Just two months away from hundreds of startups and founders being forced to move out of the Sydney Startup Hub, there’s still no clear vision from the NSW government about what the move to Tech Central will look like.
While the government has yet to publicly announce a new location, Startup Daily understands that tenants of the 11-floor site in Wynyard are being asked to move 2km south, with little detail around who bears the costs or support, to the Sydney Scaleup Hub, near Central Station, run by Stone & Chalk, on behalf of the government.
They final day at Wynyard is August 31, not the October deadline previously announced by the government.
Startup Daily sent a series of detailed questions about the move to the office of innovation, science and trade minister Anoulack Chanthivong , but they went unanswered.
They included the new location of the hub, how many desks were available for startups, if they will be offered at a discount rate, and how the $5 million budget allocation for the relocation will be spent.
NSW innovation, science and trade minister Anoulack Chanthivong
“The Sydney Startup Hub is not commercially viable and not fit for purpose under the current model,” a spokesperson said.
“The current anchor tenant of the Sydney Startup Hub is fully supportive of relocating the services currently provided at the Hub to Tech Central.”
The spokesperson went on to restate the $79.2 million in budget initiatives for the startup sector, announced this week, “which includes $38.5 million to turbocharge Tech Central”, although that figure includes the $5m for the Startup Hub relocation.
More than 1,800 startups have been residents at the 11-floor building above Wynyard train station in the heart of the CBD since it opened in 2018. Together they’ve created around 6000 jobs and attracted nearly $1 billion in investment, while another 50,000 people have been to more than 1000 events there, and another 4000+ entrepreneurs from regional NSW have dropped in to use free desks and meeting rooms there.
The Hub has been home to Stone & Chalk, Tank Stream Labs, Fishburners, Antler, the disability accelerator Remarkable and Microsoft Reactor, as well as the Regional Landing Pad and International Pad, with room for 1800 people and around 500 startups. Shared desks start at around $100 a week.
The NSW Labor government announced the Wynyard site would shut down last December, and relocate to a site in Tech Central, a sprawling concept around Surry Hills and Central train station, where Atlassian is currently building 39-storey eco-skyscraper, due to open in 2026.
The Tech Central Scaleup Hub at 477 Pitt Street, designed for more mature companies, offers suites and other facilities for 60 scaleups, as well as shared office space across two floors, offering around 150 desks. It was developed by the former Coalition government, along with the Quantum Terminal, above Central Station, launched in 2021.
Since Labor came to power in 2023, Tech Central, along with the rest of the startup sector, has been held in limbo by the government until this week’s funding announcement.
WFH instead
That lack of momentum has been noticed by startup founders and the move to Tech Central has little appeal for many. Several Startup Daily spoke to said they’ll look to work from home when the Wynyard site closes. If so, the government’s actions, would have the opposite impact to calls by premier Chris Minns for workers to head back to the city and fill offices.
Among them is Juggle Street founder David James, who leaves the Hub at the end of July.
“As a taxpayer, I shudder to think what the ROI is on the government’s investment,” he said.
“Apparently, the NSW government has a viable relocation alternative, the so-called Tech Central. In my opinion, this is a soulless ghost town, and it will become another government white elephant and massive waste of taxpayer’s money.”
An event at the Sydney Startup Hub
When Labor came to power in March 2023, it cut funding for the hub before partially restoring it last financial year. Minister Chanthivong announced the Hub would move last December. But despite 7 months notice, details on the shift remain unclear just 8 weeks away from everyone packing their bags, including the costs for those moving at the new location.
Startup Daily understands that tenants at the Wynyard site have reported increased usage in 2025, post-Covid, with one regular user saying that “anyone who walks in can feel that the energy is back”.
Early stage investor and accelerator Antler, which launched in Australia in 2019 at the SSH, has helped created nearly 100 startups since then, and less that three weeks before the site closes, is due to hold an all-in for around 80 founders in its latest cohort. Antler now operates out of Melbourne and Brisbane too, but for the first week of the three-month program, everyone gathers in Sydney.
Room for founders
Fishburners CEO Majella Campbell said there’s a lot of support for the long-term vision of the Tech Central precinct, but the government plans are unclear to many in the sector.
“Without a clear and structured transition, the government risks creating a serious gap in the infrastructure that supports early-stage founders. This decision is about far more than desks—and unfortunately, it will be the startups who will feel the impact most,” she said.
Fishburners CEO Majella Campbell
“The future of innovation in NSW depends on building a diverse, resilient environment that reflects the needs of the people driving it forward. Fishburners has been working hard to ensure no founder is left behind as a result of this decision.
“It is my sincere hope the government rises to the challenge it has set and delivers the necessary support this future demands.”
Collaboration space Tank Stream Labs (TSL) will throw a last hurrah at the hub just days before it closes when it hosts the S2S Summit. CEO Bradley Delamare runs four other locations around Sydney, and will not move to the new hub, saying he’s “hoping for a miracle” to save the existing site.
His organisation has a site in the Tech Central precinct, but Delamare says “demand down that end of town is a fraction of our demand for the Sydney CBD”.
Outgrown the CBD
But Chris Kirk, CEO of Stone & Chalk, takes a different view, and says the startup ecosystem has also grown beyond the Sydney Startup Hub’s current location.
“The epicentre of tech activity is no longer in Wynyard next to big corporations such as banks and professional services companies,” he said.
“Our biggest tech companies, VC funds, and ecosystem enablers are increasingly located closer to Tech Central – Canva, Airwallex, and Rokt – are all located within Tech Central; Atlassian is building its flagship office above Central Station, and Australia’s 3 largest VC funds are all located in Surry Hills.”
Stone & Chalk CEO Chris Kirk
Stone & Chalk is an anchor tenant at Tech Central, and is working with the government on the hub transition.
Kirk said the budget announcement that the government “will be investing heavily to support NSW innovators and the Tech Central precinct is welcome news”.
“Having built Australia’s largest innovation community over the past 10 years, Stone and Chalk is looking forward to applying the lessons learned from the Sydney Startup Hub to shaping a new chapter for innovators at Tech Central,” he said.
“Every new initiative has teething challenges and short-term costs, but building a precinct that’s home to a thriving community, provides programming that supports’ startup and scaleup ambition, and serves as the connective tissue between innovators, government and the private sector is crucial for NSW to become the engine room for Australia’s tech-enabled future economy.”
Disclosure: Startup Daily is a sponsor of the S2S Summit and has hosted regular events at the Sydney Startup Hub. Fishburners CEO Majella Campbell cohosts Startup Daily’s weekly podcast, Startup 360, with this writer.
