COAG Reform Council

Capital city strategic planning systems

Cities are where most of us live, work and play. The way they are organised and planned has an enormous potential impact on our economy, our wellbeing, and our environment.

The council has been asked by COAG to:

  • review capital city strategic planning systems against agreed national criteria
  • support continuous national improvement in capital city strategic planning
  • and build and share knowledge of best practice planning approaches.

COAG has agreed a broad objective for this work:

‘To ensure Australian cities are globally competitive, productive, sustainable, liveable and socially inclusive and are well placed to meet future challenges and growth.’

There are nine criteria for future strategic planning of capital cities:

Capital city strategic planning systems should:
  1. be integrated:
    1. across functions, including land-use and transport planning, economic and infrastructure development, environmental assessment and urban development, and
    2. across government agencies;
  2. provide for a consistent hierarchy of future oriented and publicly available plans, including:
    1. long term (for example, 15-30 year) integrated strategic plans,
    2. medium term (for example, 5-15 year) prioritised infrastructure and land-use plans, and
    3. near term prioritised infrastructure project pipeline backed by appropriately detailed project plans;
  3. provide for nationally-significant economic infrastructure (both new and upgrade of existing) including:
    1. transport corridors,
    2. international gateways,
    3. intermodal connections,
    4. major communications and utilities infrastructure, and
    5. reservation of appropriate lands to support future expansion;
  4. address nationally-significant policy issues including:
    1. population growth and demographic change,
    2. productivity and global competitiveness,
    3. climate change mitigation and adaptation,
    4. efficient development and use of existing and new infrastructure and other public assets,
    5. connectivity of people to jobs and businesses to markets,
    6. development of major urban corridors,
    7. social inclusion,
    8. health, liveability, and community wellbeing,
    9. housing affordability, and
    10. matters of national environmental significance;
  5. consider and strengthen the networks between capital cities and major regional centres, and other important domestic and international connections;
  6. provide for planned, sequenced and evidence-based land release and an appropriate balance of infill and greenfields development;
  7. clearly identify priorities for investment and policy effort by governments, and provide an effective framework for private sector investment and innovation;
  8. encourage world-class urban design and architecture; and
  9. provide effective implementation arrangements and supporting mechanisms, including:
    1. clear accountabilities, timelines and appropriate performance measures,
    2. coordination between all three levels of government, with opportunities for Commonwealth and Local Government input, and linked, streamlined and efficient approval processes including under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999,
    3. evaluation and review cycles that support the need for balance between flexibility and certainty, including trigger points that identify the need for change in policy settings, and
    4. appropriate consultation and engagement with external stakeholders, experts and the wider community.

An expert advisory panel has been appointed to support the COAG Reform Council in its work:

  • Professor Brian Howe AO, Chair, Professorial Associate at the Centre for Public Policy University of Melbourne and Deputy Prime Minister of Australia from 1991 to 1995
  • Ms Lucy Turnbull AO, Deputy Chair, 81st Lord Mayor of City of Sydney from 2003 to 2004 and Deputy Lord Mayor from 1999 to 2003
  • Mr John Denton, founding principal of Denton Corker Marshall, and former State Architect for Victoria
  • Ms Sue Holliday, Managing Director of Strategies for Change and immediate past president of the Planning Institute of Australia
  • Professor Duncan Maclennan CBE FRSE AcSS, Director of the Centre for Housing Research at the University of St Andrews
  • Ms Jude Munro AO, past CEO of Brisbane City Council
  • Mr Rod Pearse OAM, past Managing Director and CEO of Boral
  • Ms Meredith Sussex AM, member of VicUrban Board

The Hon. Dr Geoff Gallop AC, Deputy Chairman COAG Reform Council, will serve as the link between the council and the panel.

The council’s report on the review of capital city strategic planning systems against national criteria will be submitted to COAG in December 2011. There are a number of key steps to inform this report.

For further information on the review, please contact the COAG Reform Council on:

Phone: 02 8229 7356
Email: coagreformcouncil@pmc.gov.au

To read speeches delivered by members of the expert advisory panel, visit the Media centre.