With increasing focus on the importance of integrating nature spaces and nature-based solutions into our cities, what are the key priorities and pathways for action in Australian cities? Australia, a highly urbanised settler colonial country, has a rich biodiversity and cultural heritage, the result of thousands of years of custodianship and care for Country by the First Peoples. Their deep cultural and ecological knowledge and ongoing care and connection with Country, including urban Country, underpins approaches to restoring and connecting with nature in Australian cities. With continuing urbanisation and urban change, as well as increasing impacts of climate change, including heatwaves, wildfires, flooding, and extreme weather, we identify four pathways for just transitions with and for urban nature in cities. The pathways focus on ways of thinking, organising, acting, and knowing for prioritising urban nature. We highlight evidence-based planning for nature (ways of knowing); inclusive governance for just transitions (ways of organising); conserving, restoring, and maintaining nature (ways of acting); and emphasising First People’s and local communities’ knowledges and practices (ways of knowing). Our pathways, or stepping stones, point to interlinked and interrelated priorities for ensuring nature is actively and effectively integrated into Australian city planning and practice.