Canberra is growing fast. To support this population growth the ACT Government aims to enable 30,000 new homes by 2030.

Meeting this goal is not just about building more houses – it’s about making sure the new homes provide housing choice, With limited undeveloped greenfield land, we need to make better use of our existing suburbs.

Right now, most homes in Canberra are either single houses or high-rise apartments. This leaves a gap for more diverse housing options – known as ‘Missing Middle’ housing.

Missing middle housing includes low-rise:

  • Multi-occupancy housing (such as dual- and tri-occupancy housing)
  • Terraces and townhouses
  • Low-rise apartments (up to three storeys)

The focus of this guide is Multi-occupancy housing, Terraces and townhouses, and Low-rise apartments.

How will the Missing Middle Housing Reforms address housing needs?

Filling the gap is key to creating a more compact and efficient city, that is liveable and sustainable and offers housing choice.

By allowing more and different types of homes across Canberra, the Missing Middle housing reforms will:

  • Provide more housing choices for Canberrans including opportunities for multi-generational living, to age in place, and first home buyers
  • Remove barriers to make it easier for people to build and purchase different types of homes
  • Allow people to live in the communities they love with housing that meets their needs at different life stages
  • Revitalise our older suburbs by adding new homes making a positive contribution to the street and suburb
  • Limit urban sprawl and increase the availability of land and housing in our existing urban footprint
  • Support vibrant and walkable neighbourhoods with more homes close to shops, schools and public transport.

Missing Middle Housing map

Check out our interactive Housing Map that shows some of the well-designed Missing Middle housing types that already exist across the ACT.
Explore the housing map

What are the Missing Middle Housing reforms?

The proposed reforms consist of two key parts:

  • The Missing Middle Housing Design Guide which will provide good practice guidance for creating well-designed homes that respect local character and contribute positively to our streets and neighbourhoods.
  • Changes to the Territory Plan to remove barriers in the planning system and allow more housing options in RZ1 and RZ2 areas. These changes will make it easier to build well-designed, sustainable homes in our existing suburbs.
This video explains how Missing Middle development will be implemented in Canberra and how the reforms package will enable this housing across existing residential zones in the ACT.

Draft Missing Middle Housing Design Guide

To guide the development of new housing, we have created the Missing Middle Housing Design Guide (MMHDG) – a blueprint for creating well-designed homes that contribute positively to our streets and fit seamlessly into our suburbs.

Design guides help us create better buildings and public spaces for the community. The MMHDG will assist design professionals, builders and landowners in achieving good design for missing middle housing projects.

Addressing a variety of missing middle housing types, the draft MMHDG shows what good design outcomes look like and advocates for innovative approaches to development. The design guide has a focus on encouraging missing middle housing types of a human-scale that can be delivered over time, protecting street character and trees, and making sure that denser housing does not unreasonably impact on existing residents and neighbours.

To have your say on the Missing Middle reform, visit our YourSay page.

Missing Middle Draft Major Plan Amendment to the Territory Plan

The ACT Government is proposing changes to planning rules through a Major Plan Amendment to the Territory Plan.

Currently most residential land in the ACT is zoned as RZ1 Suburban Zone which mainly consists of single dwelling houses. There is a small amount of residential land zoned as RZ2, and even less zoned as RZ3, RZ4 and RZ5, where higher density and taller buildings can be built. Much of this land has already been developed and is not yet of an age or condition where it is ready for redevelopment.

This means that, to create more housing in our city, we must consider the rules of development for existing RZ1 land.

The draft MMHDG has informed changes to the Territory Plan, allowing for more missing middle housing in RZ1 and RZ2 areas. Other changes are made to key housing rules in RZ3, RZ4, and RZ5 to help achieve greater housing outcomes in these zones.

Once implemented, these updates will remove barriers to building missing middle housing and encourage well-designed, sustainable, and comfortable homes in existing suburbs.

The proposed changes to the Territory Plan cover key policies, including the Residential Zones Policy, the Subdivision Policy, and supporting documents like the Residential Zones Technical Specification and Subdivision Specification.

To learn more or provide feedback on the draft Major Plan Amendment, visit the Major Plan amendments page.

Have your say

We are seeking feedback from the Canberra community, have your say on the draft MMHDG and the draft Major Plan Amendment on the Missing middle YourSay page.

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