About Canberra

Canberra is the national capital of Australia and as such is the ideal location to host MilCIS.

Set amongst magnificent limestone plains between Sydney and Melbourne, Canberra was established over a century ago.  A gracious modern city, Canberra is the result of an international architectural design competition. This beautiful city is world renowned for its vision of incorporating stunning modern urban areas together with vast green spaces of natural vegetation and unique wild life.  For this reason Canberra is known as the ‘bush capital’.

Canberra is seasonal and has a relatively dry continental climate with warm to hot summers and cool to cold winters. During MilCIS we will be welcoming Spring back to the Capital with temperatures ranging between 12-26 ⁰C.

Canberra is the seat of government in Australia. It is the site of Parliament House, the High Court of Australia, and numerous government departments and agencies. It is also the location of many social and cultural institutions of national significance, such as the Australian War Memorial, Australian National University, Australian Institute of Sport, the National Gallery of Australia, the National Portrait Gallery, the National Museum of Australia, the National Library of Australia, the National Arboretum, and the National Botanic Gardens.  Australian Army officers are trained at the Royal Military College, Duntroon and the Australian Defence Force Academy is also located in the capital.

Canberra is home to over 60 foreign missions and is a national hub for high technology and defence industry organisations providing ease of access to major decision makers.  A growing number of software vendors have based themselves in Canberra to capitalise on the concentration of government customers.

Canberra is designed and developed around its beautiful lake, named for its architect Walter Burley Griffin.  The urban areas are organised into a hierarchy of districts, town centres, group centres, local suburbs, as well as other industrial areas and villages. The town centres tend to be the focus of commercial and social activities.

As much as Canberra is designed to create a delightful balance between urban and green spaces, the city is well-positioned to experience the best of arts and culture, as well as outdoor pursuits.  With a bustling calendar of cultural events, festivals, exhibitions and tours, Canberra is full of unexpected delights for arts enthusiasts. There are great restaurants, eateries, bars and nightclubs as well as excellent and conveniently located shopping experiences. Our accommodation options are modern and very accessible. As public transport is economical and consumer focused, travelling around the capital is a positive experience. Along with marine activities on the lake, a comprehensive and well-serviced network of parks and reserves, extensive walking trails and cycle ways offer wonderful opportunities for recreation, exploration and rejuvenation while visiting our beautiful city of Canberra.

Visit Canberra Tourism for more information about Canberra.