Canberra could be in line to get a Night-Time Economy Commissioner and a Night-Time Economy Activation Strategy if the ACT Government approves.
They are two of 28 recommendations made in a new report by the ACT Legislative Assembly’s Standing Committee on Economics, Industry and Recreation on growing and diversifying the city’s nightlife.
The report explained that the Night Time Economy Commissioner (who would also be known as Night-Time Economy General Manager or Night-Time Economy Coordinator) would consult the industry before major decisions affecting their businesses, establish progress metrics, develop a more streamlined red-tape system, support culturally and linguistically diverse workers, and take advice from a dedicated advisory group.
This Night-Time Economy Advisory Group should be set up to support the Commissioner liaise with the sector.
Bec Taylor, President of peak music association MusicACT (and singer with Bec Taylor & The Lyrebirds) told the Committee that the ACT Government’s move two years ago to set up Special Entertainment Precincts to protect live music venues “was very welcome to the music industry.”
“But without any dedicated people working on an activation strategy for the long term arts economy of the city, these won’t have the desired effect,” Taylor said.
“We need a Night-Time Manager or Coordinator to work with industry, both local and national, to help put Canberra back on the touring map, so we see more touring bands and shows come through Canberra.”
In a MusicACT survey, 67.9% of respondents thought that a Commissioner would be of great value to live music, the arts and venues. One warned the role had to be “properly resourced (with) genuine decision making power.”
Chris Gatfield, General Manager of the Australian Hotels Association ACT agreed: “We think it has legs in Canberra and if it works in other places there's absolutely no reason why it wouldn't work here too.”
Independent MLA for Kurrajong Thomas Emerson, who has been calling for a Night-Time Commissioner since 2024, was among the signatories in a letter to the then-Minister of the Night Time Economy urging for the role to be implemented. Dated May 2025, it was also signed by MusicACT and numerous venues.
Welcoming the new report, Emerson said the ACT Government should be taking a more proactive role in supporting the activation and diversification of Canberra’s night-time economy, and that a role of a Commissioner would be part of it.
“Local venues and creatives need a champion within Government whose job is to work collaboratively with them to enliven our city at night,” he said.
“It’s important for this role to be filled by someone with serious industry experience who can move quickly to make things happen and address roadblocks rather than adding another layer of bureaucracy to the slow-moving beast of government.”
The ACT has a dedicated Minister for the Arts, Creative Industries and The Night Time Economy in Michael Patterson. He took over the portfolio from Tara Cheyne after a Cabinet reshuffle on July 30, 2026.
The Committee said the Commissioner would support the Minister’s duties.
The ACT Government has previously turned down the Night-Time Economy Commissioner idea. But earlier in the year after appearing at hearings Cheyne said she was open to the idea after listening to industry evidence. Patterson could not be reached for comment.
Recommendations
Among the recommendations were that venues be offered incentives to feature live music and entertainment. They should also be means-tested for rent relief.
Better parking and public transport would see the City Loop free bus service reinstated, and expanded to the Parliamentary Triangle. There would be late-night bus services on weekends.
There should be "stronger temporary relief" for businesses affected by the lengthy construction work involving the light rail and car park access.
“Restaurants and other businesses would be forced to shut their doors without more action,” warned the Committee. It was told by one restaurant owner, The Charcoal in Civic, that business plummeted by 50% because customers could not find parking space.
Frank Tapia, Entertainment Director at Fiction, also hit by construction work and customers facing restricted access, stated, “While we support the need for infrastructure development, it must be matched with meaningful support for the businesses most affected.
“Despite government discount schemes and licensing reforms, many venues like ours have seen little to no benefit. The cost of operating, coupled with compliance and regulatory burdens, no longer aligns with how the industry functions today. Current support measures don’t reflect the realities of running a venue (today).”
The report was also concerned with reviving the idea of Special Entertainment Precincts, first announced two years ago and seemingly stalled. These should be set up in Woden, Tuggeranong, Belconnen, and the future Molonglo Town Centre.
To guide how they should operate, an Activation Strategy would be set up for businesses to provide diverse offerings, and be year-round offerings than toe-in-the-water pop-ups.
A Town Centre Entertainment Precinct Roadmap should be available by September 2027 to show when the precincts come active.
As priority, the Committee wanted the Government to streamline bureaucratic interaction. A recurring complaint was that businesses had to deal with a "multi-agency maze" of confusing and complex red tape.
This contributed to a lack of focus and finding a strategic direction for the night-time economy.
Nightclub operator Josh Dotta has to deal with up to ten separate government agencies.
“There needs to be someone to be able to speak for us, to be able to consolidate all the venues that are having the issues, to identify what the big issues are, then be able to put action in.
“We have had this night-time ministry now since October or November last year, and I have not heard ‘boo’ from it.”
The AHA’s Gatfield agreed: "Anyone who's ever dealt with a government agency would recognise that sometimes it's very hard to get the person that you actually need to talk to on the phone.”
The report called for a review of larger venues with a 350+ capacity. This was in response to the AHA’s assertion that ACT liquor licence fees were higher than elsewhere.
For example, a 500-capacity venue that trades until 3am pays $22,000 a year in liquor licensing fees. A similar club in Sydney is only up for $7,900.
Closure
The inquiry was set up after the closure of venues as Transit, Sideway, Cabo, Reload, and Cube and concerns that others were struggling.
It received 22 submissions. They included venues as Fiction and Vent nightclubs and ONE22 Bar, who revealed trade has gone down on Friday nights, traditionally their busiest.
The inquiry also had input from industry associations as MusicACT, Clubs ACT, Australian Hotels Association, Canberra Region Tourism Leaders Forum, Canberra Business Chamber, the Australian Multicultural Action Network (AMAN), Woden Community Council, and The Property Council of Australia.
The Property Council also advocated the idea of the Night Time Economy Commissioner, but they had to also be aware of the requirements of property owners and developers.
Two years ago when the ACT Government introduced sweeping changes such as lower liquor licence fees and incentives, many music venues told The Music they felt left out, and the changes didn’t really help them turn a profit.
Looking at the continued need to protect music spaces, MusicACT’s Bec Taylor emphasised: “Venues are the cornerstone of the live music industry. Artists need a pipeline of different sized venues to support their career growth.
“Canberra’s pipeline of venues is crumbling which means less touring bands are coming through, leading to even less opportunities for our incredibly talented artists to be seen and discovered by the national industry.
“It was bad before the pandemic but it has become a crisis now. We need Government to take this crisis seriously and plan for building Canberra’s reputation as a tourist destination for both music, the arts and cultural institutions.
“We have such potential as a city, so it’s really worrying to see a trend of venues closing without any strategy for activating the entertainment culture of Canberra.”
The scope for the growth of Canberra’s late night economy is big. It has valued it at $4.9 billion in annual turnover (up from $3.8 billion two years ago), supporting 32, 500 jobs. Food businesses make up 71% of venues, those covering entertainment estimated around 24%.
This piece of content has been assisted by the Australian Government through Music Australia and Creative Australia, its arts funding and advisory body
