Moved by Councillor Weldon, seconded by
Councillor Ellsmore -
It is resolved that:
(A) Council note:
(i)
George
Street is the spine of our city centre. Since the light rail opened in December
2019 and the street was progressively pedestrianised between Bridge Street and
Rawson Place, it has become the city’s main pedestrian boulevard, carrying
residents, workers, students, tourists and people doing it tough, day and night
(ii)
along
the roughly 3 kilometres of George Street between Circular Quay and Central
Station, the City does not operate a single
street-based, 24-hour public toilet. The City’s only facilities on George
Street are a 24-hour toilet beneath the Harbour Bridge approach at the far
northern end of the street in The Rocks, and the standard toilets inside Town Hall
House, which are only available while that building is open
(iii)
the
City’s nearest 24-hour automatic public toilets to George Street are on York
Street (at Wynyard Park and at Lang Park), at Castlereagh and Park Streets, and
at Belmore Park on Hay Street. A further automatic public toilet is planned at
Quay Street at George Street, Haymarket, but is not yet open
(iv)
between
Circular Quay and Central Station, the public is otherwise reliant on toilets
inside railway stations, shopping centres and hospitality venues. These are
controlled by others, closed at night, are often conditional on being a
customer, and are frequently not welcoming to people who are visibly homeless
(v)
the City’s
Public Toilet Strategy, adopted by Council on 8 April 2014:
(a)
sets a
service standard that a public toilet should be available within 400 metres, or
a 5 to 10 minute walk, of any point within central
Sydney
(b)
records
that since 2011 all of the City’s street-based
automatic public toilets have operated 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and
abolished the fees to use them so that they are free
(c)
identifies
homelessness as one of the social conditions that increase demand for public toilets,
alongside late-night activity in the CBD and entertainment precincts
(d)
recommended
new facilities along the George Street light rail corridor, and inclusive
access toilets available to the public at Town Hall House on Kent Street
(e)
is now
more than 12 years old. It was written before the light rail was built, before
the pedestrianisation of George Street, before the 24-hour economy reforms, and
before the Sydney Metro city stations opened in 2024
(vi)
in its April
2025 submission to the NSW Legislative Council Inquiry into Public Toilets, the
City advised that it manages more than 50 public
toilets across the local government area. The Inquiry tabled its report on 16
October 2025 with 22 recommendations, finding that public toilets are “an
essential component of urban infrastructure, playing a crucial role in
fostering community participation and ensuring public health and hygiene”
(vii)
on 17 March
2025, Council resolved to request a report on expanding 24/7 public toilets
near Special Entertainment Precincts, with a focus on Oxford Street, King
Street Newtown, Darling Harbour and late-night transport hubs. George Street
and the Town Hall precinct were not specifically addressed in that resolution
(B)
Council
further note:
(i)
the
City’s February 2026 street count found 296 people sleeping rough in our local
area, with a further 348 people in crisis and temporary accommodation. While this
is a reduction from 346 people in February 2025, the number of people sleeping
rough across New South Wales rose 5 per cent in the same period to 2,308, and
anyone who walks George Street at night knows that people are sleeping in
doorways, under awnings and along the light rail corridor
(ii)
people
sleeping rough in the city centre have nowhere to go to the toilet, wash their
hands or attend to basic hygiene with dignity. This is not a matter of comfort.
It is a matter of health, dignity and basic human rights
(iii)
the
same gap affects women, young people and others who find themselves on the
street at night because they are escaping violence or an unsafe situation, and
who cannot walk into a licensed venue or wait for a shopping centre to open
(iv)
recently,
a person was observed urinating on the stairs that connect Sydney Town Hall to
the Queen Victoria Building, in daylight, within metres of this Chamber. This is
not a question of behaviour. It is what happens when a city provides no
alternative
(v)
the
absence of toilets also carries a cost to the City in
cleansing footpaths, laneways and building entrances, affects the amenity of
businesses and residents along George Street, and undermines the welcome we
extend to the millions of visitors who come to our city each year
(vi)
a free,
clean and accessible public toilet is one of the most basic things a city can
offer. The City has a responsibility to provide an amenity
that every visitor, worker and resident of this city can use, and that is
equally available to the people who have nowhere else to go
(C)
Council
further note:
(i)
the
City follows the NSW Protocol for Homeless People in Public Places, which
provides that people experiencing homelessness have the same rights as any
member of the public to be in public places, and that they should be treated
respectfully, with dignity and without discrimination
(ii)
the City’s
social sustainability policy, A City for All 2018-2028, is founded on the
principle that “Sydney is a safe and accessible city for people of all ages and
abilities”, and the City’s Homelessness Action Plan commits the City to
supporting people sleeping rough in our area
(D)
the
Chief Executive Officer be requested to:
(i)
investigate
and report to Council on options for new free, inclusive, 24-hour public
toilets along George Street between Circular Quay and Central Station, so that the
400-metre service standard in the Public Toilet Strategy is met along the full
length of the street
(ii)
as part
of that investigation, give priority to the Town Hall precinct, including
Sydney Town Hall, Town Hall House, Town Hall Square and the stairs and walkways
connecting Town Hall to the Queen Victoria Building, and to the delivery
timeframe for the planned automatic public toilet at Quay Street at George
Street
(iii)
engage
with Transport for NSW, Sydney Metro and the owners and managers of major buildings
along George Street, including the Queen Victoria Building, on extending public
access to existing toilets and on co-locating facilities with light rail and
metro stops
(iv)
engage
with the City’s Homelessness and Safe City Units, homelessness and domestic
violence services and people with lived experience of rough sleeping on the
location, design and operation of new facilities, including provision for
handwashing, drinking water, lighting, safety and sanitary disposal, so that facilities
are safe and genuinely usable by people sleeping rough and people escaping
unsafe situations
(v)
identify
interim measures, including temporary or pop-up facilities, that could be
delivered on George Street ahead of permanent facilities
(vi)
consider,
as part of this work, whether the 2014 Public Toilet Strategy should be
reviewed and updated to reflect the changed city centre, the recommendations of
the NSW Inquiry into Public Toilets and the needs of people experiencing
homelessness
(vii)
report back
to Council on the findings, indicative costs and a proposed timeline.
Carried unanimously.
X113756