Decision details

Moved by Deputy Lord Mayor Councillor Miller, seconded by Councillor Gannon -

It is resolved that:

(A)       Council note that:

(i)         across Sydney, housing density is increasing in line with NSW Government policies and targets. We are concerned our resident population will increase beyond the capacity of our existing schools, especially in high-growth areas such as Waterloo, Redfern, Green Square, Ultimo-Pyrmont and Bays West. The community has specifically raised concerns about the future capacity of schools in our area, particularly around Green Square;

(ii)        however, there is limited information about school capacity publicly available, and in places we know new schools are needed, the Department of Education has not committed the land or funding to provide this;

(iii)       the Green Square urban renewal area is Australia’s most densely populated urban precinct at scale, with a projected population of ~64,000 residents by 2046, and demographic forecasts indicate that the number of high school-aged children in the precinct will reach approximately 1,200 to 1,300 students by 2030, effectively doubling the 2021 secondary school-age population;

(iv)       the City of Sydney’s Social Infrastructure Needs Assessment confirms that this population density requires at least one additional dedicated government high school to prevent an education gap for students graduating from the Green Square Public School (K–6), which opened in October 2025 as a joint venture between the City of Sydney and the NSW Government;

(v)        under the Education Act 1990, the NSW Government is responsible for the provision of public education, and the 2025–26 NSW State Budget committed $9 billion to public school infrastructure with a specific focus on co-educational high schools and vertical urban campuses in a commitment that creates a direct opportunity to address the secondary education gap in Green Square;

(vi)       significant state-owned landholdings exist (inclusive of a site owned by the Department of Education) within Green Square and Waterloo, managed by agencies including Sydney Water, Transport for NSW and Landcom, which could be suitable for a new public high school, following the necessary planning processes and approvals;

(vii)      the Green Square Primary School P&C, in collaboration with Deputy Lord Mayor Councillor Jess Miller, has lodged an ePetition to the NSW Legislative Assembly titled “Building Our Future: A Public High School for Green Square”, drawing the attention of the House to the precinct’s rapidly growing secondary school-age population, noting that Alexandria Park Community School is growing at 5–7% per annum and is projected to reach capacity by 2027–2028, that nearly 48% of families leave the Green Square precinct when their children reach high school age, and calling on the NSW Government to undertake feasibility research on a new public high school in Green Square and commission a report assessing the impact of increasing student numbers on surrounding secondary schools;

(B)       the Chief Executive Officer be requested to identify ways in which the City of Sydney can support the petition through promotion across Council-owned and run channels such as community notice boards, newsletters etc; and

(C)       the Lord Mayor be requested to write to the NSW Premier, the Minister for Education and Early Learning, and the Minister for Planning and Public Spaces to request:

(i)         a public high school needs analysis for the City of Sydney, including the Green Square and Waterloo areas, to account for the projected 2026–2046 population surge there, and report the findings as soon as possible; and

(ii)        that the NSW Government prioritise the delivery of a secondary school in Green Square, potentially utilising a state-owned site in the area.

Carried unanimously.

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