New data shows Canberra nightlife is improving, but bar owners say otherwise

New card transaction data has revealed that Canberra has climbed to the position of 10^th-best nightlife economy in Australia, up from its 2025 ranking of 12^th.

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Though the data shows growth in Canberra's night-time spending, it reflects a trend away from drinking and entertainment and towards dining.

For bar owner Dave Howe, the improvement is negligible for late-night venues.

Owner of Dissent Cafe & Bar, Dave Howe, says the data doesn't necessarily reflect the reality of running a night-time business. Picture by Karleen Minney

"We're doing better, I guess," Mr Howe said, "but I still wouldn't call it a great environment for a night-time economy."

Visa recorded all spending at night to create the Night-time Economy Index, which assesses the "vibe" of an area's nightlife based on a number of factors.

These factors include the proportion of spending that occurs at night, the number of businesses open, the number of employees working, and the accessibility of transport.

Canberra has been dethroned as the top nightlife location outside of Sydney and Melbourne, with Brisbane's inner city taking the eighth spot behind Melbourne's inner city, at number one, and a series of urban areas in Sydney.

Across all 88 locations listed on the index, Australians are going out an average of 80 nights per year, an improvement on last year's 69 nights per year.

In Canberra, spending on restaurants increased, as well as spending on transport.

Canberra also saw an increase in the number of establishments open at night, including bars and restaurants but also grocery stores, pharmacies, and convenience stores.

Safety at night stood out as a factor significantly above the national average.

Dr Simon Baptist, the Asia-Pacific principal economist at Visa, said Canberra's nightlife is increasingly concentrated in dining, rather than in clubbing or entertainment, though Canberrans spend on "a broad range" of night-time activities.

"It's not a very concentrated night-time economy but it's very diverse and consistent," Dr Baptist said.

The transaction data reflected that, rather than casual drinking or dining, spending is increasingly motivated by consumers' passions, which include games, cosmetics, music, and sports.

Mr Howe, owner of Dissent Cafe & Bar in Civic, feels these trends keenly.

"Our figures are up over last year, but it's very slight, and not evenly spread across all nights and all times," he said.

These figures are boosted by ticket sales for live music events at Dissent and spending on food, as spending on alcohol decreases.

Mr Howe attributes the shift in spending to a range of factors.

"Discretionary spending is down and people are more health-conscious," he said.

"It's also a bit of a demographic shift. Young people are less inclined to have a big night of drinking alcohol, and more so to buy dinner."

According to Dr Baptist, one area for improvement is access to public transport at night, which facilitates night-time spending.

Though Canberra's public transport access is "not the worst" in the country, it's "definitely not the best for a city in the top 10".

For Mr Howe, however, increased access to public transport would be unlikely to increase spending at bars and music venues.

"Broadly speaking, people who are spending money on a night out likely fall into a demographic that can afford to pay for an Uber to get home," he said said.

Dave Howe at Dissent Cafe & Bar. Picture by Karleen Minney

"Public transport appeals mainly to younger crowds, and they don't spend much money going out anyway.

"Paying for a gig costs them already. They're not going to spend much more."

John-Paul Romano, the co-owner of night-time food vendor The Doghouse in Civic, has observed that the drinking crowd in the city centre is dwindling, and increasingly heading out exclusively on Saturdays.

"There's no 'two beers after work' culture anymore, so Thursdays and Fridays are dying out," he said.

"Now, it's more like: 'let's go out on Saturday and have a big night'."

Mr Romano argues that the ACT needs a night-time economy coordinator.

In May 2025, independent member for Kurrajong Thomas Emerson, in collaboration with a number of ACT venue owners, sent a letter to former minister for the night-time economy Tara Cheyne insisting upon the need for a coordinator to operate as a port of call between the hospitality industry and the government.

Ms Cheyne expressed that she was open to establishing such a role in May, before the July cabinet reshuffle named Michael Pettersson the new minister for the night-time economy.

Dr Baptist noted that the data showed that another area for improvement in Canberra is policy, and said that nightlife could improve with "a more fully dedicated city night-time economy strategy".

Mr Howe is doubtful that policy will fix the situation.

"It's more about the whole economy. If people didn't feel so much financial pressure, they'd be much more inclined to come out and party."

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