Protecting and Enhancing Federation Square Terms of Reference

BackgroundFederation Square is the iconic heart of Melbourne, receiving over 10 million visitors each year. It is a venue for arts, culture and public events and home to major cultural institutions such as the Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia, the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI) and the Koorie Heritage Trust.

Opened in 2002, Federation Square is governed as a public non-financial corporation (Fed Square Pty Ltd). This means that Federation Square Pty Ltd who manages the precinct needs to deliver the outcomes outlined in the Civic and Cultural charter in a socially, environmentally and commercially sustainable manner.

On 5 April 2019, the Victorian Government announced its intention to conduct a detailed review of Federation Square. The review will examine Federation Square’s financial and governance arrangements, ensuring that it continues to grow as an innovative and exciting place for the community.

The review will also include consultation with key stakeholders and the community, giving Victorians the chance to have their say on the future of Federation Square. With the Apple project not proceeding, there is a timely opportunity to consider how the square could be protected and enhanced to ensure that it remains a space of connection and relevance to millions of Melbournians and visitors.

This will also consider the impact of several projects in the precinct including:

Metro Tunnel Town Hall Station entry located on the site of the western shard

ACMI redevelopment NGV redevelopment aspirations

Federation Square East proposals.

ObjectivesThe review will present recommendations to government to identify:

a vision for Federation Square that is supported by the community

improvements to governance arrangements for Federation Square

a more sustainable operating model for Federation Square.

This will ensure that Federation Square can thrive as a civic, cultural and commercial hub, providing world-class experiences for Victorians and visitors for years to come.

There are two streams to the review of Federation Square.

Stream one: Public purpose and built-form review The first stream of this review will consider:

how Federation Square has been used by the public to date, public attitudes and sentiments towards the public space and whether community expectations for Federation Square have been met

views of the community on how the public space might be used in the future, to build a shared vision for how it could evolve to benefit Victorians and visitors

design principles to inform contemporary enhancement of Federation Square, to be informed by consideration and awareness of the new Town Hall station entry, the ACMI redevelopment and other relevant precinct visions

options for the future of the Yarra Building to increase public interest, engagement and connectivity to the Yarra River

options for activating Federation Square East

careful consideration of heritage and other relevant requirements.

Stream two: Financial base review and governance reviewThe second stream of the review will consider:

current and expected future financial position and capabilities

sustainable operating model to deliver on the vision for Federation Square including and opportunities revenue uplift sensitive to the character of Federation Square

existing ownership and fit for purpose governance structures and arrangements, to better deliver on a shared vision for Federation Square

consideration of best practice global benchmarking of successful Public Squares and identifying best practice in financial management and governance.

Consultation processConsultation will occur with industry stakeholders and the community to inform the review, and be considered as part of stream one.

Governance The first stream of the review (Public purpose and built-form review) will be led by Ms Jill Garner, Victorian Government Architect. Mr Rob Adams, Director of City Design at the City of Melbourne, will provide expert advice.

The second stream of the review (Financial base review and governance review) will be led by Mr Tim Eddy.

Ms Deborah Beale, Chair of Fed Square Pty Ltd, will work closely with Mr Tim Eddy and Ms Jill Garner throughout the review.

The review will be supported by a project team. A project control board (PCB) will also be established to support the review.

TimelinesThe reports for each stream of the review will be provided to the Victorian Government for consideration.

Reports for both streams of the review will be completed within 12 months (by April 2020).