Category: NSW News

As part of the Minns Labor Government’s plan to confront the housing crisis, a proposal from Landcom to deliver 330 new homes in Orange, with 20 per cent of these homes being identified as affordable housing, is on exhibition for community feedback.

This rezoning proposal for Redmond Place Precinct at Orange is the first site recommended to progress through the Social and Affordable Housing Rezoning Pathway, one of the Government’s earliest policies to reform the planning system.

The policy implements a faster, simplified rezoning process for the state’s housing agencies; Homes NSW, Landcom and the Aboriginal Housing Office, to speed up the delivery of social and affordable housing.

This pathway adds to the planning reforms introduced by the Minns Labor Government over the past 12 months aimed at delivering more homes faster.

The proposal aims to amend the Orange Local Environmental Plan (OLEP) 2011 to allow the rezoning of vacant Council-owned land for a residential precinct.

The public exhibition opens on Monday 21 and will close on Monday November 12, 2024.

To make a submission or find out more, visit the NSW Planning Portal at https://www.planningportal.nsw.gov.au/ppr/redmond-place-orange

Minister for Planning and Public Spaces Paul Scully said:

“This proposal will deliver good housing outcomes for Orange.

“The NSW Government is committed to exploring suitable housing opportunities across the state which promote economic diversity, innovation and sustainability.

“We need to confront the housing crisis head on by using all levers we can pull to speed up the delivery of new homes.

“The Social and Affordable Housing Pathway is an important part of the NSW Government’s plan to boost affordable housing stock across the State.

“Our State’s future depends on more affordable homes being built for families. This is critical because if NSW loses our young people, then NSW loses its future.”

Member for Orange Phil Donato said:

“The proposal from Landcom in partnership with Orange City Council will help meet the growing demand for housing in regional New South Wales.

“I encourage everyone to have their say on this proposal from Landcom.

“Let’s make the great Australian dream of owning a home a reality!”

Orange Mayor Tony Mileto said:

“There is still work to do but this is a great milestone to reach for Orange. The community has some strong views on how the city should be developed and how we can address affordability. It’s great to see the vision reflected in the rezoning proposal. I urge Orange residents to get involved in this latest step to seek feedback.”

Landcom CEO Alex Wendler said:

“The development will provide new homes to accommodate the changing needs and demographics of the Orange region and offer more opportunity for households to buy their own home.

“I look forward to working with Council and the community as we progress with the project to deliver much needed housing.”

Minister for Agriculture and Minister for Regional New South Wales Tara Moriarty has met with Forestry Corporation fire specialists to discuss bushfire preparations on the Mid North Coast.

Minister Moriarty attended Forestry Corporation’s Wauchope depot to speak with fire crews, who are geared up and ready to put their training into action protecting forests and communities during the NSW bushfire season.

Forestry Corporation is one of the state’s four fire authorities joining the NSW Rural Fire Service, Fire and Rescue NSW and National Parks and Wildlife.

The organisation oversees land management, bushfire preparation and response across more than 2-million hectares of state forests.

Forestry Corporation has more than 500 trained firefighters rostered on to respond to state forest fires across NSW.

Firefighters are trained in national firefighting competencies and its highly experienced managers undertake Incident Management Team roles on major firegrounds.

Forestry Corporation has a statewide fleet of more than 450 fire appliances, 35 pieces of heavy plant, four contracted aircraft and over 130 drones and trained pilots.

Heavy plant machinery, which the broader forestry industry uses to harvest sustainable timber is also available to fight fires.

This machinery including bulldozers, excavators and specialist harvesting machines are used to create control lines for firefighting, set up back burns and remove dangerous trees for firefighting safety.

In 2023/24 Forestry Corporation firefighters and fire managers were engaged in a total of 184 fires, this impacted 98,250 hectares of land.

During the 2019-2020 Black Summer bushfires, this heavy plant machinery played an instrumental role in stopping the spread of fast burning bushfires saving life, property and assets across NSW.

Outside of the bushfire season, Forestry Corporation also conducts forest hazard reduction burns and undertakes cultural burns in partnership with local Aboriginal communities.

Forestry Corporation also sends its expert fire specialists abroad in the winter months to assist international firefighting agencies in the Northern hemisphere.

Six staff members deployed to the United States and Canada this year and last year Port Macquarie local Matt Model was one of Forestry’s fire specialists, who deployed to Canada bringing back firefighting skills and expertise to the region.

Minister for Regional New South Wales Tara Moriarty:

“The NSW Forestry Corporation has managed fire in state forests for more than 100 years.

“Forestry Corporation’s trained firefighters work in State forests every day of the year, protecting lives, the environment, forestry resources and local communities.

“They have decades of experience in managing forest fires, working with the RFS, managing heavy equipment across major firegrounds and maintaining thousands of kilometres of fire trails,

“When bushfires are reported in our NSW state forests, our forest firefighters rapidly respond using their large fleet of appliances and bringing in heavy plant machinery from the broader forest and timber industry.”

Forestry Corporation Senior Manager Fire and Natural Hazards Rebel Talbert:

“As one of the four statutory firefighting authorities in NSW, Forestry Corporation works collaboratively with the other agencies to protect communities, the environment and the State’s essential timber assets from the risk of fire.

“We are well prepared heading into the fire season with a workforce of skilled firefighters, a fleet of equipment, drones and heavy plant ready to deploy and networks of fire trails and fire towers maintained to aid rapid detection and early suppression of fires.

Forestry Corporation Fire and Operations Team Leader, Wauchope, Matt Model:

“In managing more than 200,000 hectares of state forests here on the Mid North Coast, we keep the Mid Coast Bush Fire Management Committee briefed on fuel loads and fire conditions in state forests.

“Since the Black Summer Bushfires here on the Mid North Coast firefighting technology has been rapidly expanded across NSW to include drones and satellite technology, which this summer will  help our crews with early detection, mapping, response and containment of forest fires.” 

A second NSW hospital has joined an innovative pilot scheme that has paramedics working alongside other healthcare professionals to improve access to care in regional settings.

Wagga Wagga Base Hospital has joined Mudgee Hospital’s emergency department in the Integrated Paramedic Workforce Model Pilot, which is seeing paramedics included in a multidiscplinary team to provide care to patients in the hospital’s Rapid Access Clinic.

The paramedics will be working alongside other clinical staff in the Rapid Access Clinic, which was originally developed in 2018 to help reduce waiting times in the hospital’s Emergency Department.

The Rapid Access Clinic has since been expanded to offer a range of healthcare services including diagnostics, allied health, Hospital in the Home, an Infusion Clinic, minor procedures and specialist team review.

The Wagga Wagga trial will see up to two NSW Ambulance paramedics rostered on in the Rapid Access Clinic and Hospital in the Home service, working alongside regular clinic staff for a period of eight weeks.

How a paramedic works with existing Rapid Access Clinic staff as part of the multidisciplinary team in treatment areas will depend on each patient’s individual needs and hospital staff will inform patients if a paramedic is involved in their care.

The trial, which is open to NSW Ambulance paramedics across the state, is evaluating how paramedics may be able to complement existing workforces in healthcare settings.

Minister for Regional Health Ryan Park

“In Wagga Wagga, paramedics will provide additional clinical care working alongside our dedicated doctors, nurses and allied health teams to provide treatment, and improve access to care.

“Attracting and retaining healthcare workers in regional settings is a longstanding challenge faced by every state and territory in Australia, and the NSW Government is committed to building a more supported regional health workforce through innovative initiatives like the Integrated Paramedic Workforce Model Pilot.”

Member for Wagga Wagga Dr Joe McGirr

“I welcome the news that Wagga Wagga Base Hospital has been selected to trial this innovative model to improve access to care.

“Access to care in regional and rural areas is something we need to improve, and I look forward to the results of this pilot.”

Murrumbidgee Local Health District Chief Executive Jill Ludford

“Murrumbidgee Local Health District has a long history of innovation in the delivery of high-quality care, so we are proud to join Mudgee Hospital in trialling another innovation – the Integrated Paramedic Workforce Model Pilot.

“Our District continues to work closely with our colleagues at NSW Ambulance to consider how and when paramedics will provide their skills, to ensure all patients receive appropriate care from appropriate staff.”

Premier Chris Minns and Minister for Sport Steve Kamper are more concerned with cage fighting as families across the state grapple with rising cost of living costs, rental stress, and a housing crisis.
 
NSW Opposition Leader Mark Speakman said families are hurting under the weight of rising rent, fuel prices, and skyrocketing groceries, and this Premier think’s cage fighting is the answer.
 
“This is a Premier who can’t read the room and is tone deaf, hosting an event where women’s safety advocates have warned glorifies violence — while households are scrambling just to keep the lights on,” Mr Speakman said.
 
This is not the first time the government has chosen to back the UFC despite public outcry. During the last UFC event in NSW, fighter Sean Strickland — who headlined the event — openly bragged about punching a fan at Bondi. Despite this behaviour, the Minns Labor Government continues to host these events.
 
The government has repeatedly talked about addressing violence, yet they are choosing to invest taxpayer money into promoting cage fighting.
 
Shadow Minister for Prevention of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Leslie Williams said women’s groups have warned these events sends dangerous messages about masculinity and violence.
 
“What kind of message does it send to struggling families when the government’s priority is cage fighting rather than providing cost of living relief in the lead up to Christmas,” Ms Williams said.
 
During a cost-of-living and housing crisis, people need real support, not distractions. The Minns Labor Government should be focusing on easing the burden on families, not investing in events that do nothing to address the challenges they are facing.

In a world first, Cancer Institute NSW has identified that around 7,900 people in NSW are living with metastatic breast cancer. A discovery which will help improve cancer outcomes not just in NSW, but across the entire country.

Using the Cancer Institute NSW’s unique linked data sets, a methodology which will soon be shared nationally and internationally, it has been determined that 7,850 women and 50 men in NSW are living with metastatic breast cancer.

Understanding the number of people living with this disease will help overcome the feeling of invisibility described by so many and ensure that NSW is prepared to support the growing number of people living with and surviving cancer, thanks to medical advancements in treatment and care.

It will also ensure health professionals and researchers better understand the impact of diagnostics and treatment on breast cancer recurrence and survival, and work to make life-changing improvements in cancer research, care and policy reform.

Metastatic breast cancer is an invasive form of breast cancer which has spread from the breast to other parts of the body. While the number of people initially diagnosed with breast cancer is available through each state and territories cancer registries, the exact number of people who go on to develop metastatic breast cancer, following an initial breast cancer diagnosis, is unknown in Australia and around the world.

Breast Cancer Network Australia (BCNA) has led Australian advocacy efforts to develop a clearer picture of the number of people living with metastatic breast cancer, holding a roundtable last year with key government, non-government and community agencies.

Following the roundtable, the Cancer Institute NSW set to work to identify the number of people living with metastatic breast cancer, using well established and robust data assets.

By linking cancer incidence and mortality data with NSW clinical datasets, Commonwealth Medicare Benefits Schedule, Pharmaceutical Benefits Schedule and National Death Index data, the Institute was able to determine the number of people living with metastatic breast cancer in NSW.

The Cancer Institute NSW will soon share its robust data methodology to help support national and international efforts in understanding and treating metastatic breast cancer

Today, Minister for Health Ryan Park also opened a new BreastScreen NSW clinic at the Royal Hospital for Women in Randwick. For eligible women, a breast screen every two years can help detect breast cancer in its earliest stages when it is easier to treat. For more information on breast cancer and breast cancer screening visit www.breastscreen.nsw.gov.au.

Minister for Health Ryan Park:

“As NSW Health Minister, I am incredibly proud NSW clinicians and researchers have made this remarkable discovery.

“NSW is proud to lead global efforts to understand how many people are living with metastatic breast cancer and lift the veil of uncertainty and invisibility experienced by thousands of people in our community.

“Australia is now one step closer to understanding just how many people are impacted by this aggressive form of breast cancer, and in an important next step, understanding how many other people in our community are living with other forms of metastatic cancer.”

Federal Minister for Health and Aged Care Mark Butler:

“This is an important step forward for people with metastatic breast cancer in New South Wales and I applaud the world-leading efforts of Cancer Institute NSW.

“Knowledge is power and this information will help drive a new era of research to improve the lives of thousands of people, not just in NSW but across the country.”

Minister for Women Jodie Harrison:

“I congratulate the Cancer Institute NSW on this incredible research.

“With breast cancer being the second most commonly diagnosed cancer in Australia, discoveries like this helps us get ahead and ensure that NSW is prepared to support the growing number of people living with and surviving cancer.”

Member for Coogee Marjorie O’Neill:

“Breast Cancer Awareness Month is the perfect time for women to make an appointment for your next mammogram. It’s quick, it’s easy and it’s free.

“The refurbished and expanded BreastScreen NSW clinic here at The Royal Hospital for Women will make such a difference for local women, and as a result between 3 – 5 thousand additional women will be able to get a potentially life-saving mammogram each year.”

NSW Chief Cancer Officer and CEO Cancer Institute NSW Professor Tracey O’Brien AM:

“While our global understanding of cancer has improved significantly, cancer rates are projected to triple in the coming decades with more people currently living with cancer than are being newly diagnosed.

“Pinpointing how many people have metastatic breast cancer is more than just knowing a number. It’s about giving a voice, options and hope to people living with and beyond cancer and letting them know we see them and are here for them.

“Although a cure for metastatic breast cancer remains the ultimate goal, our immediate focus must be on helping those living longer with the disease to live well. It’s not just about treating the cancer – it’s about treating the whole person, improving their quality of life and addressing their physical, emotional, financial and practical needs.”

Director Policy, Advocacy & Support Services Breast Cancer Network Australia Vicki Durston:

“NSW is setting a benchmark as the first state to establish a method for reporting on the number of people living with metastatic breast cancer.

“The data we now have reveals a reality far greater than we ever anticipated. BCNA stands for every individual whose life remains invisible in cancer data registries—not just here in Australia, but globally.”

Breast Cancer Network Australia Consumer Representative Lisa Rankin:

“As someone living with metastatic breast cancer, I am incredibly excited that it is now possible to recognise those living with the disease. Until now we have been hidden in plain sight and vastly underestimated in numbers.

“I want to thank the NSW Government and BCNA’s advocacy for their achievement. I look forward to the positive change which will result from being recognised, improving the lives of those living with the disease, their families and others important to them.”

The NSW Government is today announcing the government’s support of the proposed amended Equality Bill to offer protections for members of the LGBTIQA+ community.

First introduced to NSW Parliament in August 2023 by the Independent Member for Sydney Alex Greenwich, this Bill has been subject to extensive consultation, including a Parliamentary inquiry.

The NSW Government has worked with the Member of Sydney on a number of proposed amendments.

The amended Equality Legislation Amendment (LGBTIQA+) Bill 2023 proposes various legislative changes, including:

• Allowing people to change their registered sex through an administrative process, without requiring surgery.
• Making hatred for or prejudice against transgender, gender diverse or intersex people an aggravating factor in sentencing.
• Updating terminology in laws to replace terms such as “HIV infection” and “suffering with AIDS” to “living with HIV/AIDS”.
• Clarifying in the Mental Health Act 2007 that expressing, or refusing to express, a particular gender identity does not that someone has a mental illness.
• Enabling a parentage order to be made for a child born through international commercial surrogacy, if it is in the best interests of the child and other criteria and important safeguards are met.

The changes to allow people to register a change of sex without surgery are simple changes that will bring NSW in line with all other jurisdictions across the country.

This follows ongoing work by the NSW Government to progress reforms that ensure all members of our community feel valued, respected and equal.

The Minns Labor Government has already fulfilled our election commitment to ban ‘LGBTQ+ conversion practices’ through the Conversion Practices Ban Act 2024, which passed the NSW Parliament in March.

The Premier also issued a formal apology in June to people convicted under discriminatory laws that criminalised homosexual acts, and passed legislation this year that meant more of these offences were able to be extinguished.

In September, the NSW Government supported all 19 recommendations delivered by the Special Commission of Inquiry into LGBTIQ hate crimes, which examined the unsolved deaths of LGBTIQ people and found shortfalls in historical responses by the NSW Government.

The Government has also announced that it is establishing the LGBTIQ+ Advisory Council, which will provide a mechanism for ongoing community consultation.

Penny Sharpe, Leader of the Government in the Legislative Council said:

“The changes proposed by the Equality Bill will make NSW a safer and more inclusive place – and they’ve been a long time coming.

“People in every other state of Australia are already able to change their sex without requiring surgery, and this legislation will bring us in line with the rest of the country.

“As a government, we’ve been committed to equality for a long time. Supporting this bill is our latest step to ensure every citizen in NSW is valued.”

Michael Daley, Attorney General of New South Wales said:

“The Equality Bill seeks to change multiple pieces of legislation to make NSW a more inclusive place.

“As legislators, it is our job to reflect the views of the community, and in this instance, it is clearly time for these pieces of legislation to be updated.”

The Sydney Opera House shells will be illuminated on Friday night as NSW welcomes King Charles III and Queen Camilla to Australia, with Sydneysiders and visitors invited to head into the city to see the spectacular projection.

Curated by the NSW Government, the projection consists of a four-minute photo montage from Their Majesties’ previous visits to the state and the nation. The images reflect the diverse ways in which Their Majesties have engaged with and celebrated NSW and Australia over the years.

The illumination will commence at 8pm on Friday, 18 October to coincide with Their Majesties’ arrival into Sydney.

This will be the King’s first visit as Sovereign – the first visit by a reigning monarch since Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II visited in 2011.

The NSW Government is honoured to welcome The King and Queen to Sydney and is inviting NSW residents to join the celebration.

Members of the public will also have the opportunity to see Their Majesties at the Sydney Opera House Forecourt on Tuesday afternoon, 22 October at 4.20pm. This opportunity will be followed by an impressive Fleet Review and fly past by the Australian Defence Force on Sydney Harbour concluding at 5.20pm.

For more information about the Royal Visit and the Sydney Opera House engagement visit: www.nsw.gov.au/royalvisit

Premier Chris Minns said:

“We are lighting up the Sydney Opera House to warmly welcome The King and Queen to our beautiful harbour city.

“The photo projection on the Opera House sails celebrates a historic moment – The King’s first visit to NSW as Sovereign – and is a fitting tribute.

“I also invite everyone to the Opera House forecourt next Tuesday afternoon to join The King and Queen.

“NSW is looking forward to hosting this milestone visit and I encourage everyone to make the most of it.”

Minister for Health Ryan Park is calling on more people to sign up as a NSW Ambulance GoodSAM volunteer this Restart a Heart Day so they can help save a life if someone near them has a cardiac arrest.

Minister for Health Ryan Park is calling on more people to sign up as a NSW Ambulance GoodSAM volunteer this Restart a Heart Day so they can help save a life if someone near them has a cardiac arrest.

NSW Ambulance attends to around 9,000 people in NSW who experience an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest each year and statistics show only 12 per cent of people who receive resuscitation survive.

The GoodSAM app works by alerting registered responders when someone near them goes into cardiac arrest and a Triple Zero (000) call has been received.

The GoodSAM app has helped directly save 36 lives in NSW since it was launched in 2023.

Responders can opt whether or not to accept the alert and respond by providing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), while at the same time, an ambulance is dispatched.

NSW Ambulance has incorporated the NSW public access defibrillator registry into the GoodSAM app, meaning responders can also see if an automated external defibrillator (AED) is located near a person experiencing cardiac arrest and use it to improve that person’s chance of survival.

John Cornell is one of the lucky survivors of a cardiac arrest, thanks to his fast-thinking teenage son and bystanders who sprang into action when he collapsed in March, and he is showing his support for Restart a Heart Day by sharing his story.

John said his cardiac arrest came out of nowhere while he and his son were out for a walk in Lawson, in the NSW Blue Mountains.

While John’s son Matthew called Triple Zero (000), community members began chest compressions and fetched an AED from a nearby public swimming pool, which they used to restart his heart.

When they arrived, paramedics took John to the emergency department at Blue Mountains District Anzac Memorial Hospital, before he spent 12 days in the Intensive Care Unit at Nepean Hospital, where he had another heart attack.

Fortunately, he has since made a full recovery.

Restart a Heart Day is an international campaign, coordinated in Australia and New Zealand by the Council of Ambulance Authorities, reminding people how to respond if they believe someone has suffered a cardiac arrest:

1. Call: Triple (000) and ask for Ambulance and follow their instructions
2. Push: begin chest compressions by linking your hands and pushing hard and fast
3. Shock: if available, use an AED to shock the person’s heart.

Members of the community can sign up as a GoodSAM volunteer and learn lifesaving CPR and how to use a defibrillator with NSW Ambulance paramedics, who will be at Parramatta Farmers Market, Centenary Square, Parramatta from 7.30am to 2.00pm today.

You can register as a GoodSAM responder if you’re 18 years old or over, and able and willing to provide chest compressions, which are easy and safe to do. You don’t need to have formal first aid or CPR training. To register, please visit: ambulance.nsw.gov.au/goodsam

In 2022, the NSW Government announced a $2.5 million partnership between NSW Ambulance and the GoodSAM responder app.  

Minister for Health, Ryan Park: 

“The best chance of survival for anyone having an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest is receiving early chest compressions and defibrillation from an automated external defibrillator.

“The first eight minutes after someone suffers a cardiac arrest is crucial and for every minute a patient is in cardiac arrest and does not receive CPR or a shock from a defibrillator, their chance of survival drops by 7 to 10 per cent.

“Restart a Heart Day is a great opportunity to ask yourself if you know what to do if someone near you has a cardiac arrest and to familiarise yourself with the life-saving actions of ‘call, push and shock’ and sign up to GoodSAM.”

NSW Ambulance Chief Executive Dr Dominic Morgan: 

“If you see a community member who has had a cardiac arrest, the best thing you can do is call Triple Zero (000) and start chest compressions. 

“Over 8,000 community members have already joined our free life-saving GoodSAM program and more volunteers will lead to more lives being saved.

“GoodSAM volunteers nearby will be notified as an ambulance is being dispatched and our emergency medical call taker will give you clear instructions and stay with you on the phone until paramedics arrive.”

John Cornell:

“There are so many people that I need to thank, but unfortunately I don’t know who most of them are.

“They call the blockage that I had in my heart ‘the widow maker’, and my family really took the brunt of the trauma of everything that happened.”

Supporting Australian storytelling, developing the next generation of creative talent, and a plan to grow the digital games sector are the key priorities of the new three-year screen and digital games strategy.

The NSW screen industry added almost $1.1 billion to the state economy in 2021-22 and is currently home to 51% of Australia’s screen production, and 49% of post-production businesses. To ensure NSW remains the leading screen state, the NSW Screen and Digital Games Strategy will:

Invest in developing local talent and audiences, including:

• $1 million pilot program to address skills shortages will be developed and rolled out with TAFE, AFTRS and NIDA to fast-track entry level and mid-career below the line practitioners in the below the line workforce.
• $200,000 IP option fund to give producers the ability to purchase IP rights to turn home-grown novels, non-fiction work and podcasts into screen and gaming content, so we have more Australian stories on screen.
• $200,000 Community Film Festival Opening Night Fund will support communities share the vibrancy of screen stories with audiences from diverse and underrepresented backgrounds, by bringing them together to enjoy screen community film festivals.

Role of Screen NSW

• New film friendly legislation will be introducedto ensure a strengthened standard of working.
• Address impacts of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on the sector: Screen NSW will convene an industry working group to help develop an Australian industry response to AI, and review funding guidelines.
• Priority hotline: The Head of Screen NSW will be given the authority to escalate critically urgent production issues for an urgent government response.

Supporting infrastructure

• Addressing the critical shortage of filming infrastructure in NSW, the NSW Government will develop new partnerships with the private sector to explore alternate options for studio space, including a second studio and Callan Park.
• Centre for Screen culture and digital innovation. Working with local government and industry partners, the NSW Government will support plans to establish a hub for creative workers across the industry.

Focus on developing digital games industry

The $466 billion global digital gaming industry is highlighted as an enormous opportunity. New incentives to support games production and increase NSW revenue for digital games to $406.39 million in 2027-28 include:

• Reducing Digital Games Rebate NSW expenditure minimum from $500,000 down to $350,000. The Rebate is designed to nurture homegrown developers, attract and retain work and talent to the state, and accelerate growth in the NSW digital games sector. While many larger, established studios currently access the Rebate, the lowered threshold mean it will now be more accessible to a broader range of digital games companies in NSW, including many independent studios that currently operate in the state. 
• Increased investment in the Digital Games Seed Development Program and Market Travel Programs. A flourishing games industry is one that includes large and small developers, an investment of$1.5 million over three years will support digital games producers to essential skills and build their industry networks and knowledge.

Minister for the Arts John Graham said:

“Our people, our stories, and our skills – these are the reasons why more than half of Australian screen production happens here in NSW. This strategy sets out how the government and the industry could work together to build on that.

“While there has been a recent slowdown in global screen production, the Federal Government’s increased location offset will see Australia gain a greater share of that market. This strategy recognises the opportunities that brings, as well as the pressure that puts on NSW production facilities.

“We have identified ways of cutting the red tape that has made NSW a ‘No’ state when it comes to attracting productions. Backed by the introduction of a NSW Screen and Digital Games Act, we aim to make NSW a ‘Yes’ state.

“For the first time in NSW, we are putting digital gaming front and centre. This strategy sets out a ‘hothouse’ approach that backs existing high performing producers to support the ambitious target of 20% compound annual growth in the sector.”

Head of Screen NSW Kyas Hepworth said:

“I am thrilled to be able to drive this strategy and provide a path forward for our sector, working towards a vibrant and sustainable future for all screen practitioners and game makers in NSW.

“Storytelling has the power to unite and inspire, and as a state with such a rich depth of talent, we strive to be known as the place to create compelling stories. This is an exciting time for our sector as, while developing this strategy, we have taken stock of where the industry is at and looked forward to where we want to be in the next three years. This has informed our strategy and with this vital support we want to move forward with the industry and take it to new heights.

“I am confident this strategy will provide assurance that Screen NSW are committed to supporting NSW stories and storytellers.”

Background

The strategy outlines four strategic priority focuses to support and sustainably grow the screen and digital games sector. These include:

• Creating stories: We lead the way in making enriching, high calibre stories and cultural content for local and global audiences.
• Building sustainable growth: Our businesses are globally recognised, connected and competitive. High quality, accessible spaces help them grow and create jobs that are future proofed and sustainable.
• Improving capacity and capability: We set best practice standards to ensure workers have career pathways, are respected, safe, appropriately remunerated and supported in their career ambitions.
• Developing audiences to increase demand: Local content finds and delights diverse audiences locally and around the world.

New legislation: The strategy includes proposed new legislation to ensure screen friendly approaches across local councils and state government agencies.

In 2025, the NSW Government will introduce the NSW Screen and Digital Games Act to strengthen NSW as a film-friendly jurisdiction, reduce red-tape and provide the highest level of cooperation across government with filmmakers to maximise opportunities for the sector. This will strengthen elements of the Making NSW Film Friendly Premier’s Memorandum and incorporate an updated Local Government Filming Protocol.

Renewed Screen NSW agency: The strategy will provide Screen NSW with greater independence and will build its capacity to continue to strengthen and grow the industry. This will mean:

• Shortening investment approval timeframes, contracting and payment terms.
• Legislation will be introduced for the Film and Television Industry Advisory Committee to include digital games representation and renaming the board to reflect this update.
• The Head of Screen NSW will be given the authority to escalate critically urgent production issues for an urgent government response.

The full strategy available is here: Screen NSW – NSW Screen and Digital Games Strategy