FAQs

We have a vision to grow Cronulla’s status as a vibrant, diverse, and safe precinct that supports local businesses and expands night-time activities, including entertainment, for residents and visitors.

The Cronulla Special Entertainment Precinct (SEP) initiative will help deliver on this vision.

A SEP is a defined area where trading hours and the regulation of sound from entertainment activity are set out by a council in a Precinct Management Plan (PMP). Further information about SEPs can be found in the Local Government Act or at this NSW Government website.

The NSW Government Vibrancy Reforms have been established to boost nighttime economy, live music and dining across the state to bring vibrancy back into the economy and the community. More information can be found on the NSW Government website.

In late 2024, we consulted with our community about the opportunity for a SEP in Cronulla and received strong levels of support.

We also heard that safety, reducing anti-social behaviour, and providing the right amenities to support night-time trading are important to the community.

In July 2025, we received a NSW Government grant to help establish the SEP.

Following this, we developed a Planning Proposal which explains how the SEP is proposed to work. The Planning Proposal has now been placed on exhibition.

Prior to NSW Government vibrancy reforms legislation, planning for night-time trading areas was typically done through the issuing of development consents and liquor licence conditions for individual venues.

This process often involved considerable cost and delays to applicants, and was typically done without a comprehensive precinct-wide vision and management framework.

The SEP initiative delivers the necessary precinct-wide approach to planning for safe and positive after-hours activity.

Under a SEP, a council is able to:

• Set clear external sound limits which venues need to meet, including lower limits in more sensitive areas
• Create precinct-wide trading hours controls
• Outline how complaints are managed and the roles and responsibilities of different local and State agencies
• Require future residents to be notified they are buying into a SEP, and for future apartment and other sensitive receiver developments to ensure occupants are not exposed to excessive internal noise
• Set up a process for regular reviews and community and stakeholder engagement.

With this robust framework in place, venues are given greater flexibility to set up business and adjust their operations to do what they do best – which is to provide exciting and interesting night-time options, whether this be supporting dining, entertainment, artistic endeavours or socialising.

Cronulla has been proposed for a SEP as it has over 50% of all outdoor dining spaces in the Sutherland Shire, with large areas of public space appropriate to accommodate greater activity. This proposal supports a long-term vision for a thriving, vibrant and safe night-time economy in Cronulla Town Centre.

Councils across greater Sydney have implemented SEPs and many are investigating SEPs. They are in different stages in the process. 

Trading hours represent when a business starts or ceases trading, including serving alcohol or playing music.

The draft Precinct Management Plan (PMP) sets a new and more flexible approach for maximum trading hours for all relevant businesses within the SEP boundary.  

These trading hours are listed below.

Existing venues may operate within these hours without lodging a new development application when they comply with entertainment-related activity sound limits in the draft PMP.

Venues seeking to extend alcohol service hours must still obtain approval through the liquor licensing system.

If a venue already has approval to trade later than the hours proposed under the PMP, it may continue to do so. Businesses may also lodge a development application to seek trading hours beyond those set out in the PMP.

The sound limits will mean that, in some lower activation areas closer to existing homes, businesses may be unlikely to use the above hours because they will not be able to stay within the sound limits.

Venues which host live music performances or arts and cultural events can expand their liquor licence hours by one hour every day under a SEP.

They can also trade for up to two extra hours on nights when they host live music or arts and cultural events.

However, to be able to trade the additional hour or hours, venues must:

• Stay within the maximum trading hours outlined in the draft Precinct Management Plan, or within other approved development consent trading hours specific to the business (whichever is later)
• Stay within the relevant sound limits for the area in which the venue is operating (see more information on these limits below)
• Meet a range of other NSW Government requirements, including for the regularity of live music or events and record keeping
• Fill out the relevant NSW Government application form.

Sutherland Shire Council will be responsible for monitoring whether businesses are adhering to their trading hours, and fielding and acting on complaints on this issue.

The draft Precinct Management Plan (PMP) will make it easier for businesses to have outdoor dining later into the night, whether this outdoor dining is located on private or public land.

The draft PMP now allows businesses to have outdoor dining up to 11pm. This compares to a current typical 10pm cut-off for outdoor dining.

However, to access these hours, businesses will need to meet the relevant sound limits and may have to adjust their liquor licence.

Precinct-wide sound limits are being proposed to regulate the entertainment-related sound that businesses can generate. Council engaged a specialist acoustic consultant to prepare the sound limits.

The following was considered in developing the limits:

• The measured sound levels of the existing acoustic environment and venue operations
• The locations of existing and approved (but not operational) venues and noise sensitive receiver developments.

These sound limits carefully balance the needs of businesses and residents for different times of the day and week.

The use of fixed sound limits also provides certainty and transparency to businesses and residents.   

Entertainment-related sound includes sound coming from live or recorded music, activities such as karaoke, trivia, bingo and comedy, along with functions and food and drink services.

It also covers the entry or exit of people to/from premises on which the activities are being carried out, and staff announcements and sound caused by patrons.

The draft Precinct Management Plan (PMP) outlines the entertainment-related sound limits which apply at the frontage of sensitive receivers located within, and near, the Special Entertainment Precinct boundary.

Sensitive receivers include residential accommodation (excluding hotels and hostels). educational facilities, places of public workshop, health services facilities, tourist and visitor accommodation and commercial premises.

The sound limits apply either at the lot boundary of sensitive receivers (or 1.5m above the floor level at facade windows / balconies for multi-storey receiver buildings).

Some limits also apply to sound generated from a commercial tenancy travelling within a mixed-use development (such as a sound from a ground floor bar potentially affecting apartments in the same building). 

The sound limits in the draft PMP override sound conditions in an existing development consent, liquor licence or a venue-specific Plan of Management.

 The purpose of the draft PMP sound limits is to ensure the Cronulla Special Entertainment Precinct can operate as a night-time going out area but also deliver a reasonable level of amenity to surrounding residents.

If a venue is complying with the Precinct Management Plan’s sound limits, then it cannot be subject to regulatory action on this issue (including in response to ‘offensive noise’ complaints under the NSW Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997).

Under the draft Precinct Management Plan, venues can project an entertainment-related sound level from 40 to 70 decibels at the boundary of nearby sensitive receiver (such as residential accommodation), depending on the time of day and location.

Some examples of common sounds and the decibel readings in our daytime environment – a library is 40 decibels, a CBD mall at lunch time is 60 decibels and a car passing on the street is 70 decibels.

An indoor rock band concert would reach about 100 decibels.

This is because the sound limits are calculated by considering existing background noise levels, and these levels are different between weekends and weekdays.

The sound limits represent the average sound which is created during a 15-minute period.

This means that it is possible that individual noise events within this 15-minute period are higher than the publicised limit. These events (such as patrons entering or exiting the venue) will contribute towards the 15-minute result.

Residents are not expected to know whether the venue is breaching its sound limits in the Precinct Management Plan. They can lodge a complaint if the noise is disturbing them, and Liquor and Gaming will investigate.

More information about making a sound complaint is available here.

The draft Precinct Management Plan outlines that venues are encouraged to monitor their sound levels to ensure they are not breaching sound controls.

If a SEP trial commences, Liquor and Gaming NSW will be responsible for complaints about entertainment-related sound from licensed premises.

Sutherland Shire Council will be responsible for complaints about entertainment sound from unlicensed premises. 

Chapter 6 of the Precinct Management Plan outlines the process for dispute resolution and complaints.

The draft Precinct Management Plan sets the internal sound criteria which developers of new sensitive receivers (such as apartment buildings or hotels) must meet.

The criteria, for instance, requires new apartment buildings to be designed so that there is not more than 30-35 decibels of sound from entertainment-related sound within the habitable rooms and bedrooms of residential accommodation.

To meet these limits, in some circumstances, developers are likely to need to consider the construction of acoustic seals and specific glass types.

This helps to future-proof the precinct as an entertainment place and ensures future residents will receive the same sound limit protections as existing residents.

Council will be responsible for non-entertainment related sound complaints. See more information on Council’s noise pollution web page.

Venues inside the SEP are expected to:

• Operate within the trading hours and sound controls outlined in the draft Precinct Management Plan.
• Keep an up-to-date Plan of Management covering entertainment schedules, door/queue control, patron dispersal, deliveries and complaint handling.
• Must display a Good Neighbour Notice at the main entrance and on their website (contact name and number, how to raise an issue).
• Log all noise-related contacts and actions taken and retain logs for inspection.
• Brief performers and DJs on in-house sound limits and bass management; complete a sound check before entertainment begins; monitor throughout the night.
• Manage outdoor areas (if any) in line with approved hours and capacities.
• Ensure staff can pause or adjust entertainment immediately when requested by a responsible manager or authorised officer.

The draft Precinct Management Plan also outlines other expected good neighbour practices, including keep doors and windows closed during amplified entertainment and keeping queues off residential frontages.

The following rules would apply under the proposed PMP:

• Indoor areas of venues may trade until midnight on weekdays and up to 2am on weekends.
• Outdoor areas, including outdoor dining, may trade until 11pm.
• Existing venues may operate within these hours without lodging a new development application, provided they comply with the precinct’s sound limits.
• Venues seeking to extend alcohol service hours must still obtain approval through the liquor licensing system.
• Fixed sound limits will apply at the boundaries of nearby unit blocks and other sensitive receivers, such as schools, churches and visitor accommodation.

The Precinct Management Plan also clearly sets out the roles of Council and the NSW Government in managing the precinct and responding to complaints and includes measures to notify future residents and require appropriate noise mitigation in new developments.

Council will consider all feedback received during the consultation period. It will then decide if it will proceed with a 12-month trial of the SEP.

Council will monitor the Special Entertainment Precinct during the trial period to assess its effectiveness and identify opportunities for refinement. 

 Monitoring activities will include: 

• Community and stakeholder engagement to gather feedback on the operation of the SEP. 
• Monitoring of entertainment noise matters administered by Liquor & Gaming NSW and non-entertainment noise matters managed by Council. 
• Monitoring of Good Neighbour practices and complaint responses to assess how venues are managing impacts on surrounding properties. 
• Review of complaint and compliance data relating to trading hours, noise and other operational matters. 

Findings from monitoring and evaluation will inform future decisions regarding the ongoing operation of the SEP. 

Council may consider investigating further areas subject to the success of the proposal for Cronulla.

Cronulla Town Centre has been undergoing a refresh over the last few years. This includes Ocean Grove Avenue (completed in 2018), Kingsway east (2022) and Cronulla Plaza (2024).

Work on the Town Square is due to be completed in mid 2026 and includes a performance stage at the Kingsway end of the Cronulla Plaza.

Upgrades have included improved lightening, power bollards for safe access, seating and amenities. The performance stage will be weather protected, have in-built power, AV and lighting. All this helps to contribute to a SEP in Cronulla. 

Find out more on the project website. 

We have established a Precinct Working Group that represents a cross-section of the Cronulla community and key stakeholders connected to the precinct, including representatives of:

• Local residents
• Businesses owners and operators
• Artists and musicians
• Cronulla Chamber of Commerce
• Miranda Liquor Accord
• NSW Police.

The Precinct Working Group will support Council in monitoring how the SEP operates in practice and identify opportunities for continuous improvement.

The Working Group will:

• Provide feedback on how the SEP is operating on the ground
• Share local knowledge, experience and perspectives
• Help identify opportunities and challenges as they arise
• Support Council in monitoring outcomes against the approved Precinct Management Plan.

The Working Group will support the successful delivery of the SEP trial and may also provide input into any future consideration of the SEP’s longer-term operation.

Council consulted with the community in late 2024 about the opportunity for a SEP in Cronulla and received strong levels of support. We also heard that safety, reducing anti-social behaviour, and providing the right amenities to support night-time trading are important to the community. Feedback has helped shape this next stage of the proposed SEP. 

We are now seeking feedback on the proposal to ensure it balances the needs of residents, businesses and visitors alike. There’s lots of ways to get involved and provide feedback. You can complete the survey or meet us in person at one of our information stalls over the coming weeks.