Canberra’s office market “continues to shine” with the second lowest vacancy rate of all Australian capital cities, according to the latest data from the Property Council of Australia (PCA).

Office vacancy rates in Canberra increased from 8.6 per cent to 8.9 per cent in the six months to January 2023, and are set to rise significantly throughout the year.  

There’s 108,640sqm of office space in the pipeline for Canberra in 2023.

The likes of Doma Group’s six-storey office building at 2 Darling Street in Barton and ISPT’s Pathway Place on 7 London Circuit and 18 Marcus Clarke Street in the City are two major developments expected to come on line in 2023.  

This development boost is expected to continue, with an additional 27,870sqm in 2024 and 45,500sqm from 2025 onwards.

In Civic, the vacancy rate increased from 6.9 per cent to 7.9 per cent on account of 45,941sqm of additional supply.

The non-Civic vacancy rate remained steady at 9.3 per cent.

Occupancy rates

A PCA survey in November 2022 recorded Canberra’s office occupancy at 52 per cent compared to pre-pandemic levels, the lowest of all Australian capital cities.

Perth recorded the highest rate at 80 per cent, followed by Adelaide (74 per cent), Brisbane (67 per cent), Sydney (59 per cent) and Melbourne (57 per cent).

PCA ACT acting executive director Ross Grove said considering the last three years of the pandemic it’s “pleasing” to see a strong Canberra market.

Mr Grove said Canberra’s increased supply and relatively low vacancy rate is taking the market “from strength to strength”.

“The Commonwealth employment base and tenancies which continue to be sought in Canberra are no doubt helping drive positive demand for office space,” he said.

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