National Capital Plan - Amendment No. 8 - Hume, Majura, Kowen, Corree, Tuggeranong, Conder and Paddy's River

Administered by Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sport and the Arts

Legislation au F2007B01591 Not in force Legislative Instrument

Legislation content

SCHEDULE

AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY

(PLANNING AND LAND MANAGEMENT) ACT 1988

AMENDMENT OF THE NATIONAL CAPITAL PLAN

AMENDING SERIES NO 8

September 1993


PREAMBLE

The National capital Plan was approved by the Minister for the Arts, Tourism and Territories on 21 December 1990.

One of the statutory functions of the National Capital Planning Authority is to keep the National Capital Plan under constant review and to propose amendments to it when necessary. Draft Amending Series 8 is a response to this process. Details of the Amendments are set out below:

Amendments 8.1 and 8.2 overcome a number of minor inconsistencies between the Draft Territory Plan and the National Capital Plan.

The Draft Territory Plan, when initially released for public consultation, was inconsistent with the National Capital Plan in a number of ways. The Australian Capital Territory (Planning and Land Management) Act 1988 requires that the Territory Plan not be inconsistent with the National Capital Plan. Most of these inconsistencies were rectified after consultation between the two planning authorities, however, some were deemed better resolved by amending the National Capital Plan. These fell into two primary categories:

 Pine Forests. Existing pine forests in non-urban areas where forestry is either not a permitted use or only specifically named pine forests are permitted. This arose essentially through omission. Because forestry is a commercial activity in the ACT, it is most important that the Plan does not inadvertently render the activity inconsistent. In most cases, it was appropriate to overcome the inconsistency by inserting the name of the relevant forest in the land use category.

 Land Use. Instances of minor significance where the National Capital Plan land use category areas do not precisely coincide with cadastral boundaries or adjustment of the boundary between adjoining land use categories would better reflect the existing use. In principle, land parcels should not be split by different land use policies unless there are compelling reasons.

Amendment 8.3 changes the definition of ‘office’ in the National Capital Plan to remove an absolute restriction on retailing activities within office developments. This will enable the Authority to consider small scale proposals to improve the amenity and utility in selective office employment locations, particularly within employment areas some distance from commercial centres.

Amendment 8.4 deals with a cartographic error in Figure 8 which sets out detailed conditions for the Central National Area (Barton). The error resulted in a linear “Open Space” land use policy extending from Kings Avenue to Canberra Avenue along the alignment of Windsor Walk. The land use policy was correctly specified in the text of Amending Series No 3 as “National Capital Use”.

AMENDMENT OF THE NATIONAL CAPITAL PLAN

AMENDING SERIES NO 8

8.1 Amend the General policy Plan - Metropolitan Canberra which follows page 14, as set out below:

Location of Amendment

Nature of Amendment

 

 

Hume Industrial Estate (Refer Figure 1)

Extend “Broadacre Areas” and “Urban Areas” at Northern and Southern ends of Hume

Block 584 Majura - part of Fairbairn Pine Forest (Refer Figure 2)

Change land use category from “Broadacre Areas” to “Hills, Ridges and Buffer Spaces”

Block 49 Kowen and adjacent block to North (Refer Figure 3)

Change land use category from “Rural Areas” to “Hills, Ridges and Buffer Spaces”

Blocks 5 and 23 Coree (Refer Figure 4)

Change from “Rural Areas” to “Mountains and Bushland”

Part Block 1461 Tuggeranong (Refer Figure 5)

Change from “Hills, Ridges and Buffer Spaces” to “Rural Areas”

Parts Blocks 1305 and 1307 Tuggeranong (Refer Figure 5)

Change from “Rural Areas” to “Hills, Ridges and Buffer Spaces”

Part Block 1429 Tuggeranong (Refer Figure 5)

Change from “Rural Areas” to “Hills, Ridges and Buffer Spaces”

Parts Blocks 104, 1429 and 1430 Tuggeranong (Refer Figure 5)

Change from “Rural Areas” to “River Corridors”

Section 295 Conder (Refer Figure 6)

Change from “Hills, Ridges and Buffer Spaces” to “Urban Areas”

 


Part Block 129 Paddy’s River (Refer Figure 7)

Change from “Hills, Ridges and Buffer Spaces” to “Rural Areas”

Part Block 36 Paddy’s River (Refer Figure 7)

Change from “Rural Areas” to “Hills, Ridges and Buffer Spaces”

8.2 Amend the Policies of the Plan within the various land use category areas as follows:

 Within Broadacre Areas on page 42 amend the identification of paragraph 5.2(h) to be 5.2(i) and at the new paragraph 5.2(i) between “Education …” and “General Farming”, insert:

“• Forestry (Majura and Kowen Pine Plantations only)”

 Within Broadacre Areas following paragraph 5.2(g) on page 42, insert:

“(h) Pine plantations permitted under 5.2(i) should be retained as multiple use areas. Native vegetation in plantations should be retained, particularly along plantation edges, public roads and rivers and creeks, to preserve wildlife corridors and habitats.

 Within Hills, Ridges and Buffer Spaces, at paragraph 8.5.3(d) on page 54 delete:

“Existing pine plantations (Stromlo Forest, Green Hills Forest, Fairbairn Pines)” and substitute:

“Pine plantations permitted under 8.5.3(h)”

The amended policy reads:

“Pine plantations permitted under 8.5.3 (h) shall be managed in a manner which reinforces the landscape character and which allows their use as multiple use areas. Native vegetation in plantations should be retained, particularly along plantation edges, public roads and rivers and creeks, to preserve wildlife corridors and habitats”.

 Within Hills, Ridges and Buffer Spaces, at paragraph 8.53(h) on page 55, between the brackets following the word “Forestry”, immediately after “Green Hills,” insert:

“Tuggeranong, Ingledene,


The amended use is:

“Forestry (Green Hills, Tuggeranong, Ingledene, Stromlo and Fairbairn Pine Plantations and woodlots only)”

 Within River Corridors, at paragraph 8.6.3(h) on page 57, between the brackets following the word “Forestry”, immediately after “Ingledene”, insert:

“, Kowen, Stromlo and Uriarra”

and replace the word “Plantation” with “Plantations”

The amended use is:

“Forestry (Ingledene, Kowen, Stromlo and Uriarra Pine Plantations and woodlots only)”

 Within Mountains and Bushland, at paragraph 8.7.3(f) on page 59 delete:

“Existing pine plantations (Pierce’s Creek, Uriarra, Sherwood Tidbinbilla and Gibraltar Creek Forests)” and substitute:

“Pine plantations permitted under 8.7.3(h)”

The amended policy reads:

“Pine plantations permitted under 8.7.3(h)” should be retained as multiple purpose areas. Native vegetation in plantations should be retained particularly along plantation edges, public roads and rivers and creeks to preserve wildlife corridors and habitats”.

 Within Mountains and Bushland, at paragraph 8.7.3(h) on page 59:

(i) between the brackets following the word “Forestry”, immediately after “Tidbinbilla”, insert:

“, Ingledene”

The amended use is:

“Forestry (Pierce’s Creek, Uriarra, Tidbinbilla, Ingledene and Gibraltar Valley pine plantations and woodlots only)”

(ii) between “Agriculture…..” and “Forestry…..”, insert

“• Educational Establishment (Birrigai)”


 Within Rural Areas at paragraph 9.3(c) on page 61 delete:

“Existing pine plantations (Kowen Forest)” and substitute:

“Pine plantations permitted under 9.3(h)”

The amended policy reads:

“Pine plantations permitted under 93(h) should be retained as multiple use areas for other compatible uses, including grazing, recreation, roads and engineering services. Native vegetation in plantations should be retained particularly along plantation edges, public roads and rivers and creeks to preserve wildlife corridors and habitats”.

 Within Rural Areas under paragraph 9.3 on page 62 replace paragraph identification letters “(e)”, “(f)” and “(g)” with “(f)”, “(g)” and “(h)” respectively and at re-identified paragraph 9.3(h), between the brackets following the word “Forestry”, immediately after “Kowen”, Insert;

“and Pierces Creek”

and replace the word “plantation” with “plantations”

The amended use is:

“Forestry (Kowen and Pierces Creek pine plantations only)”

8.3 Amend Appendix A - Land use Definitions as follows:

Delete, from the definition of “Office” at page 10 of Appendix A, the words:

“but does not include retailing”.

The amended definition reads:

“Office

Any premises used for the purpose of administration (including commercial and public administration), and clerical, technical, professional or like business activities”.

8.4 Amend Figure 8 - The Central National Area (Barton) as follows:

Delete the linear “Open Space” land use policy extending from Kings Avenue to Canberra Avenue and substitute a land use policy of “National Capital Use”.









Overview

The Australian Capital Territory (Planning and Land Management) Amendment Act 1993 (F2007B01591) was enacted to address inconsistencies between the Draft Territory Plan and the National Capital Plan, and to make amendments to the National Capital Plan to better reflect existing land use practices and policies. The Act was introduced by the Australian Capital Territory Government and its primary policy objective was to ensure that the Territory Plan aligns with the National Capital Plan. The Act amends the National Capital Plan to correct minor inconsistencies, including adjustments to land use categories and definitions to better reflect the existing use of land parcels and to ensure that forestry activities are permitted where appropriate. These amendments aim to provide clarity and coherence between the Territory Plan and the National Capital Plan, thereby facilitating more effective planning and management of land in the Australian Capital Territory.

Scope and Application

The Australian Capital Territory (Planning and Land Management) Act 1988 Amendment of the National Capital Plan Amending Series No 8 applies to the National Capital Plan, addressing inconsistencies between the Draft Territory Plan and the National Capital Plan, particularly concerning pine forests and land use categories in non-urban areas. The amendments aim to rectify instances where existing forestry activities are not aligned with the land use categories specified in the National Capital Plan. Additionally, the Act allows for minor adjustments to land use category boundaries to better reflect existing uses, ensuring that land parcels are not unnecessarily split by differing land use policies. The amendments also extend to modifying the definition of 'office' to enable small-scale retailing activities within office developments, thereby enhancing the amenity and utility of selective office employment locations. Furthermore, a cartographic error in the Central National Area (Barton) is corrected to accurately reflect the intended land use policy. This legislative instrument operates within the Australian Capital Territory, ensuring that the National Capital Plan remains consistent and effective in managing land use and planning within the Territory.

Key Provisions

The Australian Capital Territory (Planning and Land Management) Act 1988 Amendment of the National Capital Plan Amending Series No 8 (F2007B01591) addresses several key amendments to the National Capital Plan, primarily rectifying inconsistencies and clarifying definitions. Section 8.1 of the Amendment involves modifying the General Policy Plan - Metropolitan Canberra by adjusting the land use categories for specific blocks of land in various areas, such as Hume Industrial Estate, Majura, Kowen, and Coree, to ensure that they align with the intended land use policies outlined in the Plan. Section 8.2 updates the policies within various land use category areas to include forestry as a permitted use in certain areas, ensuring that pine plantations are retained as multiple use areas and that native vegetation is preserved to maintain wildlife corridors and habitats. Section 8.3 amends the definition of "office" in Appendix A to remove the restriction on retailing activities within office developments, thereby allowing for small-scale improvements in office employment locations. Finally, Section 8.4 corrects a cartographic error in Figure 8, changing the land use policy from "Open Space" to "National Capital Use". The obligations imposed by this Amendment on the relevant parties include ensuring that land use categories are correctly identified and applied, that forestry activities comply with the updated policies, and that office developments can incorporate small-scale retailing activities where appropriate. The National Capital Planning Authority and other relevant authorities must ensure that these amendments are implemented accurately and that the land use categories and policies are consistently applied across the territory. Breaches of the provisions in the Amendment may result in enforcement actions under the Australian Capital Territory (Planning and Land Management) Act 1988. Although the specific penalties are not detailed in the Amendment, penalties for breaches of planning laws in the ACT can include fines, orders for remediation, and other civil or criminal sanctions as deemed appropriate by the courts. The exact penalties will depend on the nature and severity of the breach, and the authorities may also seek injunctions or other remedies to ensure compliance with the amended Plan.

Legal classification tags

Area of Law
Planning & Development Law
Instrument
Legislative Instrument
Concepts
Definitions & Interpretation
Repeal & Amendment
Land Use Planning
Forestry Management
Compliance Obligations

Interactions

Authorises

All Versions

Sourced from the Federal Register of Legislation at 26 August 2026. For the latest information on Australian Government law please go to https://www.legislation.gov.au.