Law changes proposed to reboot NSW nightlife, live music and entertainment precincts

The NSW Government’s Vibrancy Reforms being introduced to Parliament today are aimed at removing some of the barriers for councils, venues and businesses across the state to ensure culture can thrive in communities after dark as much as during the day.  

Residents who choose to live near pubs, clubs and restaurants will have to sign a clause deterring them from making noise complaints under the new reforms.

The Vibrancy Reforms are cutting red tape that has tipped the balance against live music and community life in favour of neighbour complaints designed to turn the dial down on culture and entertainment.

NSW Minister for Music and the Night-time Economy John Graham noted “A guiding principle of the Vibrancy Reforms is building communities in which after work hours and weekends are not simply a time to retreat behind a closed front door at home, but a time that brings people together.

“It is about cutting the red tape that has strangled nightlife over time and made local live music and performance at venues in many cases the exception rather than the rule.

“We are rebuilding Sydney and regional centres across the state neighbourhood by neighbourhood and giving councils the tools to use the special entertainment precinct model.

“People moving into an established entertainment zone will now do so with their eyes wide open through property search documents and we expect this will reduce conflict between neighbours and venues over time.”

At the heart of the second tranche of reforms is the expansion of Special Entertainment Precincts (SEPs) which empower and support councils to balance competing needs in their communities.

A key part of the precinct model will be an acknowledgment by residential and business property buyers in official documents that they are moving into an established entertainment zone.

The proposed changes to the SEP framework build on the success of the Enmore Road SEP and will ensure residents and other property purchasers are notified on their planning certificates if they buy a property in an entertainment precinct. This is called an “eyes wide open” clause in paperwork that should reduce the friction between venues and their neighbours.

The reform package to Parliament will enable key cultural sites on state-owned land, including Walsh Bay and the reactivated White Bay Power station to become entertainment hotspots.

A $1 million grant program to kickstart more SEPs will help councils establish precincts, including support to engage staff or expert consultants to undertake strategic planning, sound standards, acoustic frameworks, consultation, communications and engagement.

24-Hour Economy Commissioner Michael Rodrigues added “NSW has some the best venues and after dark offerings in the country, but there is still more that can be done to help precincts reach their full entertainment, economic and creative potential. 

“These reforms will seek to remove some of the barriers for councils, venues and businesses across the state to provide even more great offerings for people across NSW.”

The second tranche of reforms are:

• Tearing up baffling restrictions on licensed venues that include “no entertainment” clauses or dictate what genre of music or even how many musicians can play

• Requiring property buyers to be notified that they are moving into an existing entertainment zone to protect the intent of Special Entertainment Precincts and reduce the friction between venues and their neighbours

• Ending the antiquated rule that prevents people living within five kilometres of a registered club from signing in without first becoming a member

• Binning the restriction on outdoor dining approvals that prevented patrons from standing while drinking outside a licenced premises

• Amending the Major Events Act to make it easier to support foundational events like Sydney Festival and Vivid Sydney

• Empowering the Minister for Music and the Night-time Economy to refer live music and performance venues with legitimate disputes to mediation.

Enmore SEP representative and Little Lagos Owner-Chef Ade Adeniyi advised “The Enmore Road SEP has provided us with more opportunities to trade later, host more events and host more live music with support from the local council and the NSW Government.

The program is expected to open for applications later this year and will be accompanied by an online assistance portal available from November.

The first round of Vibrancy Reforms delivered improvements that:

• Permanently relaxed rules for outdoor dining to allowing venues to make the most of their outdoor space

• Ended single noise complaints from shutting down pubs and other licensed venues

• Made it easier to activate streets for festivals and events (Open Streets program) and a regulatory model that allows streamlined approvals for repeat events (Permit, Plug, Play)

• Expanded Special Entertainment Precincts that empower local councils to change the rules around noise and opening hours in a designated area to support live entertainment and nightlife

• Increased incentives for live music and live performance, with two hours extended trading and an 80% reduction in liquor licence fees for licensed venues offering live music and performance

• Created easier pathways for extended trading hours for major events like the Olympics and World Cups.

Image. Credit: Destination NSW