Abstract: The pursuit of design excellence in new commercial developments is driven by a mix of public and private interest. The public sector seeks sustainable outcomes which address and enhance the public realm. The private sector similarly recognizes the ‘design dividend’ primarily in relation to maximizing return on investment. The complexity of securing rapprochement between these aspirations is elevated in global cities where competitiveness, productivity, and liveability make for high stakes. Development assessment procedures for large-scale projects are of course often contested but the critical scrutiny of alternative designs for the one project represents a distinctive take on design as public policy. Little studied although much touted, competitive design processes to achieve design excellence have been part of planning decision-making in the Sydney CBD since 2000 and in the wider city since 2012 under the City’s Competitive Design Policy. This paper takes a first step in unpacking the nature and significance of the phenomenon in central Sydney where there has been around 40 competitions resulting in over 20 completed projects since introduction of the policy. Drawing on a City of Sydney database, and set against the wider institutional context, the paper identifies the major characteristics of the developments concerned and key aspects of the competitive process involved in terms of timelines, participants and outcomes. Ascertaining the scale and nature of the process provides a foundation toward a more critical assessment of the effectiveness of competitions in mediating between public and private interest.