CBDs Revitalisation Program

CBD Program

Funding for councils, businesses and cultural institutions to run activations and events that engage the local community and attract visitors. Discover the successful projects.

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Key information

  • Status: Closed
  • Grant amount: From $250,000 to $800,000
  • Application opened: 29 March 2022
  • Application closed: 26 April 2022

Program objective

The NSW Government is investing $50 million in the CBDs Revitalisation Program to encourage people back into CBDs across Greater Sydney, Wollongong and Newcastle and boost the state’s economic activity.

This program is funded and administered by Department of Enterprise, Investment and Trade.

Eligibility

Who can apply

Councils, businesses and cultural institutions in the following eligible CBDs and urban centres:

  • Sydney
  • Bankstown
  • Blacktown
  • Campbelltown
  • Chatswood
  • Fairfield
  • Hurstville
  • Kogarah
  • Liverpool
  • Macquarie Park
  • Manly
  • Newcastle
  • North Sydney
  • Parramatta
  • Penrith
  • Sydney Olympic Park
  • Wollongong.

Eligible events and activities

For a project to be eligible it must:

  • be for the primary purpose of revitalising the CBD(s) by attracting people and increasing connectedness and engagement with the CBD(s)
  • align to the NSW Government’s NSW 24-Hour Economy Strategy, Destination NSW Visitor Economy Strategy, and/or the Open Spaces program.

Example projects

Examples of eligible events and activations activities include:

  • one-off events that encourage ongoing visitation to the CBD(s)
  • event series that encourage ongoing visitation to the CBD(s)
  • an art gallery running mid-week activities for children to create art attracting parents and children to the gallery
  • a local council setting up a lunch time food event targeting workers to provide a reason to come into the office
  • an entertainment business extending operating hours to run after hours special events
  • a NSW government cultural institution running an exercise class in a unique location.

What your application needs to include

For full details, download the program guidelines (PDF 3.86MB).

To request the guidelines in an accessible format, contact the Office of the 24-Hour Economy Commissioner: 24hour@enterprise.nsw.gov.au
 

1

Application checklist

Applications must include:

  • the applicant’s details, including ABN or other identifier and primary business activities
  • a short description of the project
  • estimated total cost of the project excluding GST
  • grant amount requested excluding GST (requested support should reflect with the expected revitalisation impact of the project)
  • project location
    • details of the project scope, including:
    • the type of the event or activation activity
    • the target group
    • expected benefits, including expected economic benefits outlining:
      • participation and attendance
      • average spend of participants
      • average time spent by participants in the CBD area(s)
    • the timeframes for the delivery of outcomes
  • details of how the project will be implemented
  • a project plan, including:
    • an adverse weather plan
    • communications and marketing strategy
    • a risk management plan
    • any supporting quotes or technical documents
  • how the project relates to:
    • the NSW Government’s NSW 24-Hour Economy Strategy
    • Destination NSW Visitor Economy Strategy and/or the Open Spaces program
  • evidence of experience in delivering projects similar in scope and scale to the project
  • confirmation of co-contributions to the project
  • if a joint project, confirmation of the partnership, including from the applicant and project partners
  • financial statements for three continuous financial years starting from the latest available year. An audited financial statement must be provided for the last financial year. If financial statements are not available other evidence of financial viability such as a signed statement from an external accountant may be provided.
2

Address the assessment criteria

Applications for support will be assessed against the following criteria.

CriteriaDescription
Revitalisation of CBDs

How the project will contribute to the revitalisation of CBDs. How the project will attract people back to CBDs and increase their connectedness and engagement with these locations. Considerations include:

  • The expected economic benefits of the project including:
    • participation/attendance
    • average spend of participants
    • average time spent by participants in the CBD area(s).
  • Support of businesses located within the CBD area.
  • Alignment of the project with existing or scheduled events and activation activities, including the potential displacement of other events and activation activities.
  • Evidence that the project would not occur, or would not occur within the same timeframe or scale, without NSW Government support.
Deliverability

Whether the project can be delivered within the program delivery dates of 1 July 2022 and 31 August 2022 for Round 3 projects. Considerations include:

  • The applicant’s past performance in delivering similar projects.
  • The suitability of the staff and/or arrangements in place to deliver the project.
  • The suitability and feasibility of the detailed business plan, technical plans and/or cost estimates supporting the project.
  • The applicant’s financial viability, including demonstration of financial viability over the duration of the event or activation activity.
Strategic alignmentAlignment to the NSW Government’s NSW 24-Hour Economy Strategy, Destination NSW Visitor Economy Strategy, and/or the Open Spaces program.
Partnership and co-contribution

The collaboration and partnerships associated with the project. Considerations include:

  • The nature and degree of collaboration and partnership between local governments, local businesses and/or cultural institutions.
  • Applicant and other non-NSW Government co-contributions to the project.
  • Engagement with the local community and businesses.
Other considerations

All other relevant factors and risks as determined by Investment NSW, in its sole discretion, including:

  • Assessment of the applicant’s management, its directors and officers and entities or individuals that exercise control over an applicant against fit and proper eligibility criteria.
  • Assessment of other factors that may cause applicants to be unsuitable for support, such as any personnel or business activities that could cause reputational or other risk to the NSW Government.

 

Start the application

Round 3 applications closed on 27 April 2022. 

After the application is submitted

Successful applications will be decided by: the Minister for Enterprise, Investment and Trade will consider advice and recommendations from the CBDs Revitalisation Review Committee and the CEO, Investment NSW. The Minister will approve the provision and amount of support to individual projects.

The applications will be assessed and both successful and unsuccessful applicants will be notified.

Successful applicants are required to report on their projects as per their funding agreements, and will also be required to participate in evaluation activities conducted by Investment NSW.

Support and contact

If you have any questions regarding this program, contact the Office of the 24-Hour Economy Commissioner: 24hour@enterprise.nsw.gov.au

Program evaluation

To learn more about the program outcomes and process, download the evaluation reports:

To request the reports in an accessible format, contact the Office of the 24-Hour Economy Commissioner: 24hour@enterprise.nsw.gov.au

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