The City of Sydney has responded to criticism of its decision to overhaul the city’s busking rules.
City of Sydney Council sent out an email to artists, including singer-songwriter Ūla, confirming major overhauls to busking rules “effective immediately.”
Under the new rules, the email explained, performers in the bustling George Street in Sydney’s CBD are now restricted to just six new “special busking sites,” increasing competition in a smaller space.
Buskers are limited to one hour at these sites and can only perform between the hours of 11am and 10pm, a reduction from the previous 8am-10pm window.
“There are a lot of older musicians and buskers in the Sydney CBD and this is genuinely the only thing they do, this is their livelihood,” Ūla told 9news.com.au. “This is basically like being fired with no warning and no explanation.”
“They’ve taken away the biggest strip of busking and given us no reason and no help as to how to move forward,” she claimed.
In a statement shared with Rolling Stone AU/NZ, a City of Sydney spokesperson explained the rationale behind the overhaul.
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“From time to time we review and update our Sydney busking code, the document that guides busking activity in our area and outlines the rules for using the most popular sites, which we call Special Busking Sites,” the spokesperson said.
“The code seeks to make it easy for buskers to contribute to our city’s vibrancy while ensuring fair access to and limited overlap of space between artists, as well safety and amenity for others in the city centre including local businesses and residents. Updates to the code and policy were placed on public exhibition for community feedback for a period of 42 days, between 24 June and 5 August.
“All registered buskers who have provided the City with an email address were notified about the public exhibition on 26 June 2025 and encouraged to leave feedback on the proposed changes. We received just 14 submissions from the public exhibition, including 4 from buskers.
“Feedback from buskers requested more monitoring by City rangers to manage non-compliant buskers, sign spruikers and protestors in the public domain. None of the submissions raised concerns about the creation of six Special Busking Areas on George Street.
“We continue to permit buskers to perform on most public land across our local area. In a small number of high-traffic areas like George Street and Pitt Street Mall, it is necessary for us to manage busking activity to balance public safety and harmonious shared use of the spaces.
“There were no changes to the number of busking pitches in Pitt Street Mall. With George Street now operating as a pedestrianised light rail path, we have monitored how popular busking locations have naturally emerged in the new conditions.
“Not all locations along George Street are safe for buskers to set up. We have selected six Special Busking Sites along the George Street light rail corridor that are best suited to busking while ensuring public safety around the light rail. We ask artists to use the designated areas as they have done in Pitt Street Mall for many years.
“Responding to concerns raised by some heavily impacted businesses and residents while wanting to ensure the spots can be safely activated, we request that buskers at Special Busking Sites perform between 11am and 10pm (changed from 8am to 10pm). Changes to the busking policy were unanimously approved by Council at the 25 August meeting.
In a provided quote, Lord Mayor Clover Moore insisted they have not “banned busking.”
“The most significant change is that we have identified specific spots along George Street that are safe and don’t force pedestrians in front of the light rail,” Moore said. “These sites were chosen because they were places where busking was already working well. Despite these new special busking areas being consulted on and agreed to unanimously by Council, we have heard this week that buskers want more of them – so I have asked the City’s CEO to go back and review George Street again with a view to increase the number of busking opportunities along George Street.
“I want to let you know I’ve heard you, and I’ve directed our staff to see if we can find more safe spaces for you to perform. We strongly support busking and we continue to be one of the most permissive city centres in Australia for busking. Buskers are ambassadors for the cultural life of the city and values we celebrate: diversity, respect and inclusion. We’ll continue working with you to get this right,” he concluded.
