Creating ‘liveable’ communities that are healthy and sustainable is increasingly an aspiration in the Australian urban policy discourse. A growing number of indicators are being used at the national, state and local level to compare the liveability of cities and regions. However, the challenge is to create validated indicators that can inform policy, and measure progress on integrated planning approaches. This paper brings together the concepts of urban liveability and the social determinants of health, and explores how best to develop and report liveability indicators to influence policy. It reviews the literature to identify liveability indicators used to date in Australia and internationally, and assesses their quality using a health and wellbeing lens. The paper then outlines the results of consultations with Melbourne-based academics and policy makers, on how to increase the utility of indicators. There is a substantial opportunity to develop robust, evidence-based and policy-relevant liveability indicators that could better support the creation of healthy, liveable and sustainable cities within Australia and beyond.