In 2009 COAG agreed to national criteria for capital city strategic planning systems to provide the platform to re-shape our capital cities. The criteria will ensure our cities have strong, transparent and long-term plans in place to manage population and economic growth; plans which will address climate change, improve housing affordability and tackle urban congestion.

They will also:
• provide for future-oriented and publicly available long-term strategic plans;
• be integrated across functions (for example, land-use, infrastructure and transport) and coordinated between all three levels of government;
• clearly identify priorities for future investment and policy effort by governments;
• provide for effective implementation arrangements and supporting mechanisms; and
• support and facilitate economic growth, population growth and demographic change.

COAG agreed that by 1 January 2012 all States will have in place plans that meet the criteria and noted that the Commonwealth will link future infrastructure funding decisions to meeting these criteria.

The COAG Reform Council independently reviewed the consistency of capital city strategic planning systems with the new national criteria and submitted its report to COAG in 2011.