• The ACT government releases land for various uses each year.
  • This helps to support the city to grow and provide space for our growing population. 
  • The government also looks at better and new ways to use land to support community recreation.

Each year the ACT Government prepares an Indicative Land Release Program (ILRP), which accompanies the Territory Budget. The ILRP is indicative in nature and identifies ACT Government land which may be released for a range of uses over the next 5 years. It outlines the government's intended land releases of:

  • residential
  • mixed-use
  • commercial
  • industrial, and
  • community and non-urban land.

The ILRP looks at how:

  • our population is growing, including changes to our families and household structure
  • to build a compact, efficient and liveable city
  • to attract investment in the ACT land market through provision of opportunities for businesses, and
  • strengthen our economic advantage in the ACT region.

The Suburban Land Agency and City Renewal Authority deliver the land releases.

While the ILRP is fundamental to ongoing residential and non-residential development activity, the private sector also plays a critical role in the supply of land for a variety of uses – most importantly residential dwellings.

Objectives

The ACT Planning Strategy 2018 aims to build a sustainable, competitive and fair city.

It's important to respect the natural landscape, respond to future needs and be resilient to change when planning our city.

To meet the needs of our growing and changing city, we need to manage the supply of land. This helps to build a sustainable, competitive and fair city. It also:

  • provides a diverse and affordable choice of housing
  • provides a balanced and sustainable supply of land
  • forecasts the demand for land to know what's in the planning, development and building pipeline
  • contributes to building a compact and efficient city
  • supports sustainable growth, aiming to deliver at least 70% of new housing within the existing urban footprint
  • promotes ways to use land efficiently and responding to change
  • supports a land development and construction industry that's sustainable and competitive
  • supports job creation for Canberrans
  • attracts investment into Canberra, and
  • achieves satisfactory returns to the Territory Budget.

Read the ILRP

The links below share an overview of current and past programs for each year since 2018:

For the 2020-21 Budget, it was delayed so the Economic and Fiscal Update on 27 August 2020 only included the ILRP for 2020-21, instead of all 4 years.

ACT Land and Property Report

The ACT Land and Property Reports provides an analysis of ACT's land and property market using available demand and supply indicators.

The Report is retrospective, factual and doesn’t include forecasts of future trends. The Report allows for transparency from the ACT Government in providing insight on any arising issues in the Canberra land and property market where the ACT Government has particular knowledge or interest.

The reporting period has also changed from quarterly to half-yearly. This change started from the January-June 2019 report:

For more information, contact the ACT Land Strategy team at landrelease@act.gov.au.

Future urban areas

A future urban area is land that will be developed in the future to make room for growth. This usually makes space for a growing population, like creating a new suburb. These areas are chosen using spatial planning and structure planning. The Environment, Planning and Sustainable Development Directorate (EPSDD) then formally identifies them in the Territory Plan maps.

Structure plans

A structure plan includes principles and policies to develop a future urban area. The plan is usually at the district level (i.e. a few suburbs).

It’s a framework of the planning intent for the area and may include information on:

  • environmental and heritage matters
  • future major infrastructure requirements
  • key features, and
  • zoning and residential densities.

The structure plan is usually introduced as a Territory Plan variation because it involves a zoning change. Sometimes it might come with a strategic environmental assessment. Under the Planning Act 2023, a strategic environmental assessment may be prepared when a major policy matter is proposed, such as a major variation to the Territory Plan.

A strategic environmental assessment assesses the environmental benefits and impacts on an area, which is an important part of any decision about an area’s suitability for future development. It can also recommend how the finding of the assessment should be considered in future planning.

A variation might happen because of a technical change to rezone the land in a future urban area. This is only if the rezoning is in line with the specified principles and policies.

A Territory Plan variation may also make a change to the boundary of a future urban area. This is only if the change is in line with the structure plan.

Only the Territory (or a Territory authority) can propose a development in a future urban area. Other people or companies are not allowed to do this (unless the structure plan for that area says they can).

Concept plans

A concept plan applies the principles and policies of a structured plan for the future urban area. It identifies the specific detailed planning requirements to plan and develop the suburb. Eventually, the concept plan will become a Precinct Code in the new Territory Plan. This is done through a variation to the Territory Plan.

A Precinct Code tells you how to prepare, assess and decide on an application to subdivide the land. This is called an estate development plan.

Estate development plans

An estate development plan outlines the proposed work in a way that's consistent with a concept plan. This also includes any other Code that applies to the estate.

When EPSDD approves an estate development plan through a development application (DA), they vary the Territory Plan. The variation identifies the relevant zones and includes any other ongoing element of the estate development plan. When an estate development plan is approved, that land is no longer a 'future urban area'.

Land supply

The Suburban Land Agency and the City Renewal Authority release land in the ACT market. This is in line with the ACT Government’s 5-year Indicative Land Release Program. Land that is supplied to the market it planning ready, meaning the appropriate zoning under the Territory Plan has been put in place. This provides certainty to the market in what could be developed on the relevant site.