Australia’s capital is one of the international pioneers in smart urban development. The strategic framework for this is provided by the Australian Capital Territory’s ACT Digital Strategy. It focuses on five key areas:

- user-centred public services
- responsible data management
- data-driven urban planning
- collaboration with business and academia
- a public administration that continuously develops its own digital capabilities.

In Canberra, too, digitalisation is not treated as a separate IT project, but is integrated with urban development and the modernisation of public administration. Digital services are developed and tested in collaboration with users. At the same time, data is intended to help make Canberra a more liveable, sustainable and resilient city in the long term.

Through the Digital Canberra organisation, which was established last year, the government is also bringing these tasks under one umbrella – from digital administrative services and data strategy to cyber security and digital infrastructure.

A public administration with a digital front door

The ACT Digital Account demonstrates exactly how this works in practice. Through a central account, residents can apply for and pay for various public services online. The principle behind it is simple: citizens should not have to navigate their way through the organisational structure of a public administration to receive a service, but should be able to find what they are looking for with just a few clicks.

There is also potential here for the administration itself. Shared digital platforms reduce duplication of structures and simplify processes. In the current ACT budget, Digital Canberra therefore explicitly states the aim of making administrative services simpler, faster and more accessible, whilst at the same time reducing the administrative burden for both the public and the administration.

Open data becomes infrastructure

Canberra has also been an early adopter of open data. Through the central Open Data Portal, the local authority makes datasets available for public use. These can be utilised by the local authority, researchers, businesses and developers, thereby laying the foundations for new analyses and digital applications.

One example of this is the smart parking project in the Manuka district. 460 infrared sensors monitor car park occupancy in real time. Digital displays and the ParkCBR app guide motorists more effectively to available parking spaces, thereby reducing traffic caused by drivers searching for a space and cutting journey times. The data collected can also be analysed via an interface.

The essence of the smart city concept lies not in the sensor itself, but in the interplay between data, specific use cases and open access.

Mobility as part of urban development

Canberra is also taking a long-term view when it comes to expanding public transport. The light rail network – that is, the local public transport system – is being continuously expanded. The next phase of development is intended, amongst other things, to provide access to new residential, commercial and public spaces and to improve connectivity within the growing city. Canberra expects its population to exceed 780,000 by 2060. The aim is to tackle future traffic congestion at an early stage.

One technological detail stands out in particular: the existing fleet of trams has been fitted with battery storage systems. This allows the vehicles to run on a section of the new route without overhead lines. As a result, modern transport infrastructure is possible even in areas where the urban landscape poses particular

What other cities can learn from Canberra

Canberra demonstrates that a smart city does not begin with a single, isolated project. Rather, the key lies in integrating digital administration, open data, mobility, infrastructure and urban planning, all guided by a shared strategy.

European cities can also benefit from this. Technology delivers its greatest benefits where it solves a specific problem – by streamlining administrative processes, making data usable for better decision-making, or making transport more reliable. And where digital urban development is not solely the responsibility of the IT department, but concerns the public sector, business, academia and the wider community alike.

Perhaps this is precisely Canberra’s most important lesson on smart cities: a city does not become ‘smart’ simply by using more technology, but by using technology where it improves life in the city.