Canberra Overtakes Adelaide as Most Livable City in Australia

Canberra has climbed to the top of Australia's list of most livable cities. According to Property Council of Australia's annual survey, Canberra scored high in education, safety and outdoor recreation. The capital city was ranked second in cleanliness, healthcare services, roads, design, economic opportunities and employment.

This is the first time Canberra was hailed as Australia's most livable city after beating Adelaide which held the top spot in 2012 and 2013.

The Property Council of Australia polled 5,400 people across 10 cities to rate their city based on issues that are important to them. The property council's Catherine Carter said the results of the survey reflect how people see their own city. The poll also serves as a report card to governments on how its residents see the improvements in their cities.

The people who participated in the survey believe that the ACT government should do more in making housing more affordable to citizens. The government is also called to establish a fair level of taxation for buying and selling property.

Ms Carter said the ACT government should consider increasing the supply of homes including houses with affordable rent to boost livability ranking. She added that a city with expensive homes cannot be declared livable.

Chief Minister Katy Gallagher admitted that the high cost of housing has become a problem. Ms Gallagher said the government is "genuinely doing everything we can be doing." She remained hopeful that Canberra will ease into more affordable homes in the next couple of years.

Meanwhile, Melbourne has improved its ranking in the latest survey with residents seeing big improvements in roads and a more attractive city design. The city also enjoys diversity in its people. Aside from Melbourne, Sydney moved up on the list despite performing poorly in traffic congestion and affordability.

Among the cities included in the survey, Darwin was at the bottom of list since it received low scores in education, safety, healthcare, education and affordability. On the other hand, Darwin performed well economic and employment opportunities.

Perth fell in the rankings based on low economic scores due to the state's slowing mining industry.