Business Improvement Districts in New South Wales

A Business Innovation District (BID) is a partnership between local government, the community and business. Within a BID, business, government, and the community all work together for a common goal of improving our local spaces. We are looking at BIDs as a way to enhance the local trading environment, encourage economic growth and foster community collaboration.

The Policy Paper (PDF, 625 KB) addresses feedback on the recent White Paper, identifies next steps for BID policy reform and outlines how the pilot program will streamline BIDs being established in NSW.

A White Paper (PDF, 1.49 MB) was released in 2022 outlining policy options to support BIDs in NSW. This document includes case studies showing how BIDs have contributed to place revitalisation in various communities. The document also includes a range of questions that feedback from stakeholders were sought on.

A background paper (PDF, 1.5 MB) prepared by the Business of Cities for Transport for NSW provides further context and background on BIDs from a global perspective.

In October 2022, we held a 45-minute webinar and presented on:

• NSW Government place revitalisation program
• What are BIDs and what's their purpose
• Overview of the White Paper
• Next steps for streamlining BIDs in NSW
• Future engagement opportunities

We also facilitated a Q&A session with webinar participants.

A Business Improvement District (BID) is a partnership between local government, community and business. BIDs provide a platform for government, business and the community to work together for a common goal of improving our local spaces. 

BIDs can help enhance the local trading environment, encourage economic growth, and enable civic pride. BIDs are one of the ways that the community and business can come together to improve local places. We are proposing new policy to make it easier for BIDs to happen where local businesses and the community think they would be useful.

BIDs help create liveable, enriching, and desirable places and stimulate local economies. They maximise the vitality and quality of public spaces and give businesses an opportunity to become involved in place governance conversations in NSW.

A BID is specific to a defined local area.  Once established, government, business and the community work collaboratively to determine what the BID will set out to deliver, and how it will do so.  

We are currently exploring the best policy options for NSW to ensure that BIDs only occur where they are supported by the businesses and properties.  In most jurisdictions this involves a voting process with a clear majority of businesses and properties supporting the BID and any new payments.