Category: NSW News

More people sleeping rough will be helped into stable accommodation as the NSW Government increases its investment in tackling homeless.
 
The Supported Transition and Engagement Program (STEP) will be extended following a $20 million investment by the NSW Government.
 
Minister for Families and Communities Natasha Maclaren-Jones said STEP was vital in supporting people experiencing homelessness find stable accommodation.
 
“We know that long-term accommodation is crucial for the welfare, health and wellbeing of vulnerable people,” Mrs Maclaren-Jones said.
 
“Once accommodation is secured through STEP individual issues can be addressed with assistance provided to access support services and to sustain housing.
 
“The flow on effects from stable housing are many – the feeling of security, improved mental health and the stability to apply for, and find, jobs.”
 
STEP has supported 103 people sleeping rough or experiencing secondary homelessness in inner city Sydney since it began in 2018.
 
Funded by the NSW Government, the program is a partnership between community housing provider Bridge Housing and Neami National, working in collaboration with Metro Community Housing and Women’s Housing Company.
 
Rebecca Pinkstone, Bridge Housing’s CEO said the funding boost would assist people with vital access to housing and supports.
 
“This initiative has proven to be life changing for people sleeping rough, helping them into stable accommodation and ensuring they sustain their tenancy,” Rebecca said.
 
Tenant Andrew was successfully supported into housing through the STEP in 2018 and has thrived.
 
 
“Having a home means everything to me because I have safety and security now,” Andrew said.
 
Operating on a ‘housing first’ model, it supports people into permanent housing and provides support that assists individuals or families to break the cycle of homelessness for good.

A new $25.3 million Cyber Security Operations Centre will safeguard NSW Police Force systems from terrorists, organised criminal networks and hackers.
 
In a joint project led by the NSW Police Force and Cyber Security NSW, the Australian-first operations centre will be made up of a frontline tactical team of 15 analysts and engineers working seven days a week.
 
Deputy Premier and Minister for Police Paul Toole said the Cyber Security Operations Centre would strengthen the Force’s cyber security defences by identifying and blocking threats in real time.
 
“The NSW Police Force holds a significant amount of sensitive data relating to local, national and international criminal investigations, and we know there are criminals who want to get their hands on this information,” Mr Toole said.
 
“Analysts in the Cyber Security Operations Centre Command respond to and prevent threats of disruption to the police network every day.
 
“These threats often come from organised crime networks or cyber criminals – and our investment in this Australian-first operations centre is about ensuring our analysts are equipped to stop them in their tracks.
 
“By protecting police systems, we are fundamentally protecting the people of NSW by allowing the Force to function securely and effectively, and ensure criminal investigations proceed unthwarted.”
 
Minister for Customer Service and Digital Government Victor Dominello said it was vital NSW continued to push ahead with its vision to be a world leader in cyber security to protect and advance its digital economy.
 
“Now more than ever before, governments, people and businesses are at risk from ongoing cyber security threats and Cyber Security NSW is committed to working with government agencies to improve cyber resilience and ensure they are prepared,” Mr Dominello said.
 
“We are committed to developing an Australian-based cyber security workforce that is world-leading when it comes to taking on increasingly sophisticated cyber-attacks.”
 
Since June 2020 the NSW Government has invested $315 million through the Digital Restart Fund to bolster the Government’s cyber security capability and grow the local cyber industry.
 
For more information about Cyber Security NSW, visit: https://www.digital.nsw.gov.au/policy/cyber-security

Technology trailblazers, legal professionals and community groups with innovative proposals to increase access to justice are being invited to apply for the latest round of the NSW Government’s Access to Justice Innovation Fund (AJIF) grants.
 
Attorney General Mark Speakman said AJIF grants totaling up to $250,000 are available to fund projects that can help resolve common legal problems and reduce barriers to justice.
 
“Making it easier for people, especially those in disadvantaged communities, to solve common legal problems quickly and easily is a key priority for the NSW Government,” Mr Speakman said.
 
“We know that technology and innovative approaches have an important role to play in supporting and enhancing access to justice.
 
“Over the past three years, we have seen some outstanding projects developed through the AJIF program that are now making a real difference to people’s lives.
 
“Providing innovators with the opportunity and the funding to enhance the way we do things in the justice space is an investment in our state’s future.”
 
AJIF grants are allocated to new, low cost, high impact projects that reduce barriers to the justice system, with a focus on communities experiencing disadvantage.
 
Projects can include those that aim:  
 

• to explore new approaches to the delivery of legal assistance services and the resolution of legal problems
• to help people to navigate and access the justice system
• to promote collaborative approaches to reducing barriers to justice
• to demonstrate how technology can improve access to, and user experience of, the justice system.

 
The AJIF was set up in 2018 as a four-year, $1 million project to support the development of innovative access to justice ideas.
 
 
Previous grant recipients include Justice Connect, the University of Sydney, the University of Newcastle and the Newcastle Women’s Domestic Violence Advocacy Service.
 
Applications for AJIF grants will close at 11.59pm on 28 October 2022.
 
More information is available here. 

Real time traffic information will soon be available for motorists using local roads across 22 regional Local Government Areas (LGAs).

Minister for Regional Transport and Roads Sam Farraway said the NSW Government is expanding the Live Traffic NSW website and app to provide more reliable information to drivers, especially during emergencies like bushfires or floods.

“We have created a platform which allows councils to share real time live traffic information from their local roads into a central hub, which will give more information to motorists when they are travelling on the state’s network of regional highways,” Mr Farraway said.

“We’ve taken on feedback from communities and recommendations from the Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements Report to develop ‘OneRoad’ a backend portal for councils to feed their data into Live Traffic NSW so road impacts across local and state roads are all in the one place.

“The initial 22 LGAs have been chosen in consultation with the NSW Police, RFS and SES with the view to have all 128 LGAs across the state on board by 2024.

“LGAs will continue to come onboard in stages, with the priority given to the regional councils who have been impacted most by bushfires and floods.

“In the event of road closures through floods or fires, they will no longer have to piece together information from different sources to work out what roads are open and safe to use.

“By bringing all of the state’s traffic information into one central hub we will improve the experience of road users, helping to keep drivers moving and our communities safe.”

This year during natural disasters the Live Traffic NSW website and mobile app traffic spiked up to 33 times the usual daily volume, with up to 660,000 sessions in one day, demonstrating the demand for real-time traffic information in a crisis.

Lismore City Council Mayor Steve Krieg said the ability for councils to share info via this tool is a fantastic win, particularly for areas impacted by extreme weather events.

“Having this one-stop digital shop for disruption across the road network is an invaluable tool for any community, especially one looking for a clear road out during a natural disaster,” Mr Krieg said.

“My community knows how crucial coordination is across government so the ability for local road impacts to now be fed into Live Traffic NSW and navigational systems by our Council is a big step in the right direction, ensuring community members have access to the latest information at their fingertips.”

In the state’s Far West, Central Darling Shire residents and tourists rely heavily on up-to-date roads information because most of the shire roads are unsealed and wet weather often forces road closures.

Central Darling Shire Council General Manager Greg Hill said this exciting project would provide significant benefits for residents and visitors to the area.

“OneRoad will greatly assist local people as they travel around their community and make it easier for tourists planning to drive within the shire,” Mr Hill said.

“We are thankful to the NSW Government for choosing Central Darling Shire as one of the first councils to come on board with this technology and helping ensure our communities are connected and well informed across the road network.”

The new information from 22 LGAs will be available on Live Traffic NSW and third-party apps from October.

The NSW Government is working to identify Crown land that can be used to develop social and affordable housing in regional areas that are facing severe accommodation shortages.
 
Minister for Lands and Water Kevin Anderson said the Government wants to support regional communities by providing land that can help more people find a safe place to call home.
 
“Work is underway to develop a long-term strategy to identify and develop Crown land sites for housing. In the meantime we are working to identify more sites that can be ready to progress with housing by the end of the year. These sites will be in locations with low rental vacancy rates and areas with high demands for social or essential worker housing,” Mr Anderson said.
 
Crown Lands and the NSW Land and Housing Corporation (LAHC) have a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to work together to identify and deliver suitable Crown land for residential development in priority areas facing housing stress.
 
Crown Lands manages the State’s Crown land assets and LAHC manages NSW’s 125,000 social housing properties, so together they aim to identify land and grow social, worker and private housing supply to benefit communities that need it most.
 
Once finalised, the Crown Land’s Housing Strategy will include opportunities for funding and partnerships with other government agencies, community housing providers and other project partners to develop mixed tenure communities on Crown land.
 
In February, the government announced Crown land in Cooma that would support up to 250 mixed tenure dwellings under a partnership between Crown Lands, LAHC, the NSW Aboriginal Land Council and Merrimans Local Aboriginal Land Council.
 
In May, plans were announced to rezone 615 hectares of Crown land at North Tuncurry to support a proposal that involved 2,100 new homes for up to 4,500 future residents, including benefits for the local Aboriginal community.
 
Mr Anderson said regional NSW has about 40 per cent of the State’s population with numbers increasing as COVID changes the way people live and work, and people search for more affordable homes and lifestyle options outside cities.
 
“We’ve seen demand growing for regional housing and rents and house prices increase. This is why the NSW Government is prioritising delivering more housing. By unlocking Crown land we can ensure more properties are built while investing in projects that create local jobs and support local economies.”

The NSW Government is working to identify Crown land that can be used to develop social and affordable housing in regional areas that are facing severe accommodation shortages.
 
Minister for Lands and Water Kevin Anderson said the Government wants to support regional communities by providing land that can help more people find a safe place to call home.
 
“Work is underway to develop a long-term strategy to identify and develop Crown land sites for housing. In the meantime we are working to identify more sites that can be ready to progress with housing by the end of the year. These sites will be in locations with low rental vacancy rates and areas with high demands for social or essential worker housing,” Mr Anderson said.
 
Crown Lands and the NSW Land and Housing Corporation (LAHC) have a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to work together to identify and deliver suitable Crown land for residential development in priority areas facing housing stress.
 
Crown Lands manages the State’s Crown land assets and LAHC manages NSW’s 125,000 social housing properties, so together they aim to identify land and grow social, worker and private housing supply to benefit communities that need it most.
 
Once finalised, the Crown Land’s Housing Strategy will include opportunities for funding and partnerships with other government agencies, community housing providers and other project partners to develop mixed tenure communities on Crown land.
 
In February, the government announced Crown land in Cooma that would support up to 250 mixed tenure dwellings under a partnership between Crown Lands, LAHC, the NSW Aboriginal Land Council and Merrimans Local Aboriginal Land Council.
 
In May, plans were announced to rezone 615 hectares of Crown land at North Tuncurry to support a proposal that involved 2,100 new homes for up to 4,500 future residents, including benefits for the local Aboriginal community.
 
Mr Anderson said regional NSW has about 40 per cent of the State’s population with numbers increasing as COVID changes the way people live and work, and people search for more affordable homes and lifestyle options outside cities.
 
“We’ve seen demand growing for regional housing and rents and house prices increase. This is why the NSW Government is prioritising delivering more housing. By unlocking Crown land we can ensure more properties are built while investing in projects that create local jobs and support local economies.”

Some of our brightest female startup founders are turbocharging their careers, thanks to a NSW Government program teaching industry-specific critical skills such as pitching for capital, financial modelling and product design.
 
Minister for Enterprise, Investment and Trade Alister Henskens said 150 women had now completed the Female Founder Startup Program which has helped them develop vital skills and build business connections.
 
“Our Government recognises the wealth of knowledge and capabilities women entrepreneurs bring to business and the NSW economy,” Mr Henskens said.
 
“Delivered online by Tech Ready Women in partnership with the Sydney Startup Hub, the 8-week program enables startups to test and launch ideas in market and thanks to its success we are proud to launch another new opportunity, the Female Founder Connect Pilot.”
 
From September, the Female Founder Connect Pilot will build on the skills learned in the Female Founders Startup program and help support women across NSW at all stages of their startup journey by connecting them with networks, programs, customers, mentors, grants and funding.
 
Minister for Women Bronnie Taylor added that the NSW Government, via the Women’s Economic Participation in Innovation Precincts Strategy, was committed to understanding the challenges women face when looking to succeed in emerging high-value industries such as tech and advanced manufacturing.
 
“This strategy will help form a government taskforce to look at the disadvantages faced by women across the state’s innovation precincts including Tech Central, the Westmead Health and Innovation District and Regional Special Activation Precincts,” Mrs Taylor said.
 
“As part of the strategy, we want to hear from businesses, industries and individuals on ways we can help tackle the barriers women face. We have launched public consultation to hear from you.”
 
Female Founder Startup Program participant Danielle Morton, the founder of Zondii, a real-time smartphone authentication company, said there were many obstacles women face to entering the tech industry.
 
“Programs like the Female Founder Startup Program are critical in breaking down barriers by allowing participants to upskill, gain mentors and undertake training,” Ms Morton said.
 
As part of the graduation of the Female Founder Startup Program a range of founders pitched to a distinguished group of investors, accelerator representatives, and representatives from the NSW Government at the official graduate event held at the Sydney Startup Hub.
 
To keep up to date about the Sydney Startup Hub and the Female Founder Connect Pilot sign up to the Sydney Startup Hub platform, visit: https://community.sydneystartuphub.com/.
 
To have your say on the Women’s Economic Participation in Innovation Precincts Strategy go to Have Your Say.

Applications open today for a $30 million recovery package which supports repair works for arts and culture, sports and Aboriginal-owned community infrastructure damaged in the February-March flood event.
 
The eligible Local Government Areas are Ballina, Byron, Clarence Valley, Hawkesbury, Kyogle, Lismore, Richmond Valley and Tweed.
 
Minister for Emergency Management, Senator the Hon Murray Watt, said the majority of the works are being funded as part of the jointly-funded $150 million Community Local Infrastructure Recovery Package (CLIRP) announced in April.
 
“Community arts and cultural facilities and Aboriginal Keeping Places across New South Wales are a vital part of our cultural fabric. They are also an important part of our economy, supporting thousands of jobs across New South Wales,” Minister Watt said.
 
The New South Wales Government has separately committed an additional $12 million for the repair of sporting fields and facilities in the eight worst affected local government areas (LGAs) to get people in those communities back to their favourite sport or recreational activities.
 
Minister for Enterprise, Investment and Trade and Minister for Sport Alister Henskens said these funds will ensure vital infrastructure will be rebuilt.
 
“Many of the places our communities rely on were hit hard by the devastating floods, rendering them unsafe or unusable, and this funding is intended to provide support to help those communities to rebuild their local infrastructure,” Mr Henskens said.
 
Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and the Arts Ben Franklin said the funding is another important step towards helping flood-affected communities, including the State’s much-needed local arts and cultural industries and Local Aboriginal Land Councils, to get back on their feet.
 
“This continued commitment by the Australian and New South Wales governments recognises the importance of cultural infrastructure to the vitality of our communities and the wellbeing of those that live within them,” Mr Franklin said.
 
Minister for Emergency Services and Resilience and Minister for Flood Recovery Steph Cooke said rebuilding community infrastructure is an important part of the recovery process.
 
“Repairing community infrastructure not only boosts local economies and jobs, it helps residents get back to a sense of normality, which is one of the most important parts of the flood recovery process,” Ms Cooke said.
 
The package includes:

• Up to $12 million in grants for councils ranging from $15,000 to $500,000 for community sport infrastructure projects;
• Up to $12 million in grants for eligible arts and cultural organisations, councils and regional arts development organisations ranging from $5,000 to $500,000; and
• $6 million for repairs to community infrastructure in the most impacted Local Aboriginal Land Councils (LALCs), including $3.45 million in grants to support further repairs and rebuilds for LALCs and Aboriginal organisations.

 
More information on the funding streams and guidelines is available on the Office of Sport, Create NSW and Aboriginal Affairs NSW websites.

Western Sydney will be home to the largest mountain bike and BMX hub in the country with the re-opening of the 86-hectare state-of-the-art Wylde facility this weekend. 
 
Minister for Cities, Infrastructure and Active Transport, Rob Stokes said the community will have access to 15 kilometres of bushland trails, a kids loop, a new BMX race track and the southern hemisphere’s biggest pump track. 
 
“Whether you are young, young-at-heart, a beginner or an advanced rider, there really is something for everyone to enjoy at this one of a kind facility,” Mr Stokes said. 
 
“This is a great way for people to get out on their bikes, experience the thrills of riding the trails and get their hearts pumping which is good for wellbeing, the environment and family budgets. 
 
 “The entire region will see the benefits of Wylde as it becomes a major biking hub and attract tens of thousands of avid riders from all over the country.” 
 
Member for Mulgoa Tanya Davies said Western Sydney Parklands, the home of the Wylde biking hub, is the green heart of the growing western Sydney region. 
 
“Major recreational facilities like Wylde give people more active places to enjoy the outdoors. The people of western Sydney now have the benefit of this impressive facility, the largest of its kind in Australia, right on their doorstep,” Ms Davies said. 
 
Wylde Mountain Bike and BMX will officially open on Sunday 28 August. 
 
The $13.5 million facility was funded and delivered by the NSW Government’s M12 Motorway project with a $500,000 funding contribution by Liverpool City Council. It will also be the new home of the Western Sydney BMX Club. 
 
Western Sydney Parklands spans 27 kilometres and offers more than 5,000 hectares of green space for both recreation and biodiversity conservation, including more than 60 kilometres of tracks and trails.