Roundtable on Funding Green Infrastructure

This high-level roundtable builds on recent UTRC work examining how councils can sustainably fund green open space. The research identified ongoing fiscal pressures, limits of existing grants and contributions, and the absence of reform following the NSW Government’s response to the Parliamentary Inquiry into local government funding. The session will bring together a small, select group of senior representatives from NSW Treasury, the Office of Local Government, the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure, Western Sydney council General Managers, and industry to move beyond problem diagnosis toward practical solutions - testing how green infrastructure could be recognised as an asset class and potentially funded through ring-fenced Sustainability Bonds.

Objectives

• Translate research findings into practical funding and governance mechanisms.

• Test recognition of green open space as a capital asset.

• Explore how NSW Sustainability Bonds could fund councils directly.

• Identify enabling policy and legislative changes and agree on next steps.

Agenda

1. Welcome and framing (10 min)

Overview of purpose and urgency; brief introductions.

2. Presentation - Funding pathways (15 min)

Key findings and case for alternative funding mechanisms.

3. Facilitated discussion (55–60 min)

Deep-dive on:

(a) Green space as an asset class

(b) Sustainability Bonds as a funding mechanism

4. Next steps and commitments (10 min)

Agree on 2-3 priority actions and mechanism for progressing them.

5. Close (5 min)

Summary of key outcomes and next steps.