Sydney’s Tech Central gets a shiny new strategy and $5 million

The NSW government has shown it’s super serious about supporting Tech Central with a shiny new Economic Development Strategy document for the precinct plus the promise of $5 million to form a governance body and attract more investment.

$5 million was also the amount budgeted for moving the Sydney Startup Hub into its new Tech Central home, by the way.

Centered on Central Station and spanning Haymarket, Camperdown and South Eveleigh, Tech Central already hosts Atlassian, Block (Afterpay), Canva, SafetyCulture and Rokt alongside the University of Sydney and UTS Startups.

The NSW government has started referring to Tech Central as “Australia’s innovation engine”. Vroom, vroom!

The strategy ties precinct growth to housing, the night-time economy and the visitor economy to support talent attraction and retention. It comes on top of the 2025–26 NSW Budget’s nearly $80 million package to activate the Innovation Blueprint 2035, including $38.5 million earmarked for Tech Central.

“The time is now to define our vision for Tech Central’s future – one that is supported by innovators, for innovators,” said Minister for Industry and Trade Anoulack Chanthivong.

“With a world-class metro system opening the precinct to more Sydneysiders than ever, and unicorn companies like Atlassian building its new Australian HQ in the precinct, our strategy ensures we consider the whole picture – from housing to nightlife – to secure the precinct’s success for years to come.”

Four ‘strategic outcomes’ build out the strategy:

1. Build sustainable leadership
2. Grow the tech central economy
3. Attract and foster leading talen
4. Create a vibrant and welcoming destination

Each outcome has its own set of 6-7 of ‘actions’ for which you can hold the Tech Central Governance body accountable, once it’s formed at least.

Atlassian co-founder and CEO Mike Cannon-Brookes was supportive of the strategy, saying his company has “backed Tech Central from the beginning”

“Australia has all the right ingredients for a world-class tech industry – the talent, the ideas, the track record of innovation – but a physical hub is what turns those foundations into a real ecosystem,” Cannon-Brookes said.

“We’ve seen globally that this kind of density can be rocket fuel for innovation. Credit to the NSW Government for backing such an ambitious project. Tech Central is a big bet on the future – and the kind of long-term thinking our industry needs.”

University of Sydney Chancellor David Thodey had high praise for the 34-page PDF, saying it “will accelerate ambitions for Sydney to become a world-leading digital and technology hub”.

“This will help combine the ambitions of government, industry and the education and training sector into a coordinated structure, to uplift our students, skilled innovators, entrepreneurs, researchers and businesses,” he said.

Light on delivery

Unsurprisingly shadow innovation, science and technology minister Mark Coure took a dimmer view, describing the strategy, two years in the making, as “big on buzzwords but light on delivery”.

“The Government’s own strategy admits Tech Central still has no formal governance model and that previous attempts to create one have ‘stalled, creating uncertainty and slowing investment’,” he said.

“How can we measure success when the strategy won’t even set clear targets until after a new governance body is formed?”

Coure said the government  “is all spin and no substance”, after relocating the Sydney Startup Hub 2km down the road at a cost of $5m, arguing that high rents and limited affordable office space remain prohibitive for startups..

“The Minns Labor Government has rushed through this move despite opposition from innovation stakeholders and is now trying to claim that paying for the moving vans is a win for the sector,” he said.

Coure said the strategy concedes that connectivity within Tech Central is “relatively poor,” with major roads and rail lines hindering access.

“Innovation thrives on certainty, infrastructure and talent. Instead, we get a plan that delays targets, underfunds, and leaves critical skills gaps unresolved,” he said.

“The Minns Labor Government must lift its game so Tech Central can reach its full potential, and so the benefits flow across the whole of NSW, not just inner Sydney.”