The Western Australian government has embarked on an employment decentralisation agenda aimed at bringing jobs closer to the people and improving urban sustainability in the Perth Metropolitan Region. This study employs density and accessibility measures to evaluate this decentralisation (or rather ‘poly-centralisation’) policy.

Over time, the focus of federal and state governments on cities and urban policies has been sporadic, and agendas have shifted considerably. Without any sustained policy development or implementation it is unclear what constitutes ‘cities’ policy in Australia. This paper examines strategic policy documents relevant to cities policy in Australia from federal and state departments.

in 2010 the Growth Area Infrastructure Contribution (GAIC) fund was introduced to partially offset (up to 15%) the cost of new ‘essential state-funded’ infrastructure in growth areas on Melbourne’s fringe. This paper examines the GAIC fund and within this, its use for public transport – towards which 50% of GAIC funds are to be directed.

The aim of this review study is to assess the prospects for a formal decentralisation program for Victoria – based upon achieving planned new cities and disbursed growth to these new purpose-built regional cities.

This discussion paper outlines and explores the proposed new Planning and Design Code policy framework that will best support the future development of the homes and neighbourhoods where South Australians will choose to live, work and play.