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Snapshot of Canberra

Wondering what it's like to live and do business in Canberra? This section offers an overview, with vital statistics and where to locate more detailed information.

Canberra offers a delightful mix of city services and lifestyle amenities, along with the community feel and open spaces of a regional area. Contrary to public perception, Canberra is much more than Parliament House and politics. Not only is it a family-friendly, great place to live, with short travel times, good roads, an excellent education system, plenty of opportunities to live be active, and a wide range of community services. It is also a great place to do business. It is easy to build networks, become known, and expand both nationally and internationally.

 

Government in the Australian Capital Territory

The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) was granted self-government in 1989. Prior to self-government, the ACT was administered by the Federal Parliament, with the first ACT Advisory Council established in 1930. The current Sixth Assembly is comprised of 17 elected representatives—the Australian Labor Party holds nine seats, the Liberal Party holds seven seats and the ACT Greens holds one seat. The ACT Legislative Assembly is unique in Australia because it holds the power to look after both state and local functions of the territory. From the web site for the Legislative Assembly for the ACT, you can access a range of information about the Legislative Assembly - its history; information on how it operates; details of its Members; information on business before the Assembly and records of proceedings; and a range of information on Assembly committees. www.parliament.act.gov.au/

You can learn about the City of Queanbeyan at www.queanbeyan.nsw.gov.au and about the Yass Valley Council at http://yassvalley.local-e.nsw.gov.au.  

Canberra at a glance

Located on the ancient lands of the Ngunnawal Aboriginal people, the city's name is thought to mean 'meeting place', derived from the Aboriginal name Kamberra. Located 150 kilometres inland, and 571 metres above the Pacific Ocean. Situated in the 2349.4 square kilometre Australian Capital Territory (not including Jervis Bay), the city is surrounded by national parks, bush and mountain ranges.

  • Population of 322,000
  • Designed in 1911 by Walter Burley Griffin
  • Microfirms (self-employed persons with no staff, or firms with less than 5 employees) represent 82% of all ACT businesses
  • Small firms (5-19 staff) comprise another 14%
  • Small and micro-sized businesses account for roughly a third (64,000) of the Territory's 180,000 workforce
  • Lowest unemployment rate 3.4 %
  • 62,000 Commonwealth public servants
  • 19,000 ACT public servants
  • Centre of government in Australia
  • A knowledge-based economy
  • Highly educated community and workforce
  • More than one-quarter of Canberra residents were born overseas
  • A city-state government provides both the state-type and municipal functions

Canberra offers a connected business environment, being the first city in the Southern Hemisphere to introduce a broadband fibre-optic network offering access to households and businesses in the region. Canberra also has high levels of technological infrastructure and community and business adoption of technology.

As the national capital, Canberra offers an eclectic mix of restaurants, wineries, shopping, entertainment, galleries, museums and world-class monuments and attractions. Canberra has distinct seasons.

You will find key economic indicators for Canberra and the ACT at the ACT Department of Treasury web site. http://www.treasury.act.gov.au/snapshot/index.shtml For more information visit: www.act.gov.au www.nationalcapital.gov.au

Education in the ACT:

  • The ACT is the most highly educated population in Australia:
  • The ACT has the highest year 12 retention rate
  • Consistently high literacy and numeracy results
  • Highest post school qualifications
  • Greatest percentage of young people attending university.

Canberra is home to several leading universities:

  • Australian National University
  • University of Canberra
  • Australian Catholic University
  • Australian Defence Force Academy.

You can find out more about education in the ACT from www.det.act.gov.au.

Sport and recreation
www.tams.act.gov.au/play/sport_and_recreation

Nature parks
http://www.tams.act.gov.au/live/environment

The arts
www.arts.act.gov.au

Libraries are useful sources of information.
www.library.act.gov.au

ACTION provides public transport in the Canberra region.
www.action.act.gov.au

Canberra Connect is a one-stop shop to access ACT Government Information and services. Call 13 22 81

http://www.canberraconnect.act.gov.au