Can Australian Music Survive in the Age of Spotify?
More good news for live music operators and venue owners in NSW.
The Minns Government has announced a package of planning reforms that’ll make it meaningfully easier to run events, open outdoor spaces, and activate underused corners of NSW cities and towns.
The government is proposing to expand the range of activities permitted inside Special Entertainment Precincts, with public exhibition opening next month. The proposed changes include allowing community facilities like town halls to host pop-up events without a DA, expanding rooftop dining and entertainment options, making it simpler to convert empty shops and offices into small licensed venues, and activating commercial buildings and car parks for temporary live music and community events.
NSW now has nine Special Entertainment Precincts, up from just one when the Minns Government took office in 2023, and there are currently 24 councils considering setting up new ones. These precincts are increasingly becoming the framework through which live music gets protected and promoted at the local government level, so the proposed enhancements are worth watching closely.
Minister for Music and the Night-time Economy John Graham said the changes were about “unlocking vibrancy” and ensuring that NSW’s great locations aren’t “tied up in red tape.”
Also anounced is that outdoor dining is now exempt development for registered clubs on Crown Land. That means local Bowlo’s, RSLs, Surf Clubs or Golf Clubs no longer needs to lodge a development application to set up tables outside. The change brings hundreds of clubs into line with other hospitality businesses that already benefit from earlier planning reforms.
