To: NSW Premier, NSW Opposition Leader, and all candidates in the 2027 NSW State Election
Fund Neighbourhood and Community Centres as Essential Social Infrastructure
We call on all parties and candidates in the 2027 NSW State Election to commit to sustainable core funding for every Neighbourhood and Community Centre in NSW — separate from and in addition to existing program funding.
Why is this important?
Every week, an estimated 72,000 people walk through the doors of a Neighbourhood and Community Centre somewhere in NSW. These 175 centres are the largest community-led social infrastructure network in the state — and yet the NSW Government provides no ongoing, dedicated funding for the work that makes them possible.
NSW is one of the last states in Australia not to support Neighbourhood and Community Centres through realistic core funding. That's not an oversight — it's a choice. And it's one we're asking every party and candidate to change before March 2027.
The problem
Centres receive program funding to deliver services — but nothing to cover the staffing and operating costs that keep their doors open. Without core funding, managers stretch every dollar just to keep the lights on, leaving less time and capacity for the community-strengthening work NCCs do best.
Centres receive program funding to deliver services — but nothing to cover the staffing and operating costs that keep their doors open. Without core funding, managers stretch every dollar just to keep the lights on, leaving less time and capacity for the community-strengthening work NCCs do best.
When disaster strikes — floods, fires, public health emergencies — it's community centres that step up as trusted local points of coordination and recovery. They do it every time. They do it without dedicated funding. That has to change.
A partnership is in place. Now it needs to be funded.
In a landmark step, the Shared Commitment to Collaboration between the NSW Department of Communities and Justice, LCSA and NCCs has been signed — formally recognising NCCs as essential social infrastructure. Recognition is not resourcing. We need the NSW Government to back words with funding.
In a landmark step, the Shared Commitment to Collaboration between the NSW Department of Communities and Justice, LCSA and NCCs has been signed — formally recognising NCCs as essential social infrastructure. Recognition is not resourcing. We need the NSW Government to back words with funding.
Our ask is clear:
- A Stage 1 Social Infrastructure Investment of $19.9 million per year — core funding for every NCC's staffing and operating costs.
- A $2.73 million Community Investment Fund to establish new centres in underserved areas.
- A $3.7 million Loneliness Investment Fund to strengthen social connection, responding directly to the NSW Parliamentary Inquiry into loneliness
- One additional dedicated position at LCSA to support sector implementation
If you've ever leaned on your local community centre — in a flood, a lockdown, or just an ordinary hard week — this is your chance to lean back.
Sign the petition. Share it with your community. Help us make core funding impossible to ignore.
