We, the undersigned, call on the City of Sydney Council to reverse the recent changes to the Busking Code/policy that will end Sydney busking by banning all key pitches from both George Street and Pitt Street.

These changes eliminate all key locations where audiences naturally gather to enjoy performances, making it impossible for buskers to earn a sustainable income. As a result, skilled and professional performers will be forced to relocate—at considerable personal expense—and Sydney will be left with a significantly diminished standard of street entertainment, or none at all. This would be a major cultural loss for the city.

Street performance contributes to cultural identity, tourism appeal, and local economy. It provides free public art that enriches daily life. The City of Sydney’s own 2015 “Discussion Paper: Busking in the City of Sydney” reported that 81% of surveyed Pitt Street Mall visitors believed busking created a positive atmosphere.

The Light Rail has operated since 2019, and busking coexisted safely with it for six years. If busking posed a genuine safety risk, there would be a record of incidents over this 2,151-day period. There are none.

Sydney CBD has 27,936 residents and 7,320 businesses. Even if all 311 complaints cited by Council came from different sources, that represents only 1% of residents or 4% of businesses—and in reality, many came from a small number of repeat complainants.

We therefore request that the policy be reversed, and that practical spacing, orientation, and volume guidelines be implemented instead of excluding buskers from long-established locations.