The City of Sydney has rolled out new restrictions that will drastically limit where and when buskers can perform in the CBD.
Under the freshly updated Sydney Busking Code, performers are now banned from most of the main strip. Instead, they’ll be confined to six designated “special busking sites” including Town Hall, Regimental Square and Herald Square. Performances are capped at one hour, allowed only between 11 am and 10 pm, and must stay clear of intersections, pedestrian crossings and the light-rail track. It is expected the new restrictions will force many many performers to suburban spots.
The council says it’s about safety and balance — making sure pedestrians, trams and tourists can all coexist without the city’s buskers blocking the way. “These new arrangements give performers defined places to play while making sure everyone can safely share our busiest pedestrian corridors,” said Clover Moore, Lord Mayor of Sydney.
Busking has long been the entry point for emerging artists — a space where anyone could plug in, perform and connect with passers-by without needing a stage or following. Many fear that limiting busking to a handful of sites will drain the life from a culture built on freedom and spontaneity.
Australia’s most successful busking alumni, Toni Watson aka Tones and I told triple j in 2021,
“I wanted to be a busker so bad.” The national broadcaster reported when she worked on Bourke Street in Melbourne, at Jetty Surf (before it became a General Pants), she would watch artists like Tash Sultana, Pierce Brothers, Reuben Stone, Josh Cashman and AMISTAT doing their thing.
Sometimes, on quiet days, Tones’ (retail) manager would let her just stand out the front of the store and enjoy the show for hours. “She just knew I loved it,” All up, it took almost two years to make it to Bourke Street, (bureaucracy and waiting lists). That’s when a mate suggested Byron.
The revised code divides performers into categories — “low impact”, “high impact” and “extended duration” — and includes specific noise and location constraints. The changes follow an earlier public consultation in June-July this year, which the council says received only a small number of submissions.
Frustrations over this week’s announcement surfaced on social media over the past 24 hours prompting Clover Moore took to make a follow-up announcement this afternoon to “clear up some misinterpretation”. On Instagram, the Lord Mayor said
We have not “banned busking”.
The most significant change is that we have identified specific spots along George St that are safe and already working well, and asked artists to stick to those areas.
Despite these new special areas being consulted on and agreed to unanimously by Council, we have heard this week that buskers want more of them – so I have asked the City to attempt to find more space for busking opportunities.
We don’t want situations that are unsafe, or where buskers are competing to be heard over each other or overly dominating spaces that need to be shared.
In Pitt St Mall we have had three designated areas for many years. The same buskers have been able to use these sites for a long time so we are trying a new configuration to allow more buskers access and a change of experience for adjacent businesses.
We permit buskers to perform on most public land across our local area, and in a small number of high-traffic areas (like George St and Pitt St Mall) we do a little more to balance public safety and shared use.
I’m sorry these changes came as a shock to some buskers. I want to let you know I’ve heard you, and I’ve directed our staff to see if we can find more safe space for you.
