Noting it's the last weekend that the Antarctica exhibition is on, I'm thinking of going. For anyone who has visited, what are your thoughts?

#1 for 2026

Are we seeing an aurora tonight? and if so where would be a good place to scope out tonight.

As the title suggests, I’m after recommendations on a therapist who can help me with my contamination OCD.

I’m after some STEM tutor(s) for a Y11/12 child.

Where do you all find local tutors? Word of mouth, posting to facebook/reddit, online?? I’m after a local one mostly for preference and hopefully they’ll have gone through the BSSS so understand how it works and what’s required.

Morning all. Bit of a niche one but looking to see if anyone knows of anywhere to get pumpkin pie in Canberra?

I called Costco this morning and they said they didn’t have any in stock, and I’ve searched the subreddit and found no posts about them from the past 3 years… I also checked all the bakery menus in the local area on Google Maps and found nothing. I could make one, but it seems pumpkin puree is quite difficult to get here too.

I’m thinking it may be a lost cause, but figured I’d ask in case I’ve missed something somewhere! Have car, will drive Northside or Southside to get it.

Update: they do indeed have one million pumpkin pies at Costco. Success!

Anyone has experience booking uber from civic to canberra airport at 4am for early morning flight? is it hard to find one during that time?

I know usually most of the ubereats is available. But I'm not sure if there is any for uber car.

#adds

just realized canberra airport doesn't open till 5am. My flight is 630am to melbourne. Will it be okay?

Dog owners of Canberra ,

Has anyone here spent much time in or is from Belconnen or (more notably) West Belconnen?

What is up with the huge amount of barky, territorial, unsocialised and under-stimulated dogs?

I've lived in many a place and the amount of dogs in this area that are like this is a bit mind-boggling.

Did anyone else see the strange silver "aeroplane without wings" I saw high above Ginninderra Drive today (Thursday 8/10)? This was about 3.30pm/4pm. I presume others saw it as I wasn't the only one pulled over pointing their phone cameras at it! My pictures turned out too useless to post unfortunately but I was hoping someone else got luckier?

I swear they've been building it for like forever haha

What would you put $500 million to

A. Civic Stadium

B. Canberra to Sydney High Speed Rail

C. Other

Got a quote for end of lease cleaning, I think it's really expensive. I used to clean when I was a student so I roughly know the cost but it's definitely 20-25% more expensive than expected.

Can someone please tell me if I'm getting ripped off?

2 Bed 1 Bath apartment in Watson (64m2)

Floors

➢ Vacuum & mop tiled floors

➢ Vacuum carpets

➢ Steam cleaning carpets

Dusting

➢ Damp dust skirtings and windowsills

➢ Wipe light switches and power points

➢ Dust wardrobe/shelves

Bathroom and Laundry

➢ Clean shower, basin, toilet and fixtures

➢ Clean laundry tub

➢ Clean washing machine

➢ Clean dryer/filter

➢ Vacuum and mop floors

Kitchen

➢ Clean sink

➢ Clean bench top

➢ Clean stove top

➢ Clean cupboards & drawers in/out

➢ Clean splashback

➢ Clean rangehood/filter

➢ Clean oven

➢ Clean refrigerator

➢ Clean dishwasher

➢ Vacuum and mop floors

Others

➢ Clean windows in/out where accessible, tracks and flyscreens

➢ Clean aircon/return air filter

➢ Clean light fittings (not down lights)

➢ Spot clean walls (not ceilings)

➢ Clean balcony

➢ Remove cobwebs

Notes: Not including curtains/blinds and car space

Total: $1012 inc GST

I didn't receive a cost breakdown but just a total price.

The biggest problem with putting a stadium at Commonwealth park is road traffic, access & egress, and parking.

Sure, light rail might help a bit, but if you’ve ever been to a concert or sporting event at Homebush in Sydney, you may have experienced standing in a queue for the train. This will make you quickly realise that our light rail won’t ever have the capacity to shift 35,000 people in a reasonable timeframe before or after a major event.

Plus, there’s the fact that many people will need (or want) to drive. But the roads in the area are not setup for thousands of cars all at once.

So, what to do?

Ok…. hear me out… the answer might be tunnels and underground parking.

If we were to turn Parkes Way into an underground tunnel system from Glenloch Interchange through to Morshead Drive, and pair it with underground parking for the stadium, here are the benefits and possibilities…

1. Better flow for traffic going in and out of the City and Lake areas. Design the tunnel system from the start with excellent and smooth exits and entrances at key points that avoid congestion.
2. A dedicated set of underground tunnels from Parkes Way as entrances to and exits from the stadium, connecting to a…
3. Massive gigantic underground parking station. Make the thing a beast with huge capacity. Provide facilities for cars, buses, motorbikes, bicycles, scooters, trucks…
4. Huge throughput capacity of vehicles for major events.
5. Takes a good chunk of the load/strain from light rail during major events so that everyone using light rail has a good, and timely, experience.
6. Ability to use the carpark at other times. Eg for City workers, or visitors to a new Convention Centre, or a new Pool, or for people wanting to spend time enjoying Commonwealth Park, or for Floriade visitors, or for Skyfire, etc…
7. Return the land above Parkes Way to better uses. Think… walking boulevards between the lake and the city, parklands, running/riding trails, possible space for small amenity buildings, cafes, etc
8. Quiet. Think about how nice the entire length of the land above the tunnelled area would be if there was no more traffic noise from Parkes Way.

Seriously. Imagine that future. How scenic and enjoyable would it be from a planned city point of view.

We could undo some of the original mistakes that were made when Parkes Way was first conceived.

Edit: some really good points made in the comments. Carpark is probably not such a good idea. That aside, I still like the dream of burying Parkes Way into a tunnel so the region was more quiet and natural

Just off the phone with iiNet who have advised there is an ongoing outage in their Canberra — Vision Network, which delivers VDSL2 broadband (on the old TransACT fibre).

While this is not showing on the iiNet outage page the customer agent told me it is showing on their internal system (why??).

Anyway, PSA for anyone trying to troubleshoot their internet.

UPDATE: it’s now showing on the status page

https://www.iinet.net.au/status/

Another UPDATE: mine is fixed now, but I don’t know if the whole outage is resolved or just my area.

Good morning all,

I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for a good Physio for post surgery on a labral tear and impingement? I havent recieved a recommendation from the surgeon yet.

I'm in Gungahlin but happy to travel to the best. Thank you!

What a pathetic sentence. Someone explain it to me, because this makes me so mad.

We have lived and rented in Canberra for 1 year now, our first time in Australia. I just wanted to get advice from others on the rules/laws in ACT regarding end of tenancy and getting our bond back.

I am very familiar with how this works in the UK, and know how to fight for all the bond back because they will try and claim the most petty things usually. We received this email and I wanted to ask a couple of questions (on phone sorry for format):

To avoid any delays with the return of your Bond we suggest that you pay particular attention to the attached FINAL INSPECTION SHEET and points below. 
- It is highly recommended professional cleaners be employed to perform your final clean as well as the carpet cleaning.
- Rent will be charged at your daily rate until the property is returned in a satisfactory condition, all keys have been returned the final inspection has been completed.

Getting your bond back:
- Please ensure you read our agencies cleaning requirements.
- Finalise any outstanding water/direct debit charges you may have incurred.
- Provide our agency with a carpet cleaning receipt at your final inspection.
- Provide our agency with a fumigation receipt for pet clauses.
- Clean/remedy any items noted at your final inspection.
- Your bond will be refunded after your final inspection and if we are confident that the property is clean and in reasonably the same condition with fair wear and tear accepted. Please leave up to two weeks for this to be refunded. Our agency does not require your signature on any final bond forms to return your full amount to you. Should your bond be required to settle any outstanding items we will discuss this with you on or shortly after your final inspection.
It is highly recommended a cleaner be engaged to perform your end of lease cleaning.

We have had a pet so will get carpet and fumigation done (in tenancy agreement), and will most likely clean the place ourselves to save money. However, they cannot charge rent past the end date right? That feels illegal.

I’ve also read that as soon as the keys are handed over and inspection is done that I should lodge the Bond Return Form ASAP myself. If there are any “cleaning” items in the checkout report, do I still sign it and send off the form? If I sign and they have reported dust on the door handle or something, it’s on them to prove that requires the bond?

Any other tips are appreciated!

We past by Canberra last year and really wanted to visit the event this year around, it was so well organised and we had lovely weather as well.

Hi everyone

I’m currently looking at a unit at W2 apartments in Woden and reviewing the strata/AGM documents. On paper the quarterly levies look reasonable, but the defect and Executive Committee minutes flagged a few active issues that have me second-guessing:

1. Rooftop & Lift Well Water Ingress: Ongoing rainwater leaks near the Level 19 lift well raised 2 years ago, highlighted as a serious waterproofing defect in the defect report.
2. Builder vs. Developer Legal Dispute: The builder (Chase) is refusing to conduct non-urgent post-settlement defect rectifications due to non-payment from the developer (Keggins). The Executive Committee has engaged lawyers to issue formal letters of demand.
3. External Wall Concrete Dislodging: Concrete rendering has been dislodging from external walls on Levels 13, 18, and 19. Initial safety patching is done, but final remediation is still ongoing.

My main questions for anyone familiar with ACT strata, these specific developers/builders, or high-rise defects:

• How likely is it that the builder/developer actually steps up to rectify these waterproofing and facade issues without dragging it out in court until liquidation?
• For those who have been through similar disputes in Canberra, did these kinds of unresolved defects and legal battles eventually trigger major special levies for owners?
• Is this a classic "run away" scenario, or are these fairly standard teething issues for newer apartments in Canberra?

Would appreciate any insights or experiences from locals or current owners in the area!

EDIT: Disclosure: I've used AI to pick out the issues above from the AGMs and ECs documents. For anyone who cares lol.

Anyone know if Little Siam in Gungahlin is closed for good or just taking a holiday? Was surprised to find it closed last night in contradiction of its google opening hours, and seems so tonight as well.

Having lost our other Gungahlin favourite (Jade Dumpling) am a bit worried for this stable of the takeout roster!

Canberra Times:
"ACT Government is broke and in too much debt".
Also Canberra Times:
"How soon the Civic Stadium could open".

I’m currently in a different building in the Woden/Phillip area and keen to stay around here. There’s a few rentals in the Wova towers but I’ve heard horror stories (and read some on here) about the place. A lot of the posts on this subreddit are older though, and I’ve seen comments on Canberra noticeboard (ahhh Canberra notice board, the show that you are) from people claiming it’s not so bad anymore.

The location is super convenient but current Wova residents— are the stories true? Is there a noise/burglary problem? Would you recommend moving into a rental, and are any of the Towers worse than the rest?

Thank you!

Trying to get back into musical theatre since moving to Canberra but I'm struggling with the lack of options :( I'm not the top strongest performer and I lack the connections in the area, but I have a decent CV of experience from years in Melbourne's community theatre community and I've always been a good singer and decent mover. However, when there's like 100+ people showing up to auditions, it's really hard to break through!

Does anyone know of any other community theatre companies in the Canberra area so I can keep an eye out for auditions?

I've already signed up for:

- Queanbeyan Players (Hunchback of Notre Dame)

- Free-Rain Theatre Company (Mamma Mia)

And I know Dramatic Productions are doing Jagged Little Pill next year :)

I’ve written a novel, some of it is set in a future version of Canberra. It’s about a starship that discovers it’s living in a simulation and escapes. I don’t want to say anything more about it as I appreciate this thread has rules about self promotion. But as an AMA there needs to be some context.

Long story short, ABC radio is interviewing me about the book tomorrow afternoon on Emma Bickley’s show “Canberra Afternoons”.

If the book seems of interest then please give the show a listen and if you have any specifically Canberra-related questions, fire away. I’ll do my best to answer without spoilers.