NSW Government Expands Share Our Space Program to Integrate Sports Facilities Across New South Wales

The New South Wales Government has announced a statewide expansion of the Share Our Space program, mandating that all new public educational facilities automatically open their sports ovals, courts, and green infrastructure to local communities outside school hours.

Under the updated policy, more than twenty upcoming public primary and high schools across high-growth corridors, including the newly completed Edmondson Park High School opening in Term 1, 2027, will be seamlessly integrated into the program upon completion.

47th Premier of New South Wales ,Premier Chris Minns, emphasised the economic and social rationale underpinning the policy shift toward shared community infrastructure.

“Our school ovals and sports courts are too valuable to sit unused behind locked gates when there are no kids in the classroom.”

“We’ve already opened up these facilities to the community at nearly 250 schools across the state.

“Now, we’re making sure every new public school built in New South Wales does the same.

“This means more communities can access sporting facilities like those here at Edmondson Park High School, outside school hours and during the school holidays,” Minns said

Deputy Premier and Minister for Education and Early Learning, Hon. Prue Car, echoed these sentiments, highlighting the long-term value of leveraging public investments for grassroots engagement.

“The Minns Labor Government is delivering record funding for new and upgraded schools across NSW, and we want schools to be able to share these world-class public facilities with their communities so that everyone can benefit.”

“Giving local families access to space and facilities in schools that would otherwise be locked up after school, over weekends and during school holidays, is something that just makes sense.

“Growing communities need public schools and public spaces – and ensuring every new public school that we build can share its facilities is about building better, more connected local communities,” Hon. Car said. 

This infrastructure initiative builds on a successful trial scaling access across sixty-five schools, permanently elevating the statewide network to nearly 250 participating locations and unlocking vital recreational assets for families and grassroots sports participants.

The policy addresses critical community demand for accessible outdoor spaces, particularly across rapidly expanding metropolitan regions like Western Sydney, by ensuring publicly funded facilities do not remain idle behind locked gates during weekends and school holidays.

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