Fronting a federal parliamentary committee on Tuesday, National Capital Authority chief executive Sally Barnes revealed the measure was being used to manage rabbit numbers in Canberra's Parliamentary Triangle.

Experts pointed to higher than average rainfall in Canberra as the reason behind an explosion in rabbit numbers earlier this year, in particular around Lake Burley Griffin and City Hill.

Labor MP for Bean David Smith asked Ms Barnes at Tuesday's hearing what was being done to control the rabbit infestation, after receiving complaints about the issue.

"Rabbits are always an issue for us," she said.

Ms Barnes said "targeted shootings" were used in "some places" as part of an ongoing rabbit management program, adding that "we have to be very careful about that".

A National Capital Authority spokeswoman said expert contractors used air rifles, not bullets, and best-practice guidelines for the humane control of rabbits were always followed. Rabbit carcasses were donated to the zoo, she said.

The spokeswoman said the authority had implemented a number of rabbit control programs over the years.

She said that while rabbit numbers tended to increase through Spring, they appeared to have "exploded" this year amid the onset of La Nina.

"The rains have made the grasses abundant and, given favourable weather and food conditions, rabbits will breed uncontrollably," she said.

Ms Barnes told the committee that rabbits were also preyed upon by birds, implying that was helping to reduce numbers. The authority's preference was to not use poison to kill the animals.

Ms Barnes said there hadn't been a significant increase in damage caused by the rabbits, although she acknowledged there were some bare areas where vegetation wasn't growing back.

The authority spokeswoman said rabbits posed a threat to native and exotic species of plants, which made it important to partner with landowners and the ACT government on a "co-ordinated and viable response".

WA Liberal senator Matt O'Sullivan told the committee that he'd almost ran into a rabbit during a recent trip around the lake.

"They are certainly feasting on something because they were the biggest rabbits I've ever seen," he told the committee.

Meanwhile, the authority have hinted at a possible location for the proposed National Resting Place, which would hold repatriated ancestral remains of Indigenous Australians.

The Canberra Times this week reported the business case for the project had been completed and handed to the government, with supporters - including Coalition members - pushing for it to now be funded and built.

Ms Barnes said she wasn't aware of the status of the project, as that was a matter for the government.

But chief planner Andrew Smith indicated that if the long-awaited new precinct was to be built, it might be near Reconciliation Place on the banks of Lake Burley Griffin.

The carpark between Reconciliation Place and the National Library of Australia has long been rumored as a possible site for the precinct.

The site is also being eyed by the private backers of a separate proposed Indigenous cultural institution, known as the National Dreaming Centre.

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