September Newsletter 2025

Housing Now! conference: Our biggest and best yet  

The housing crisis has been holding NSW back. But there is hope on the horizon and finally the prospect of real change.  

Now in its third year, our annual Housing Now! Conference returned to Parramatta’s CommBank Stadium with a powerful lineup of speakers, including Premier Chris Minns, Opposition Leader Mark Speakman, and Ministers Rose Jackson and Paul Scully. Attended by more than 350 members and guests, the event revealed a new political consensus is emerging: we need more homes, in more places – and we need them faster.

From planning reform to major rezonings, the NSW Government is stepping up. Crucially, the Opposition is also offering serious, pro-housing alternatives. 

This year’s conference pushed new policy boundaries. The Housing Now! Alliance launched its 2026 Policy Platform, including “12 Big Moves” to unlock more than 377,000 new homes across Greater Sydney. Together with Urbis, we also published Expanding Parramatta, a bold vision for up to 60,000 homes in Parramatta’s inner-city neighbourhoods, including a reborn “Auto Alley” on Church Street.  

Business Western Sydney is proud to lead this conversation. We will continue advocating for bold, practical reforms that deliver for our region. 

Reimagining Auto Alley  

Auto Alley on Church Street has long been part of Parramatta’s identity - a hub of car dealerships and yards that helped drive the city’s commercial growth. But as Parramatta evolves into a dynamic, modern CBD, this clunky corridor no longer befits the attractive southern gateway a global city deserves. 

Business Western Sydney, together with Urbis, is calling for a bold vision to reimagine Auto Alley into a grand, tree-lined boulevard - a place with contemporary showrooms and retail, safe cycleways, and thousands of new homes. In our Expanding Parramatta paper, we describe Parramatta’s inner-city neighbourhoods as one of Sydney’s most interesting urban renewal opportunities, drawing inspiration from examples such as Astoria in New York and Omotesando in Tokyo. 

Our modelling shows that up to 60,000 new homes could be delivered beyond the current CBD, across Parramatta North, Riverside East, Harris Park–Rosehill and Parramatta South. 

This growth would complement the City of Parramatta’s comprehensive 2050 vision, including its target of creating 150,000 additional jobs. A larger resident population will strengthen business activity, boost light rail patronage and realise the dream of a truly vibrant, 24/7 city centre. 

Education Equity in the West  

Education should serve as the great equaliser; however, in Western Sydney, opportunities often remain dictated by postcode. 

At our recent Unlocking Potential Luncheon, we were joined by Federal Education Minister Jason Clare and Acting NSW Education Minister Courtney Houssos for an important discussion on the future of education in Western Sydney. With rapid population growth and evolving workforce needs, the conversation focused on equity in school funding, expanding access to TAFE and university, and preparing students for the jobs of tomorrow.  

Our panel examined the role of AI in classrooms, the connection between funding and student outcomes, and how vocational training can more effectively align with emerging industries, such as those in Bradfield.  

We thank our speakers and panelists for their insights, and WestWords and Booktober for reminding us that literacy is the foundation of success. 

New Vertical Campus for Liverpool 

In September, Liverpool celebrated a major milestone in its transformation into a major university city. Stage 2 of Liverpool Civic Place, a partnership between Built, the University of Wollongong and Liverpool City Council, will deliver a 17-storey vertical campus and life sciences facility in the heart of the CBD. 

This landmark project will make higher education more visible and accessible for young people across South West Sydney. Whether you're from Liverpool, Campbelltown, Fairfield or Cabramatta, by 2028 you’ll see this thriving campus and know: you can study here too. 

Education belongs at the centre of our communities and everyone belongs in education. Executive Director David Borger was proud to host this announcement alongside Vice-Chancellor Professor Max Lu, Mayor Ned Mannoun and Built’s Jono Cottee. 

More educational expansion in Liverpool is on the way. Thanks to UOW, UNSW, WSU, TAFE NSW and all the organisations collaborating with us through the Liverpool Innovation Precinct.

New Western Sydney RAC elected

The Western Sydney Regional Advisory Council (RAC) has held its General Election meeting confirming Anne Parnham as its re-elected President for the next two years. Anne is a frank and fearless voice for business, tourism and investment in Western Sydney, particularly the city’s fast-growing South West. Jason Owen and Anthony Bell were elected Vice Presidents, while Anne, Jason and Sue-Ellen Hogan are the delegates to the Business NSW State Council.  

Meeting every two months, the RAC is a vital sounding board for the advocacy of Business Western Sydney and Business NSW. We congratulate all 20 newly elected members. These are people with enormous real-life experience in Western Sydney, running businesses, supporting communities and driving change. 

Planning for Growth 

Four planners. Four councils. One shared challenge. It’s one of our most popular events and it’s easy to see why. Our annual Four Planners Luncheon brought together planning directors from Parramatta, Liverpool, Blacktown and Cumberland councils, responsible for shaping cities with more than 1.2 million people.  

Jennifer Concato, Peter Conroy, Lina Kakish and Daniel Cavallo spoke about the pressures of growth, planning reform and the need to keep culture and community at the heart of city-making. 

The message was clear: delivering housing in the right places, supported by infrastructure, is a shared challenge between federal, state and local government. 

Robotics revolution

The launch of the Ingham Institute’s Centre for Robotics and Health Technology (Perich Centre) in September marks a major milestone in Australia’s healthcare innovation landscape. Located in Liverpool, this state-of-the-art facility is focused on advancing health equity through robotics, automation and digital health - ensuring world-class care reaches regional and underserved communities. From AI-assisted diagnostics to surgical robotics and wearable sensors, the Centre’s work is turning bold ideas into real-world solutions that improve lives. 

At the launch, NSW Minister for Medical Research David Harris spoke about the Centre’s potential to transform care delivery across the state, while Clinical Lead Dr Glen Schlaphoff and CEO Simone Proft emphasised the importance of designing innovation around people, not technology. 

This landmark investment cements South West Sydney as a national hub for health technology. 

ProCan Wins National AI Challenge 

At Business Western Sydney, we’re proud to celebrate a major win for one of our region’s most visionary institutions.  

The Children’s Medical Research Institute (CMRI) in Westmead has been named the winner of ResetData’s AI-F1 National Innovation Challenge for its groundbreaking cancer research program, ProCan.

ProCan is using AI to transform cancer diagnostics and treatment. CMRI has built the world’s largest single-platform cancer proteomic database, with over 34,000 samples processed. The team will now use ResetData’s sovereign AI infrastructure, including $1 million in AI tokens, to develop a multimodal foundation model integrating cancer tissue data, pathology images and clinical metadata.  

This model will accelerate precision medicine, reduce research timelines and help match patients to the best treatment, including for rare cancers. Business Western Sydney congratulates CMRI and the ProCan team on this extraordinary achievement, a powerful example of Western Sydney’s leadership in health, science and AI. 

Diwali Lights Up western sydney

Diwali is a celebration of culture, community and connection. In Harris Park, the heart of “Little India”, the streets burst with colour, spice and tradition. I recently joined my colleague Reshmi Lal for a walk through this vibrant area, full of restaurants, sweet shops and saree boutiques. With Western Sydney home to Australia’s fastest-growing South Asian population, Diwali is rising in scale, spirit and significance every year. Best of all, it’s open to all of us. 

Now is the time to think more strategically about the economic opportunity Diwali represents. Ideas we’d suggest include a “Diwali Down Under” tourism campaign, city-wide Diwali lights competition and direct flights to India from Western Sydney Airport.  

To everyone celebrating here and around the world, Happy Diwali! 

Check out our Diwali video.