The ABC’s Sydney-based news and radio teams will move to Parramatta by the end of 2023 under plans outlined by the national broadcaster to move 75 per cent of its staff out of the city’s headquarters .
Journalists from ABC Radio Sydney, ABC News and ABC Radio National will move to new offices in Parramatta Square from early 2024 under a new lease, which will be finalized at the end of August. The proposal to relocate around 300 workers, first outlined in 2020, will be reviewed by Parliament’s standing public works committee.
The headquarters of the ABC in Ultimo. About 300 employees will relocate to Paramatta. Credit: Christopher Pearce
ABC chief executive David Anderson said the move showed the broadcaster’s commitment to being more local.
“As a new facility, ABC Parramatta offers a rare opportunity to build something from the ground up. It will be a home for innovation and collaboration, designed and equipped to help us better serve Australians, now and in the future,” Anderson said.
The ABC announced plans to relocate 300 staff working at Ultimo to Parramatta in a proposal outlined in its five-year plan by 2020. The broadcaster tendered for a property consultant on suitable locations for the facility and plans to rent out the available space at Últim for non-ABC parties. There were about 1,700 workers working at Ultimo before the coronavirus pandemic.
Parramatta Square was a $3.2 billion project developed by Walker Corporation. Executive Chairman Lang Walker welcomed the expanded presence. “The ABC will become an integral part of Parramatta Square, which welcomes all of Sydney as a great place to work, live and socialize,” Walker said.
About 200 staff from the news, regional and local and entertainment and specialty divisions were expected to be transferred from Ultimo as part of the proposal. The ABC has separately expanded its regional and rural coverage, hiring 57 journalists last year after it struck deals with Google and Facebook to use news content.
In a memo to staff on Thursday afternoon, Anderson said Parramatta Square was a “prime location” for the ABC.
“ABC Parramatta takes the ABC teams and our storytelling into the heart of the country’s fastest growing region,” he said. “It’s one component of our broader goals: for content creation teams to be more decentralized and, just as we are in regional Australia, to be even more connected and representative of communities in metropolitan and outlying locations “.