Timeline of the NCA and preceding bodies: The FCAC oversaw the construction of Canberra from 1921 to 1924 following the termination of the contract of architect Walter Burley Griffin.

The Committee was chaired by Australian architect Sir John Sulman, and advised the Minister of Home Affairs on the Construction of Canberra and conducted a review of the Griffin Plan.

During the first 2 years of FCC operation Parliament House, The Lodge, the Albert Hall, the Institute of Anatomy, the Australian School of Forestry and an observatory on Mount Stromlo were completed.

Federal Capital Commission architects designed houses in the new city and public buildings using a mixture of elements from the Arts and Crafts movement, Mediterranean and Georgian styles.

The architect William Hardy Wilson led the reaction against the ornateness of the Federation style and advocated adopting approaches from the United States.

When Leslie Wilkinson arrived in Australia in 1918 to take up his position as the first Professor of Architecture at an Australian university, he reinforced Wilson's view and advocated building appropriately for the climate, suggesting the Spanish Mission style of architecture in California and Mexico as being an appropriate style for Australia.

There was also interest in Classicism by English architects, including Edwin Lutyens, who was responsible for many of the public buildings in New Delhi built from 1912 to 1929 in the wake of the decision to replace Calcutta as the seat of the British Indian government.

The NCPDC was to advise the Minister of the Interior to safeguard the Griffin plan and maintain high aesthetic and architectural standards worthy of a National Capital.