Departments of Education, Workplace Relations to move into new 11-storey Civic office by mid-2026

It marks the second major move for a federal agency after the Australian Taxation Office announced it was going to a new building in Barton in 2025, leaving its Narellan and Genge Street offices empty.

The 70,000-square-metre site on the corner of London Circuit and Northbourne Avenue will be called London Quarter and is expected to be developed into an 11-floor office.

The Department of Education, the Department of Workplace Relations and the Australian Electoral Commission will all move to the central office building in mid-2026 for a 15-year lease allowing all Canberra-based staff to work in the one location.

The building will be designed with touchless amenities and will offer open floor space for staff.

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The department will provide a submission to a parliamentary committee during this month with further details expected by the end of the year.

The Education Department went to tender for a new site in late 2020 as its five leases, covering 75,000 square metres of office space across Canberra, are due to expire by May 2025.

It sought expressions of interest for accommodation options between 50,000 and 70,000 square metres within the Canberra CBD.

The ACT government flagged late last month it was in the final stages of selling the block of land, known as Block 40, Section 100 City, after it was first advertised for sale in February last year.

The site is currently used as a car park for the ACT Supreme Court and Melbourne Building businesses.

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