Western Sydney University has welcomed an announcement by Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government Minister Catherine King, Federal Member for Macquarie Susan Templeman, and Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Julie Collins, of a $16.7 million investment into the University's Agri Tech Precinct.
Delivered under the Government's Priority Community Infrastructure Program and jointly funded by the University, the approximately $30 million Agri Tech Precinct will be a world-leading hub of innovation, research, incubation, and production to advance sustainable and resilient food systems.
Western Sydney University Vice-Chancellor and President, Distinguished Professor George Williams AO said the precinct is set to become Australia's first high-tech commercial, teaching, and research greenhouse creating new jobs, attracting industry, and driving agriculture innovation for western Sydney. "Western Sydney University's Agri Tech Precinct is a multi-million dollar investment in the future of sustainable agriculture production. The precinct will draw on the University's expertise and research innovation ecosystem, with a focus on challenges faced by communities globally, to be advanced in genuine partnership with industry, government, and community."
Stage 1 of the precinct is expected to open to students in late 2025, generating 150 direct jobs during the construction phase of the project, and up to 240 jobs in day-to-day operations once open, creating much opportunity for those in the region.
From left to right: Professor Andy Marks, Vice-President, Public Affairs and Partnerships and Executive Director, Centre for Western Sydney; Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government Minister Catherine King; Vice-Chancellor and President, Distinguished Professor George Williams AO; and Federal Member for Macquarie Susan Templeman.
"Offering exceptional work-integrated learning opportunities for students in agriculture and food production, will create much-needed career pathways and a future jobs pipeline for Australia's agricultural sector," said Professor Williams.
"Critically, the precinct will also create skilled jobs for Western Sydney and capitalize on the proximity to Sydney's premier international airport at Badgery's Creek – strengthening our opportunity to rapidly export fresh, high-yield produce to the rest of the world.
"Our Hawkesbury campus has a long history of agricultural education and cutting-edge research. We are delighted this facility continues that proud tradition, cementing Western Sydney's position as a world-leading hub for agricultural research and innovation."
Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, and Local Government Minister Catherine King said: "Agriculture makes up around 13 percent of Australia's export economy and 55 percent of its land mass. With growing demand for sustainable, resilient food systems, the Agri Tech Precinct will help keep Australia at the forefront of innovation in the agriculture sector."
Federal Member for Macquarie Susan Templeman said: "This is an important investment in the Western Sydney University Richmond campus. Hawkesbury is the heart of peri-urban farming in NSW, with a rich tradition in food production and land management, and this initiative opens up opportunities for 21st-century agri-tech. Not only will the Agri Tech Precinct play a growing role in the future of agriculture in Australia, but it will create hundreds of exciting new jobs plus new higher education opportunities in Hawkesbury and Western Sydney."
Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Julie Collins said: "Innovation is at the heart of growing the agriculture sector's productivity. The new Western Sydney University Agri Tech Precinct will bring students, researchers, businesses, and industry together to develop and use new technology and methods to continue Australian agriculture's competitiveness and success, which is why our Government is backing it.
Spanning approximately 50 hectares (delivered across two stages), the precinct will comprise a high-tech, industry-partnered greenhouse array, and house state-of-the-art agriculture technology for teaching, research, and commercial food production at scale.
The Agri Tech Precinct will be the focal point of a diverse ecosystem of collaboration and partnerships across the food supply chain, involving investors, agri-tech developers, knowledge partners, and resource input providers.
Leveraging Western Sydney University's research and expertise in agriculture, food science, and sustainability, the hub will benefit from co-location with the Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment and Schools of Science and Engineering, Design and Built Environment.
Source: Western Sydney University.