The Australian Government has launched a National Cities Performance Framework. The Framework will measure and monitor the progress and performance of Australia’s largest cities and regional centres. It is designed to increase awareness of how Australian Cities are performing for all levels of government as well as for industry and community. The Framework was developed with input from the Cities Reference Group. It uses data from the most recent Australian census to profile the cities and will be updated annually.

Cities are measured within the Framework against the six Smart Cities policy priorities;

1.     Jobs and Skills

2.     Infrastructure and Investment

3.     Liveability and Sustainability

4.     Innovation and Digital Opportunities

5.     Governance, Planning and Regulation

6.     Housing

The Framework uses 46 indicators, 16 contextual indicators and 30 performance indicators, including ‘jobs accessible in 30 minutes’, ‘access to green space’ and ‘housing price to income ratio’. Indicators were chosed based on the availability of nationally consistent, comparable and reliable data. The Australian Government is currently looking to create and find further consistent and comparable data to expand the areas covered by the Framework.

More information here.

The National Cities Performance Framework Report here.