Conference Agenda

Speed Networking
This speed networking session will allow delegates to introduce themselves and swap business cards with other conference attendees.

Ministerial Address

Keynote Address from Infrastructure Canberra

• Shaping Canberra’s Infrastructure Program

Gillian Geraghty, Director-General, Infrastructure Canberra, ACT Chief Engineer

Keynote Address from the City Renewal Authority

• Revitalising Central Canberra
• Influencing design-led, people-focused sustainable development

Craig Gillman, Chief Executive Officer, City Renewal Authority

ACT Infrastructure Investment (Road and Rail) by the Australian Government

• Building a more sustainable and credible pipeline of investment in resilient, nationally significant infrastructure.
• $785 million allocated to the ACT over the next 10 years by the Australian Government.

Lok Potticary, Assistant Secretary, NSW and ACT Infrastructure Investment, Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts

Social and Indigenous Inclusion in Infrastructure Projects

• Adding long-term social and economic value to cities and communities
• Accelerating indigenous business and employment growth
• Fostering and sustaining indigenous engagement in industry supply chains

Belinda Kendall, Chief Executive Officer and Business Lead, Curijo

CIT Woden Campus Project

• The ACT Government is investing in a purpose-built CIT campus, youth foyer and new public transport interchange for Woden, stimulating the local economy and supporting the revitalisation of Canberra’s southern hub.
• Design Overview

Amanda Fyfe, Lead Partner ACT, Gray Puksand

The City as a Score: Conducting the future of Canberra

The great cities of the world have their own soundtracks, their own rhythms and pulse.

New York is syncopation, a city built on improvisation. Paris is an accordion in Montmartre. Rio is the sway of the samba, and Berlin a techno beat. What of Canberra? What is our sound?

With the ACT Government introducing new policies to strengthen Canberra’s nighttime economy, including the establishment of the City Centre Entertainment Precinct, our city is at a turning point. Now is the time to think beyond individual venues and ask how music can be embedded into our urban fabric as an essential part of city-making.

All cities are music cities. But not all cities design, maintain and invest in their musical identity as a type of infrastructure. Yet, if Canberra is a driver of economic growth, social cohesion and cultural identity, how can Canberra build on its new reforms to maximise the benefits for our city’s future?

What would happen if we treated Canberra’s music like a type of infrastructure? How would that change the way we design and develop our city?

In this session, Catherine Carter will examine how every street, square, bridge and building in Canberra is part of a larger score – and how we can tune Canberra’s urban renewal for sound. This session will explore:

• How can the ACT’s recent reforms be a springboard for positioning Canberra as a leading global ‘music city’?
• What is the economic case for treating music as infrastructure beyond entertainment precincts?
• What are the key indicators for a musical city across governance, economics, social and cultural wellbeing?
• What can we learn from global music cities? What do they do well? What can we do better?
• How can the built environment better support our grassroots music scene and broader cultural economy?
• What practical changes can we make today to better ‘compose’ our city’s future sound?

Catherine Carter, Chief Executive Officer, DJAS Architecture, Director, Salon Canberra

Expert Panel Discussion

Exploring how cultural infrastructure plays a critical role in precinct development, investment attraction, infrastructure and the long-term sustainability of cities.With the ACT Government introducing new policies to strengthen Canberra’s nighttime economy, there is a major opportunity to integrate culture broader infrastructure planning.

Moderator:
Catherine Carter, Chief Executive Officer, DJAS Architecture, Director, Salon Canberra

Molonglo River Bridge Project

• The new bridge will span approximately 200 metres across the region’s major river, the Molonglo River. It will also be built above the one-in-100-year flood level of the Molonglo River.
• The completion of this major road and bridge project will support improved traffic safety and public transport.

Sam Tindal, Project Manager, BMD Group

ACT Integrated Energy Plan 2024-30

• Territory’s pathway to achieving net zero by 2045
• The Integrated Energy Plan 2024–2030 focusses on establishing conditions that allow ACT households and businesses to capture the benefits of electrification.

Panel Discussion
Planning ACT's Infrastructure for the Future

• Housing Canberra's growing population – addressing supply and affordability
• Delivering infrastructure to support sustainable growth of the ACT

Anna Neelagama, Chief Executive Officer, Master Builders ACT
Ashlee Berry, ACT and Capital Region Executive Director, Property Council of Australia

Keynote Address from Transport Canberra and City Services

Housing in the ACT – Missing Middle Design Guide

Urbis have been working collaborative with the ACT Government through the Environment, Planning and Sustainable Development Directorate over the past year to develop a design guideline for Missing Middle Housing. This came off the back of the ACT Urban Design and Housing Design guide, identifying a key gap for this residential typology.

Canberra is one of Australia’s fastest growing cities. The ACT’s population is currently around 470,000 people, however by 2050, our population is expected to reach almost 700,000 people. Our growing population means we will need to build 30,000 new homes by 2030 and up to 100,000 new homes by 2050. The ACT has only a limited amount of available land left for new suburbs, which means we cannot rely on new suburbs alone to fit our growing population. In the ACT, we have set a target for 70% of Canberra’s future development to be within existing suburbs as infill development. This important because it can limit urban expansion and create more housing options closer to existing shops, transport, schools and services, and opportunities for those wanting to age in place. The ACT government recognises the need for a ‘missing middle’ housing - multi- occupancy, townhouses, terraces and low-rise apartments - to meet the future growth and housing demands of this city.

The ACT Government is addressing housing needs through their Missing Middle Housing Design Guidelines, which aims to increase the availability of diverse and affordable housing options and choice. The current planning system inhibits the development of some missing middle housing in existing residential areas, limiting housing choices and flexibility. This guide will be instrumental in informing potential changes to zoning rules and planning controls, and in delivering diverse, affordable, and sustainable housing options for Canberra’s evolving community.

The draft Missing Middle Housing Design Guide is anticipated due to be released for community engagement around the same time as the conference.

Mel Jones, Associate Director, Urbis

Delivering People-Focused Neighbourhoods Across the ACT: Presentation from Suburban Land Agency

Adam Davey, Chief Executive Officer, Suburban Land Agency

Commonwealth Avenue Bridge Renewal Project

• As one of two major crossings over the lake, the Commonwealth Avenue Bridge is one of the busiest transport hubs in Canberra.
• The proposed improvements to the Bridge are essential to extend its life and to meet the current and future transport needs of our National Capital.
• Project overview and updates.

Upgrading Public School Infrastructure

• Delivering infrastructure upgrades to ACT’s public schools.
• The ACT Government’s investment of approximately $100 million to renew and upgrade public schools across Canberra forms part of the more-than $1 billion-dollar pipeline of projects for public education facilities over the coming decade.

Light Rail – Stage 2A

• Light Rail Stage 2A will extend the light rail system from Alinga Street to Commonwealth Park. The 1.7km extension will follow along London Circuit West. It will feature stops at Edinburgh Avenue and City South. It will feature new stops at Edinburgh Avenue, City South, and Commonwealth Park.
• Light Rail Stage 2A will provide greater connection between the city and the lake. It will support active travel in the city by including new cycling and walking infrastructure.
• Project overview and updates

Canberra’s Future Transport Network

• Targeting investment to support the efficient movement of people, making good use of limited road space, and reducing carbon emissions

Panel Discussion 
Infrastructure Priorities for the ACT

• What infrastructure should be prioritized to promote urban development and economic growth?
• How to effectively deliver major projects to best serve the ACT
• Addressing construction skills shortages