design proposal to help achieve the design quality principles.
Details of our development referral activity is included each year in our Annual Report.
We acknowledge the Ngunnawal people as traditional custodians of the ACT and recognise any other people or families with connection to the lands of the ACT and region. We acknowledge and respect their continuing culture and the contribution they make to the life of this city and this region.