Mobile cooling hubs

Immediate heat relief for people experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness.

A white cooling hub tent set up in a public park surrounded by trees and greenery during a sunny day in Australia. The tent is marked with "Cooling Hub" banners and logos of various organisations, including "City of Sydney" and "UTS." Inside the tent, there are two black industrial fans and folding chairs. A gazebo structure stands behind the tent, and a pedestrian walks along a nearby shaded path.

On the hottest days, a pop-up cooling hub will be available in a City of Sydney park. 

St Vincent’s Homeless Health provides free healthcare services at the hub as well as a place to rest and escape the heat. Cooling fans, spray mists and water bottles are available and people are welcome to bring their pets.

The mobile cooling hubs are activated based on the HeatWatch application’s heat health risk, alongside temperature and relative humidity information provided by the Bureau of Meteorology.

Visit a cooling hub

  • Dates and locations are listed here when a cooling hub is confirmed.
  • Missionbeat may be able to provide transport to the cooling hub and can be contacted on 1800 306 461.

Tips to stay cool

Visit NSW Health for tips and resources to help you keep cool and stay well during hot weather.

Help if you’re experiencing homelessness

Help is available if you’re experiencing homelessness. Contact us if you’d like to speak with or meet a City of Sydney public space liaison officer.

About the program

The first of its kind in Australia, the mobile cooling hub was created by the Homelessness and Heat Emergency Activation Team (HHEATeam). The team includes people with lived experience of homelessness, researchers, clinicians and public liaison officers from St Vincent’s Hospital, University of Sydney, City of Sydney, Queensland University and University of Technology Sydney.

The hubs are run by the St Vincent’s Homelessness Health team with support from the City of Sydney and the University of Sydney. They use electric fans, water dousing and hydration to provide immediate heat relief.