
Policy & Advocacy
The voice for business in Sydney
Since 1926
In 2021, as nations, states and cities address the challenges and implications of the COVID-19 pandemic we have enhanced our reach, strengthened our voice and increased our capability, transforming to become Business Sydney - the voice for business in Sydney. As the oldest business organisation operating in NSW today, we continue to influence, advocate and deliver for business and the Sydney region.
Through our strong advocacy, influence and action we have delivered key outcomes for the city and business.
Our recent achievements include:
Current issues and projects include building a third cruise liner terminal, updating the hourly landing quotas at Sydney Airport to accommodate weather and other delays, delivering on the 24-hour Economy Strategy, reactivating and shaping Sydney’s CBD and enhancing the city’s freight system.
Sydney has long been the centre for economic activity of the nation. In 1826 the Sydney Chamber of Commerce was established to provide a strong voice for business in the growing colony. The Chamber’s unwavering commitment to leading the business community by identifying, developing and advocating for economic growth in Sydney continued across the decades.
The history of the Chamber movement in Australia dates back 182 years to 5 June 1826 when the Sydney Chamber of Commerce was first established.
As Oswald Ziegler in his book We're in Business states:
As former, long-serving New South Wales Premier, Sir Robert Askin, wrote in the foreword for Ziegler's book (We're in Business):
So, to all intents and purposes, at the time, the Sydney Chamber was in some sense also the Australian Chamber.
Source: Captains of Industry, Biographies of the Presidents of the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, by Peter Hendy.
In 1996 we became the Sydney Business Chamber, continuing to work diligently as the voice for business in our city. As the leading advocate for reforming local governance, recycling state assets to fund new transport and infrastructure and supporting Sydney’s cultural and tourism offerings, the Sydney Business Chamber shaped Sydney as a global, competitive city.