Western Sydney is growing – development must keep up

Families are moving to western Sydney in record numbers. But too many still have to leave it to build a life.

The latest Sydney Morning Herald analysis tells an important story about our city. Growth is no longer evenly spread. Parts of the east are losing people, while many parts of Sydney’s north-west and south-west are surging, driven by young families chasing housing affordability.

Western Sydney is the centre of the city’s population growth. More people already live in the region than the rest of the city combined, and one in 10 Australians calls it home. That growth will only accelerate.

Economic growth in the region has outpaced the rest of Sydney for years. Western Sydney’s gross regional product has grown by an average 3.8 per versus 2.5 per cent for the rest of the city since 2016. And Westpac data last year revealed western Sydney’s business lending had grown 15 per cent over 12 months, while it was much greater in hotspots such as Austral (up 166 per cent), Cecil Hills (101 per cent), Silverwater (62 per cent), Cabramatta (52 per cent), and Penrith and Baulkham Hills (both up 51 per cent).

The people of western Sydney are gaining qualifications faster than the rest of Sydney and even the rest of the country. Workforce participation is rising. It is an international region with global connections, where more than 100 languages from 170 countries are spoken.

Western Sydney, a place long misunderstood, is defining the future of the city. And yet the city has not adapted to this shift.

Too many people in western Sydney still have to leave the region just to get to work because the jobs are not there. For every 100 workers, there are only 82 local jobs. In the rest of Sydney, there are 124.

It is not just the number of jobs – it is the type of jobs. Just over a third of workers in western Sydney are in managerial or professional roles, compared with more than half across the rest of the city. With fewer company headquarters and major employers based locally, there are fewer senior roles and fewer of the higher salaries that come with them.

This means that those who can travel for better opportunities do so. But it comes at a cost. Public transport in western Sydney continues to need serious attention. The region has fewer services, longer waits, longer trips. Public transport is not always available where and when people need it. Too many fast-growing communities remain poorly connected, and even where there is access, the system is designed to move people into the CBD, not across western Sydney.

This means many people have no choice but to drive, and many use expensive toll roads just to get to work. The $60 weekly toll cap helps, but it does not fix the problem. The current fuel crisis makes driving less affordable. Add childcare deserts and services that do not align with long commute times and the pressure builds.

In our work with young people, they tell us they feel trapped – trapped in work that doesn’t reflect who they are or what they can do. They can see better opportunities, but they can’t reach them without a car, and public transport doesn’t get them where they need to go when they need to be there. They can’t afford a car because they’re stuck in the lower-paid work they’re trying to leave behind.

This is the tension we need to deal with – and fast. There is significant momentum.

Advanced manufacturing, logistics and new industries are taking shape across western Sydney. The Western Sydney International Airport will be transformative. Bradfield City and the Advanced Manufacturing Readiness Facility, along with projects such as Metro West, the Airport Metro and the Moorebank Intermodal are game-changers.

But they are not enough.

Population growth is moving faster than infrastructure, jobs and investment. If that gap continues, we will simply reproduce the same pattern at a larger scale.

Proof that it can work differently already exists. The Westmead Health and Education Precinct is one of the largest in the southern hemisphere, anchoring thousands of high-paying clinical, research and administrative roles in the heart of western Sydney. Parramatta’s transformation shows what is possible through strong investment, improved connectivity and a concentration of education, health and service centre capacity. This is the opportunity for other fast-growing centres such as Liverpool, Blacktown, Bankstown, Campbelltown and Penrith.

So what comes next? At a minimum, western Sydney must receive its fair share of public investment, in line with its population. We need a greater concentration of jobs in the region, particularly higher-paying managerial and professional roles, and more company headquarters.

We need sustained investment in public transport that connects people to jobs and the places that give life richness and a sense of belonging – a network that connects the west to the west, so fast-growing suburbs such as Oran Park, Austral and Marsden Park are not left behind. It means expanding the metro so people in Bankstown, Liverpool and Campbelltown have direct, efficient connections to Western Sydney Airport, Parramatta and Bradfield.

We need stronger support for the region’s growing creative industries so that people can build fulfilling, rewarding lives where they live.

The foundations are there. Western Sydney is rich in talent, grounded in powerful stories and backed by a strong audience base. It is fast emerging as a serious cultural centre, anchored by the new Powerhouse Museum and investments in cultural infrastructure across the region. The NSW government’s renewed focus on western Sydney’s creative sector, including a $5 million investment, is a welcome shift. But we are yet to achieve equitable funding for creative industries.

There is ambition and opportunity in the region. What is missing is investment at scale.

If we address the needs of this dynamic region, western Sydney will not just absorb the wider city’s growth. It will ensure our city and our people thrive.

Professor Azadeh Dastyari is director of the Centre for Western Sydney at Western Sydney University.

The Sydney Morning Herald has opened a bureau in the heart of Parramatta. Email parramatta@smh.com.au with news tips.