Hume Circle: Our Submission on Community Engagement

Engagement Institute has made a formal submission to the Joint Standing Committee on the National Capital and External Territories as part of its inquiry into National Capital Plan Amendment 102 for Canberra’s Hume Circle Precinct.

Amendment 102 establishes a new planning framework for Canberra’s Hume Circle Precinct, enabling long-term urban renewal and future development in an area the National Capital Authority identifies as nationally significant.

Our submission focuses specifically on the community engagement undertaken by the National Capital Authority (NCA) and what can be improved for future amendments.

Recognising local impacts

Our central recommendation is that the NCA review and update its approach to engagement so it better recognises the local impacts of development in Designated Areas, alongside its responsibility to consider the national interest.

The submission acknowledges positive elements of the Hume Circle process, including the extension of the consultation period following community requests and changes made to aspects of the proposal in response to feedback. It also identifies opportunities to strengthen future practice.

We have recommended that the NCA:

• engage while communities can still meaningfully shape strategic choices
• set engagement timeframes proportionate to the scale and impact of proposals
• reach directly affected communities through more than statutory notices and online channels
• clearly explain what communities can and cannot influence
• demonstrate how community input affected decisions
• maintain engagement and relationships across different stages of long-term precinct development.

Statutory consultation should be the starting point

A key message in our submission is that meeting statutory consultation requirements does not necessarily mean an engagement process is well designed for the people affected.

We argue that statutory requirements should be treated as a floor for engagement, not a ceiling. Projects with significant local impacts may require earlier, more accessible and more place-based approaches to meaningful engagement.

The inquiry provides an opportunity to turn lessons from the Hume Circle process into stronger engagement practice for future planning decisions in the National Capital.

READ OUR FULL SUBMISSION