It contains the central business district of the regional City of Joondalup and acts as the primary urban centre of Perth's outer northern suburbs.

The Yellagonga Regional Park and a small bushland corridor near the TAFE and university campuses are located in the east and south.

In the Australian federal parliament, the suburb is part of the Division of Moore and is currently represented by Ian Goodenough.

[11] Joondalup's central business district, centred on Grand Boulevard, is largely a shopping and retail area lined with townhouses and apartments.

The Neil Hawkins Park is home to many parrots (including the Australian ringneck), cockatoos and kangaroos.

Arena Joondalup, located northwest of Lakeside Shopping Centre, is the home venue of West Perth Football Club and Wanneroo Basketball Association.

The Arena also hosts music events and festivals during the year, as well as the Home and Lifestyle Expo, an annual exhibition held in late March to early April.

Furthermore, in the early 1990s with the addition of the Western Reds to the National Rugby League, the Joondalup Giants was established playing home games from Admiral Park in WARL completion.

The North Metropolitan TAFE has a campus in Joondalup providing state government education to meet the demands of students wanting to enter the workforce with up-to-date, industry-specific, practical skills.

Situated in the same Joondalup Learning Precinct as ECU and the TAFE campuses is the West Australian Police Academy.

The Western Australia Police's training academy was moved from Maylands to Joondalup and was officially opened on 15 February 2002.

The suburb of Joondalup has three interchanges to the State Route 2, Mitchell Freeway on Hodges Drive, Shenton Avenue and Burns Beach Road.

Trains run southbound to the Perth CBD - a 25-minute journey - and northbound to the terminus of the line at Yanchep railway station.

Route 13 (Yellow CAT) also operates during the ECU school term in the evenings Monday to Thursday, serving exclusive stops on the campus.