Resilient Sydney
A program for Greater Sydney to build the capacity of individuals, communities, institutions, businesses and systems to survive, adapt and thrive in the face of chronic stresses and acute shocks.
Resilient Sydney is a collaboration of all 33 metropolitan councils of Greater Sydney to develop and implement a city-wide resilience strategy, first published in 2018.
The program began in 2015 and has been governed by a metropolitan steering committee of representatives from local governments, NSW Government, business and the community sector. Resilient Sydney is a member of the global Resilient Cities Network. The Resilient Sydney Office is funded by local government and hosted by the City of Sydney.
Developing a new resilience strategy for Greater Sydney
Resilient Sydney has worked with communities and stakeholders to develop a new resilience strategy for Greater Sydney.
We conducted a resilience risk assessment to identify the shocks and stresses most likely to impact our city. The assessment analysed how global drivers and national trends are shaping Greater Sydney.
Community engagement included 10 community workshops across Greater Sydney and an online survey with 1,501 responses. Resilient Sydney engaged with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, held 5 youth workshops and 5 multicultural roundtables. Workshops and interviews were held with more than 200 stakeholders.
The outcomes of the risk assessment and engagement will be publicly released with the new strategy.
The development of the Resilient Sydney strategy 2025–2030 was funded under the joint Australian Government – NSW Government National Partnership Agreement on Disaster Risk Reduction.
Launching 29 April
The Resilient Sydney Strategy 2025–2030 will be launched and publicly available on 29 April 2025.
What is city resilience?
City resilience is the capacity of people, communities, businesses and systems within a city to survive, adapt and thrive no matter what kinds of chronic stresses and acute shocks they experience.
Acute shocks are sudden events that threaten a city. Examples include heatwaves, floods, disease outbreaks and cyberattacks.
Chronic stresses weaken the fabric of a city on a day-to-day basis. Examples include rising inequity, housing unaffordability, family violence and inadequate public transport.
Resilient Sydney Office
A small team, led by the chief resilience officer facilitates the Resilient Sydney strategy. The program works with cities around the world to share best practice and collaborate with council leaders and resilience ambassadors in Sydney.
Actions include a platform to better manage and report Sydney-wide data, policy research and development, and community campaigns on emergency preparedness and social connections. Networks to share knowledge have increased the way we understand our city and work together on resilience.
Resilient Sydney Office
Resilient Sydney strategy 2018
Resilient Sydney Strategy 2018PDF · 6.9 MB · Last modified
Resilient Sydney Strategy 2018 (accessible version – part 1)PDF · 9.81 MB · Last modified
Resilient Sydney Strategy 2018 (accessible version – part 2)PDF · 17.56 MB · Last modified
Resilient Sydney Strategy 2018 (accessible version – part 3)PDF · 13.73 MB · Last modified
Resources for councils
Building social cohesion: A resource for local governmentPDF · 3.42 MB · Last modified
Department of Premier and Cabinet, NSW Government, March 2023
Emergency Ready Week 2022PDF · 2.3 MB · Last modified
Resilient Sydney Action 23 – Project Report (October 2022)
Neighbour Day 2022PDF · 3.2 MB · Last modified
Resilient Sydney Action 18 – Project Report (April 2022)
Resilient Sydney Strategy Overview 2018PDF · 1.67 MB · Last modified
Report of Engagement with Indigenous Elders and Community Leaders 2018PDF · 872.56 KB · Last modified
Research Report: Insights into Community Urban Resilience Experiences 2018PDF · 17.12 MB · Last modified
Phase 2 Diagnostic Report 2017PDF · 2.36 MB · Last modified
Phase 2 Engagement Report 2017PDF · 1.59 MB · Last modified
Phase 1 Resilience Assessment Sydney 2016PDF · 3.27 MB · Last modified
Phase 1 City Context Report 2016PDF · 2.97 MB · Last modified
Phase 1 Agenda Setting Workshop Report 2015PDF · 812.22 KB · Last modified
Resilience assessment guide
The guide provides a framework to explore how shocks and stresses may result in resilience hazards within a specific place and community.
By applying this guide within your local or regional context, it’s possible to:
- identify key community stresses and likely or most disruptive shock events in advance
- understand potential impacts in the context of longer trends
- identify resilience hazards for that place
- test resilience hazards and priorities with the stakeholders of that place
- develop projects, investments, policies, processes and networks to collaboratively manage the hazards and reduce future impacts across NSW.
Resilience assessment guidePDF · 1.85 MB · Last modified
Outcomes and insights report
The outcomes and insights report documents what and how the Resilient Sydney strategy has achieved the systemic changes required to tackle Sydney’s core resilience challenges, to date. The report describes the theory behind the Resilient Sydney approach, with a focus on the role of the Resilient Sydney Office and governance. It discusses the outcomes achieved and insights realised.
The main audience for the report is change practitioners and the main actors in the metropolitan Sydney governance system. The report complements the program report produced by the Resilient Sydney Office.
The report was produced by Clear Horizon from May 2020 to May 2021, in consultation with the Resilient Sydney Office. It includes data collected from 175 stakeholders. The data was collected through a survey of 154 respondents, interviews with 21 people linked to the Resilient Sydney Office, and 20 key external informants.
Outcomes and insights reportPDF · 931.79 KB · Last modified
