Our Community
This Waterfront Belongs To Everyone.
The New Sydney Waterfront CID is not just a business program. It is a commitment to the communities — residents, neighbor's, First Nations peoples, and visitors — who make this waterfront what it is.
Heard. Included. Represented.
From the very beginning, the New Sydney Waterfront Company has engaged with the communities that live, work and gather across Sydney's western waterfront. Not as an afterthought — but as a foundational part of how this CID has been designed and developed over five years.
Our working groups, consultation sessions, formal research programs and partnership agreements with community organisations have directly shaped the CID program. The ferry. The events calendar. The wayfinding. The First Nations storytelling. These reflect what the communities of this precinct have told us they need.
5+
Years of structured community consultation
78%
Support for CID establishment — less than 3% opposed
6,000+
Residents, workers & visitors surveyed since 2022
130+
Stakeholder organisations engaged in ESG assessment
First Nations
Country, Culture & Community
Acknowledgement of Country
The New Sydney Waterfront Company acknowledges the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation as the Traditional Custodians of the land on which Sydney's western waterfront stands. We pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging, and recognise the continuing connection of First Nations peoples to Country, waters, community and culture.
Working with the Metropolitan Aboriginal Land Council
The New Sydney Waterfront Company has engaged regularly with the Metropolitan Aboriginal Land Council throughout the development of the CID program — ensuring that First Nations perspectives, cultural knowledge and community priorities are embedded in our planning and consultation from the beginning, not added at the end.
Metropolitan Aboriginal Land Council membership of and attendance at the Community Liaison Working Group throughout 2023–2025
Contribution to the ESG Materiality Assessment consultation and workshops — one of 130 stakeholder organisations engaged
Extensive First Nations consultation through dedicated Curatorial Advisors for the Whale Tales precinct activation
First Nations reconciliation strategies contributed by founding member businesses including ICC Sydney, Lendlease, Mirvac and GPT
Ongoing support for the Yananarula Walking on Country harbour walk — embedding First Nations storytelling in the precinct's identity and visitor experience
The Communities We Work With
The western waterfront is home to and bordered by some of Sydney's most distinct and active communities. We have engaged with all of them — through working group meetings, consultation sessions, pilot programs and in many cases formal partnership arrangements.
Representing the historic residential and arts community beneath the Harbour Bridge. NSWCo meets regularly with the Association — their deep knowledge of this precinct shapes how we approach heritage, community amenity and cultural activation.
Regular engagement · working group participant
Our Neighborhood Communities
A leading community voice for Pyrmont — advocating on connectivity, development impact, public transport and community amenity. Particularly active in shaping the CID's approach to the Hopper Ferry, Pyrmont Metro connections and the ongoing transformation of the peninsula.
Regular engagement · working group participant
Pyrmont Action
Bringing together the diverse businesses and community organisations of Haymarket — one of Sydney's most culturally rich neighbourhoods, bordering the southern end of the precinct. The group has strong CALD membership and has been central to NSWCo's culturally and linguistically diverse community engagement program.
Regular engagement · CALD representation
Haymarket Working Group
Representing local businesses across the southern end of the CID precinct. NSWCo meets regularly with the Chamber to ensure the program reflects the priorities of businesses and the communities they serve in Pyrmont and Ultimo.
Regular engagement
Pyrmont Ultimo Business Chamber
NSWCo's CALD engagement has been conducted through the BDO ESG Materiality Assessment, the Haymarket Working Group and the Sydney Fringe Festival partnership — ensuring the CID program reflects the full cultural diversity of one of Australia's most multicultural precincts.
ESG consultation · Haymarket WG · Sydney Fringe
Culturally & Linguistically Diverse communities
Adjacent to Walsh Bay, Millers Point is one of Sydney's oldest residential neighbourhoods. Its community has been engaged on matters of heritage, connectivity and residential amenity — their perspective on the balance between precinct activation and community character directly informs the CID program.
Consultation participant
Millers Point Community
Four Working Groups. Five Years Of Meetings.
NSWCo convened and supported four formal working groups throughout the pilot — each meeting regularly, each with documented minutes, each directly shaping the CID proposal through structured consultation.
Community representatives from across the precinct — providing an environment for community groups to input directly to pilot planning, priorities and initiatives, and shape the CID program to maximise community benefits.
Precinct Community Liaison Group
· 2023 to June 2025 ·
Member businesses and marketing and activation specialists — supporting collaborative approaches to the positioning and activation of the precinct, informed by the data and insights platform.
Precinct Strategy & Performance Working Group
· 2023 to June 2025
Technical subject matter experts from member businesses — guiding the development and refinement of the precinct-wide data analytics and insights platform.
Data Analytics & Insights Working Group
· 2022 to June 2025
Representatives from NSW Government departments, agencies and the City of Sydney — supporting alignment of government and CID business strategies, programs and investment priorities.
Government Liaison Group
· 2023 to June 2025 · Bi-monthly standing meetings with City of Sydney and PMNSW
NSWCo leadership also meets regularly with Transport for NSW, the Office of the 24-Hour Economy Commissioner, Destination NSW, Create NSW, the NSW Department of Planning, Tourism Australia, Business Sydney, the Committee for Sydney, the Tourism and Transport Forum and the Property Council.
Five Years of Structured Engagement"
The CID program has been shaped by extensive independent research — not assumptions. More than 6,000 precinct residents, workers and visitors have been surveyed through regular intercept surveys since 2022. Two dedicated research programs tested the emerging CID proposal directly with the precinct community.
78%
Support for CID establishment — less than 3% opposed across all surveys
88%
Agree precinct-wide planning and coordination is important
91%
Support for a consistent, data-led events and activation strategy
96%
Of data platform users found it useful for decision-making
The Sounding Surveys were structured as three separate surveys for commercial office space owners and occupiers, hospitality and tourism businesses, and community representatives — ensuring every constituency had a tailored opportunity to provide feedback on the CID program and its proposed initiatives.
ESG Materiality Assessment
Precinct ESG Materiality Assessment · June 2024 · BDO
Listening to 130 organisations to understand what sustainability means for this precinct
In 2024, NSWCo commissioned a formal ESG Materiality Assessment — conducted by BDO through a competitive tender process and supported by a grant from the City of Sydney. It is one of the most comprehensive sustainability consultations undertaken for any Sydney urban precinct.
BDO surveyed 500 representatives from 130 stakeholder organisations and conducted workshops with the City of Sydney, NSWCo Board members, working groups, Placemaking NSW and the Metropolitan Aboriginal Land Council. Through this process, 150 potential ESG topics were assessed and refined to produce seven key ESG material priorities — directly informing the CID program design.
150
ESG topics assessed
7
Priority ESG material topics
130
Stakeholder organisations
500
Survey respondents
Memoranda of Understanding
The New Sydney Waterfront Company has formalised its relationships with a number of community organisations through Memoranda of Understanding — committing both parties to ongoing collaboration, genuine community input and shared outcomes for the people of the western waterfront.
A better waterfront for everyone
The CID program delivers direct, tangible benefits for the communities of the western waterfront — not just for businesses.
A free Hopper Ferry
A CID-funded electric ferry connecting all eight precincts — free to use. Making it easier for residents, workers and visitors to move around the waterfront without a car.
A richer events calendar
More events, more consistently — from major activations like Darling Harbour fireworks and drone shows to community markets and cultural programs the whole community can enjoy.
A collective voice on planning & transport
A formally constituted, data-backed voice on the planning decisions, transport investments and infrastructure priorities that shape daily life on the waterfront.
Better wayfinding & connections
Clearer signage, safer pedestrian corridors and better connections — informed by accessibility and disability community input and designed to work for everyone.
First Nations cultural programming
A dedicated program embedding First Nations storytelling, cultural events and art across the precinct — including support for the Yananarula Walking on Country harbour walk.
Preserved neighbourhood identities
The distinct character of Walsh Bay, Pyrmont, Millers Point and every sub-precinct is explicitly protected and strengthened in the CID program. Connection, not homogenisation.
This is your waterfront too
There are several ways to engage with the CID process — whether you want to attend a session, share your views, or stay connected throughout the campaign.
Attend a session
Community information sessions are being held across the precinct. Come along, ask questions and meet our team.
Share your views
Contact us directly. Every piece of community feedback informs how the program develops.
Stay informed
Subscribe to receive news about the ballot timeline, information sessions and program developments.