We’re all about the good life at Googong
Googong is a self-contained township set in a picturesque location overlooking the Molonglo Ranges. It is a place full of everyday smiles, connected families and neighbours who care. The schools, shops, parks and businesses we already enjoy will continue to grow in line with our population. Googong Central town centre will open in the coming years and four village centres will deliver convenience to your doorstep. There’s already so much here that takes life to an enviable level of liveability.
Googong Community
Kitefest – Father’s Day
Christmas Carols
Pink Tailed Worm Lizard education tours
Resident-only events
Pump track events
Monaro Panthers Football Club
World class fishing on Googong Dam
Mini Putt Putt Golf
Mountain bike trails Googong Foreshores
Kayaking Googong Dam
Sporting teams from netball to soccer, AFL to cricket, and so much more.
Swim school
Basketball
Skate Park
Tennis centre
Googong Facilities
Googong is an easy 28-minute drive from the Canberra CBD; 9-minutes drive south of Jerrabomberra shops; 22-minutes drive from Tuggeranong Town Centre; and just 20-minutes drive from the Canberra Airport. It also has plenty in the township to bring convenience, fun and fitness to your doorstep.
Education
Shopping and Entertainment
Parks and Playgrounds
Sports Facilities
Ovals
Community Facilities
Dog Parks
Integrated Water Cycle System
This system delivers recycled water to every home for toilet flushing and garden watering, as well as providing irrigation for parks and open spaces. It will reduce potable water use by about 60% and recycle over half of Googong’s wastewater. Googong will be so water efficient, its 18,000 residents will use less water than just 6,500 residents in an average Australian community.
Recycled Road Products
Googong’s roads are made from an asphalt mix of soft plastics, glass, toner, and reclaimed road called Reconophalt. A kilometre of road (two lanes) paved with Reconophalt can contain 500,000 plastic bags and packaging equivalents, 165,000 glass bottle equivalents and toner from 12,000 used printer cartridges.
Conservation areas for the vulnerable Pink Tailed Worm Lizard
Before construction commenced at Googong a 52-hectare Conservation Area was established to protect the vulnerable Pink Tailed Worm Lizard on the towns eastern boundary. In 2019 Googong established $1m Fund to Save the vulnerable Pink Tailed Worm Lizard and extend the conservation areas.
Reserve planting for the vulnerable Glossy Black Cockatoo
A reserve has been revegetated on Nangi Pimble with trees that are the main food source of the vulnerable Glossy Black Cockatoo. The lookout shelter at the hilltop of the reserve has been inspired by these beautiful birds.
25% of Googong is dedicated to open space
Googonians love the outdoors, so we’ve made sure there’s plenty to enjoy becasue a quarter of our town will be parks and open space. Additionally, we are adjacent to the Googong Dam and Foreshores which is an enormous recreational resource for the community.
Restored chain of ponds
An original chain of ponds has been restored that meander through the heart of Googong in an extensive park we call
Bunburung Thina.
Bunburung Thina, in the Aboriginal language of the Ngunawal people means small lizard track (named after the vulnerable Pink-tailed Worm-lizard which we have created a $1m sanctuary for).
Googong Dam and Foreshores
Just near the township is Googong Dam and Foreshores, where you can have fun fishing, hiking, biking and kayaking. Or you can visit the swimming holes of White Rocks and the Cascades, enjoying the natural environment of Googong surrounds.
Cat containment
In 2021, Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council introduced a Cat Containment Area Policy for Googong, in recognition of the sensitivity of the fauna in the Googong Dam and Foreshores in particular.
Designing for healthy and active lifestyles
We have lots of parks and playgrounds, amazing sporting facilities (and more to come), indoor and outdoor gyms, walking trails and bush trails, clubs, sporting and social groups, dog parks, thoughtful streetscapes and infrastructure linking residents throughout the township and to each other.
Smart Cities infrastructure ADD CAR PLUG IN GRAPHIC
Smart Cities infrastructure incorporates digital-enabled waste and facilities management systems, infrastructure for electric cars, public Wi-Fi, lighting and environmental monitoring systems to reduce the town’s carbon footprint and overhead costs, and more. Googong is the first development in Australia to roll out the infrastructure on such a scale, and across so many disciplines.
Facilitating neighbourhood connections
A full-time community manager fosters community connections and environmental education programs. She also hosts a range of events including Kitefest (Father’s Day), Rural Fire Service Open Day (October), Christmas Concert (December), and our free live music festival, Googfest (February).
Design Guidelines for sustainable home design
Homes in Googong are built to exceed required BASIX sustainability standards. Googong homes are required to meet 40% energy reduction and 50% water reduction targets. Homes have either a 2000 or 4000 litre water tank for laundry and non-potable uses (in addition to access to recycled water as previously noted), and front gardens are to be completed within 12 weeks of occupation to enhance streetscapes and limit the impacts of Heat Island Effect in the neighbourhood.
Award Winning Community
5-Star ‘Green Star’ Accreditation by the Green Building Council of Australia
Googong was awarded the Green Building Council of Australia’s first 5-Star Green Star – Communities rating in 2016; a rating that was reaccredited in 2021 and confirmed and extended to 2026 in recognition of the deliverables achieved since the original certification. With such a notable accreditation, it’s no wonder that the community is brimming with sustainable elements.
Australia Day Award for Community Event
Googong’s much-loved live music festival, Googfest, took home the Australia Day Award for Queanbeyan-Palerang Region Community Event of the Year for its 2024 event.
Presented on January 26th at the Queanbeyan Town Park Australia Day celebrations, the award recognises Googfest’s significant contribution to the Queanbeyan-Palerang community, honouring local initiatives and leaders that positively impact the region.
MBA ACT
Commercial Construction of the Year
Googong was the winner of the Commercial Construction less than $5m for the Googong Sales Centre, 5 Glenrock Drive Googong.
Property Council of Australia ACT
Development of the Year
The RLB ACT Development of the Year award is part of the 2020 Property Council of Australia / Rider Levett Bucknall Innovation and Excellence Awards program. Googong took out the top award for development of the year in recognition of the township’s winning combination of high-standard amenity, sustainability and liveability.
UDIA NSW Awards for Excellence in Marketing
Judges Comments:
“Sited above Queanbeyan City and a stone’s throw to the southern suburbs of Canberra, Googong North has established a unique sense of place. Googong North is the first of five self-contained neighbourhoods in the development, bringing new lifestyle choices, affordable housing and infrastructure to the region. Ironically, it seems its isolation has generated a great deal of innovative and opportunistic thinking which has transferred into a powerful brand proposition. Topped off with a smart and highly professional marketing and events campaign the judges were unanimous in granting Googong North the top award.
Joint Venture partners, Peet and Mirvac, have gone over and above what good marketing is at Googong North; this is marketing par excellence. Community is the foundation of everything they did from strategy to design to everyday delivery on the ground. It’s a fabulous example that focuses on a larger cause delivered consistently with a sense of humour and commitment, such that a ‘sense of belonging and community pride’ can be the ultimate competitive advantage.
The simple focus has driven a highly successful financial result for the joint venture partners. One they believe will set up the project for future releases to deliver 6,500 new homes and a major commercial centre servicing over the next 15 years. This result is what good marketing should achieve.”
UDIA NSW Awards for Excellence in Masterplanned Communities
The judges recognised Googong North as a “masterplanned community of the highest order” that “thoroughly deserves the award.”
“The judges were particularly impressed with the effort that the developers are making in activating the public spaces and in creating a very strong sense of community. The developers should be congratulated on the success of their community development program. The extent of their engagement with the communty and the diverse range of community events is very impressive.”
“The developer’s commitment to creating a srong, vibrant and healthy community is very evident and is syrtongly applaudeed by the judges”.
UDIA NSW Awards for Excellence in Regional Developments
The judges noted that they “were particularly impressed by the ongoing delivery of quality open spaces and public domain. Beyond the delivery of physical assets, the project team has set a benchmark in community engagement.”
The judges also recognised that “The marketing campaigns are clever and highly memorable. They have been embraced by new residents who refer to themselves as Googonians.”
UDIA NSW Awards for Excellence in Environmental Technology and Sustainability
A project to conceive, plan, design and develop a brand new township on the outskirts of Canberra received a Commendation for Environmental Technology and Sustainability, and won the 2016 UDIA NSW Meriton Award for Excellence in Southern NSW Regions & ACT Development.
Googong is a new self-contained township that commenced construction in 2012 and will be completed in 2034. It is a joint venture between Mirvac and Peet Limited and boasts a range of sustainable firsts for the region.
The UDIA applauded the developers’ initiative in conceiving the township from scratch and working with five government jurisdictions as well as resolving complex cross-boarder water agreements, to get the project off the ground.
The innovative Integrated Water Cycle management system (IWC) features a dedicated water treatment and recycling plant that will enable 18,000 Googong residents to use less water than an average Australian community of around 6,500. It features the largest Membrane BioReactor in a residential water scheme in Australia (to date $68m of $112m for the IWC headworks have been delivered).
In addition to this technology, mandatory rainwater tanks are installed on all homes, which together with the IWC will reduce potable water for the township by 60%. Homes must also achieve a minimum 40 per cent Building Sustainable Index (BASIX) energy saving rating, which is 15 per cent higher than the southern region target.
The developers also delivered the framework for this sustainable community with the construction of a clubhouse, café/shop, gym, school, and high quality open spaces via the largest Local Planning Agreement in NSW, worth $300m.
The Green Building Council of Australia has recognised Googong for its innovative sustainability principles by awarding the township the first 5 Star Green Star Communities rating in the ACT/NSW region.
UDIA NSW Awards for Excellence in Southern NSW & ACT Development
A project to conceive, plan, design and develop a brand new township on the outskirts of Canberra received a Commendation for Environmental Technology and Sustainability, and won the 2016 UDIA NSW Meriton Award for Excellence in Southern NSW Regions & ACT Development.
Googong is a new self-contained township that commenced construction in 2012 and will be completed in 2034. It is a joint venture between Mirvac and Peet Limited and boasts a range of sustainable firsts for the region.
The UDIA applauded the developers’ initiative in conceiving the township from scratch and working with five government jurisdictions as well as resolving complex cross-boarder water agreements, to get the project off the ground.
The innovative Integrated Water Cycle management system (IWC) features a dedicated water treatment and recycling plant that will enable 18,000 Googong residents to use less water than an average Australian community of around 6,500. It features the largest Membrane BioReactor in a residential water scheme in Australia (to date $68m of $112m for the IWC headworks have been delivered).
In addition to this technology, mandatory rainwater tanks are installed on all homes, which together with the IWC will reduce potable water for the township by 60%. Homes must also achieve a minimum 40 per cent Building Sustainable Index (BASIX) energy saving rating, which is 15 per cent higher than the southern region target.
The developers also delivered the framework for this sustainable community with the construction of a clubhouse, café/shop, gym, school, and high quality open spaces via the largest Local Planning Agreement in NSW, worth $300m.
The Green Building Council of Australia has recognised Googong for its innovative sustainability principles by awarding the township the first 5 Star Green Star Communities rating in the ACT/NSW region.
UDIA NSW Awards for Excellence in Concept Design
After ten years of design and planning, the Googong team received the highest of industry accolades with the prestigious Concept Design Award from the 2011 NSW UDIA Awards for Excellence.
The award recognises concept design plans where construction has not commenced and celebrates the highest levels of achievement in innovation, sustainability and industry leadership in the urban development industry.
Judges commended the holistic approach taken to Googong’s masterplanning and highlighted the town’s focus on sustainability and environmental features including:
1. Water efficiency – Googong’s 16,000 residents will use less water than would normally sustain an average Australian community of 6,500, making the township a leader in sustainable integrated water cycle delivery.
2. Energy efficiency – which goes beyond BASIX 25% energy savings with measures designed to achieve savings of 40%.
3. Self-containment – of services, facilities and employment.
4. Environmental sensitivity – over 23% of Googong is dedicated to open spaces. Streets, parks and a major thread of open space, ‘Googong Common’, are designed to restore the landscape and provide valuable green spaces for the community.
5. Quality public domain – a $283 million Voluntary Planning Agreement that will deliver top quality community facilities early.
6. Affordable commitment – the developers are committed to delivering a minimum of 10% housing affordability.
7. Diverse living – a wide range of housing types and prices to create real variety and choice.
With construction set to begin next year, we’re thrilled to have industry endorsement of the Googong concept and recognition of its innovations.
Our Vision
Googong is a new beginning
Googong is a new beginning – a new township nestled within a unique landscape where innovation, a sustainable way of living and a true sense of belonging will be created.
Our Partners
Googong Township Pty Ltd
The company behind Googong, Googong Township Pty Ltd, is a joint venture between two of Australia’s leading property developers, Peet Limited and Mirvac Group.
Peet Limited
Peet is the company responsible for the vision behind Googong, having worked on the planning and design of the township since 2000. Peet is a publicly listed company and Australia’s largest specialist residential land developer, creating quality residential communities across Australia for more than 130 years.
Mirvac
Mirvac is one of the leading brands in the Australian development and construction industry and has produced some of Australia’s most renowned residential projects. Like Peet, Mirvac has a proven track record of innovative and sustainable development.