- Written by: Michael Rodrigues – NSW 24-Hour Economy Commissioner
- Full Nightlife Article Newsletter series.
Back in February, I had the absolute pleasure of joining the NTIA UK’s annual summit – a brilliant event that brought together some of the sharpest minds working in the global night-time economy. It was collaborative, thought-provoking and left me brimming with ideas. I thought I’d share a few reflections on what I spoke about and what we’ve been up to in New South Wales, Australia.
Before the pandemic hit, Sydney was in a difficult place when it came to nightlife. A major factor was the introduction of lockout laws – a set of measures brought in to reduce alcohol-related violence in areas like the CBD and Kings Cross. While well-intentioned, the impact was significant.
Venues closed, footfall dropped, and the wider ecosystem – from hospitality and entertainment to retail, arts and culture – was badly affected. Our international reputation took a hit too. A personal low for me was seeing Time Out, where I was the Australian MD at the time, rank Sydney 48th out of 48 cities globally for nightlife. It was a sobering moment, in every sense.
So, when Phil Kolvin KC opened the Birmingham summit by saying that New South Wales had gone from restrictive, bureaucratic lockout laws to having the most progressive approach to night-time economies anywhere in the world – and mentioned our Minister for Music and the Night-time Economy, the Office of the 24-Hour Economy Commissioner, our Advisory Council and a state-wide strategy – I have to say, I felt a bit proud. That kind of shift would’ve been unimaginable just five years ago.
Since the Office was created in 2021, we’ve been working hard to rebuild both the night-time experience and Sydney’s reputation. We’re beginning to see the results. With two rounds of regulatory reform behind us, Sydney has jumped back into the global spotlight. We’ve climbed into the Top 10 in the World’s Best Cities ranking from Resonance, moved up to eighth place in Euromonitor’s list, and were voted the number one travel destination in the world by Condé Nast Traveller readers. But more importantly, these rankings reflect what’s happening on the ground. The city feels more alive. Are we finished? Definitely not. Are we on the right path? Absolutely. Is there a growing belief that we can achieve something truly world-class? I reckon so. And yes, we’ve got a proper plan to make it happen.
Of course, having a plan is one thing – delivering it is another matter entirely. It’s easy to measure success by looking at how individual venues are performing, but that only tells part of the story. What makes a night-time economy thrive is the entire ecosystem – how people get to and from venues, how safe they feel, how regulations help or hinder them, and how all of the businesses, services and government bodies involved interact. The more aligned these parts are, the better the results.
In New South Wales, alignment means coordinating more than 20 state government agencies, 128 local councils, 76 police area commands, and thousands of businesses across hospitality, retail, entertainment, transport and other services. It’s a huge task, and one that simply doesn’t suit a traditional top-down approach. That kind of model works well enough for building roads or airports, but when you’re talking about social or civic infrastructure, it just doesn’t cut it.
Before stepping into this role, I worked in climate change and sustainability, where I came across the “Collective Impact” model. I spoke about it at the summit with Sacha Lord and Michael Kill because I could hear elements of that approach in the UK’s current conversations around devolution. What we’ve done in New South Wales is take that model and apply it to our work in building a vibrant 24-hour economy.
At its heart, Collective Impact is about much more than having a strategy. It means having a shared agenda, a common way of measuring progress, activities that support one another, regular communication, and a central organisation to keep things moving. Our agenda is set out in the 24-Hour Economy Strategy – and it’s very much a live document. It acts like a neural network connecting all our stakeholders across government, industry and local communities.
Getting the measurement side right took a bit of time. We started with annual reports, but we’ve since launched a new platform – Data After Dark – that tracks activity across the night-time economy. While full access is currently limited to government partners, we’re piloting it with a group of councils and sharing quarterly insights publicly. We use the data to feed insights back into our strategy and decision-making processes.
In terms of keeping everyone connected, we’ve made stakeholder engagement a top priority. That includes regular forums, summits and workshops, as well as hosting “Communities of Practice” around each key area of the strategy. These bring together people from government, councils, academia and industry to keep the work progressing and ensure the right voices are in the room.
And when it comes to delivering change, our job as the backbone support organisation is critical. We’re not out there putting on gigs or running venues – we’re supporting the people who are. We provide the tools, funding and guidance to help others deliver. That includes support for live performance venues, startup and development programmes for districts, capacity building for councils, and guidance to help local authorities introduce “Special Entertainment Precincts” – a planning tool that allows certain areas to be designated primarily for entertainment use.
We know there’s still plenty to do. That’s why international conversations like the one we had in Birmingham are so important. We came away energised and full of ideas – whether it was thinking around club culture, pill testing (which is now being trialled in NSW), or fantastic initiatives like Black Lives in Music and Listen for Life.
Here in NSW, our next steps include embedding First Nations storytelling in our night-time landscape, improving the environmental sustainability of going-out precincts, using data more effectively, and better understanding the needs of our night-time workforce. These are all critical to unlocking the full potential of our 24-hour economy. I’m confident that the Collective Impact model will continue to play a key role in getting us there.
I hope these reflections are useful to others working in this space. If you fancy a chat or would like to compare notes, I’m always happy to connect. Huge thanks again to Michael Kill and the NTIA UK team for all the brilliant work you’re doing – not just in the UK, but globally.
