The Australian Institute of Architects welcomes the Federal Government’s announcement it will progress the sale of surplus Defence land, including the historic Victoria Barracks sites in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne and other sites across the nation.
These places hold deep cultural and architectural value. They are also rare inner-city precincts with the scale to deliver enduring public benefit if the next chapter is shaped with care.
“Victoria Barracks are more than real estate assets, they are important parts of our civic story,” said Adam Haddow, National President, Australian Institute of Architects. “Any future redevelopment must protect heritage significance, respect Country, and deliver high-quality outcomes that Australians can be proud of.”
The Institute emphasises divestment at this scale requires strong design governance from the outset, including early heritage assessment, meaningful community engagement, and independent design review.
“This is exactly why Australia needs a Federal Government Architect,” Mr Haddow said. “A Government Architect working at the national level would provide consistent, expert design leadership across Commonwealth projects and land transitions, ensuring heritage is safeguarded, public benefit is maximised, and design quality is upheld in the national interest. When the Commonwealth reshapes city-defining precincts, it must do so with the same rigour we expect of any major public project.”
QUEENSLAND
In Queensland, Victoria Barracks Brisbane has long been part of the city’s fabric, hosting office-based Defence functions and the Army Museum of South East Queensland. The Institute urges a redevelopment pathway that expands public access and creates a vibrant precinct the community can truly celebrate.
“Selling a site like Victoria Barracks creates a once-in-a-generation opportunity to give something back to the public realm,” said Caroline Stalker, Queensland Chapter President. “We want to see transparent processes, strong cultural and heritage safeguards, and design-led planning that prioritises streets, parks, culture and community uses alongside any housing or commercial components.”
NEW SOUTH WALES
Victoria Barracks in Paddington, Sydney, has the potential to be an extremely important community asset. The site contains one of the most significant and intact collections of military buildings in Australia and forms a key part of Sydney’s inner-city fabric – an important open space immediately adjacent to the CBD.
“Any future response should prioritise sensitive adaptive reuse that increases public access while respecting the site’s scale, setting, and cultural meaning. As a place that represents colonial power structures, it is important not only to preserve the site but also to critically interpret its history,” said Elizabeth Carpenter, NSW Chapter President.
SOUTH AUSTRALIA
The four South Australian Defence sites flagged for sale present a significant opportunity to contribute to housing supply, employment, open space and cultural infrastructure — but only if redevelopment is driven by long-term public value rather than short-term fiscal return.
“Transitions of Defence land are complex and consequential,” said Kirstie Coultas, South Australia Chapter President, Australian Institute of Architects. “These sites are part of South Australia’s civic and cultural fabric. Their redevelopment must protect heritage, respect Country, respond to climate realities and deliver places that genuinely enrich the public realm.”
“We want to see precincts that prioritise streets, parks, community uses and adaptive reuse — alongside any residential or commercial development,” Ms Coultas said. “Once these lands leave Commonwealth hands, the quality of their transformation will define their contribution to South Australia for generations.”
These extraordinary precincts must become places South Australians value and celebrate for generations to come.
WESTERN AUSTRALIA
The Institute emphasises that divestment at this scale requires strong design governance from the outset, including comprehensive heritage assessment, meaningful community engagement, and independent design review. Any development proposal will need to navigate heritage approvals at both State and Commonwealth levels through key legislation including Local Planning Schemes, the EPBC Act, Heritage Act 2018 (WA), and Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972.
HMAS Leeuwin includes a significant historic drill hall within a heritage precinct. Together with Irwin Barracks, they represent rare inner-city precincts with extraordinary potential to deliver enduring public benefit if the next chapter is shaped with care. The 61.50-hectare Irwin Barracks site alone has the scale to meet the entire Western Suburbs infill target if developed sensitively. The combination of strategic redevelopment potential and profound cultural significance makes this an extraordinary planning opportunity for Perth.
“Selling sites like Irwin and Leeuwin creates a once-in-a-generation opportunity to give something enduring back to the public realm,” Ross Donaldson Western Australia Chapter President said. “We want to see transparent processes, strong cultural and heritage safeguards, and design-led planning that prioritises streets, parks, culture and community uses alongside any housing or commercial components.”
HMAS Leeuwin Barracks has been the subject of previous heritage assessment and master planning work in 2019, providing a foundation for thoughtful redevelopment that respects the site’s historic character and drill hall precinct.
—
The Institute calls on governments to require best-practice design governance, including early heritage assessment, meaningful community engagement, and independent design review so these extraordinary precincts become places people celebrate for generations to come.