Outdoor Dining to be made permanent in NSW

Published on 27 November 2023

The NSW Government is also making outdoor dining permanent across NSW, with a law change to cement temporary arrangements introduced during COVID-19. Outdoor dining will be freed up on a permanent basis from January 1, with businesses supported to use their privately-owned land for outdoor dining and events.

The activation of outdoor dining and street events are all part of the NSW government’s vibrancy reforms which propose to remove red tape, encourage local live music, and entertainment zones and single complaints from shutting down venues.

A pilot will also be delivered which will aim to reduce the costs associated with street closures and traffic planning. Events on streets can require a development application and can incur traffic management costs of over $100,000 for a single day. The pilot will involve finding potential savings, by planning for multiple events in the same location in advance, making it easier and more affordable to put on local events over a period of time.

This will substantially reduce the costs associated with street closures and traffic planning for events to close a local street for an event.

Guidelines will be issued that help councils, event organisers and businesses use public lands and close streets in a more cost-effective and simpler way, without the need to keep going through the same process for the same location every time.

A faster, light-touch application process will provide a cost-effective and ongoing solution that provides certainty for businesses, including cafes, restaurants, Clubs, RSLs, certainty about where outdoor dining can take place and allow them to make the most of space outside their venues.

For more information about the NSW Government’s Vibrancy Reforms.

For more details of the Outdoor Dining explanation of intended effect (EIE) exhibition launch.