Planning Act 2023

To achieve good planning outcomes, a person must consider the object of this Act and the following principles (the principles of good planning) in developing planning strategies, plans and policies:

activation and liveability principles;

cultural heritage conservation principles;

high‑quality design principles;

housing affordability principles;

integrated delivery principles;

investment facilitation principles;

long‑term focus principles;

natural environment conservation principles;

sustainability and resilience principles;

urban regeneration principles.

In this Act:

planning and design should support diverse economic and social activities, including through promoting different but compatible uses for buildings and other areas;

urban areas should include a range of high‑quality housing options with an emphasis on living affordability;

urban areas should be designed to promote active travel and convenient and efficient use of public transport;

districts should be planned, designed and developed to support active and healthy lifestyles and to cater for a diverse range of cultural and social activities;

policies should support and enhance the quality of life and wellbeing of residents.

planning and design should promote the unique cultural heritage of the ACT by acknowledging established heritage significance in design and placemaking;

development should—

respect local heritage; and

avoid direct impacts on heritage or, if a direct impact is unavoidable, ensure that the impact is justifiable and proportionate.

development should be focussed on people and designed to—

reflect local setting and context; and

have a distinctive identity that responds to the existing character of its locality; and

effectively integrate built form, infrastructure and public spaces; and

provide appropriate solar access;

public spaces should be designed to be used, appropriately landscaped and vegetated, and should be designed to contribute to the urban forest;

built form and public spaces should be designed to be inclusive and accessible to people with differing needs and capabilities, including through the serious consideration of universal design practices;

developments should be planned and designed to be well‑connected and integrated with surrounding development in ways that facilitate the safe, secure and effective movement of people within and through them.

planning strategies, plans and policies should support the delivery of reforms that improve housing access, affordability and choice;

planning strategies, plans and policies should support more housing options for people who have a low income;

planning strategies, plans and policies should ensure affordable housing is close to essential services, amenities and affordable transport options, including public and active transport.

policies relating to planning, including those arising outside the planning system, should be coordinated to efficiently and effectively achieve planning outcomes;

planning, design and development should promote integrated transport connections and equitable access to services and amenities;

infrastructure, public spaces and facilities should be planned to meet future needs and designed to be integrated with related development;

built form should be durable, designed to be adaptive (including in relation to the reuse of buildings or parts of buildings) and compatible with surrounding public spaces.

planning and design should be undertaken with a view to strengthening the economic prosperity of the Territory and contributing to diversification of the economy, economic security and growth;

planning outcomes should be achieved by facilitating coordinated approaches that promote public and private investment towards common goals.

policy frameworks should be based around long‑term priorities, be ecologically sound, and seek to promote equity between present and future generations;

policy frameworks should be able to respond to emerging challenges and cumulative impacts identified by monitoring, benchmarking and evaluation programs.

planning and design should promote healthy and resilient ecosystems by—

avoiding or minimising loss of habitat and other key threatening processes for biodiversity; and

considering cumulative and incremental environmental impacts;

planning outcomes should support the operation of environmental laws applying in the ACT;

policies, planning and design should integrate and promote—

nature‑based solutions to climate change and water security; and

the valuation and maintenance of the ecosystem services and amenity provided by a healthy natural environment;

biodiversity connectivity and habitat values should be integrated across urban areas, including through appropriate planning for, and landscaping of, urban open space and travel corridors.

places should be planned, designed and developed to be sustainable and resilient;

effort should be focussed on adapting to the effects of climate change, including through mitigating the effects of urban heat, managing water supplies and achieving energy efficient urban environments;

policies and practices should promote the use, reuse and renewal of sustainable resources, and minimise use of resources.

growth should be mostly within the existing urban footprint, or in areas close to the existing urban footprint, while maintaining environmental values;

urban regeneration should seek to make the best use (as appropriate) of underlying or latent potential associated with land, buildings and infrastructure.

In this section: