The Rocks / Tallawoladah Women's Safety Strategy

The Rocks | Tallawoladah Women’s Safety Strategy provides an actionable framework to improve the enjoyment and engagement of women, girls and gender diverse people by enhancing their sense of belonging and improving safety and access to public spaces in the precinct. Delivering the actions identified in this Strategy will make The Rocks a safer place for all people to enjoy.
Developed as part of the NSW Government’s $30 million Safer Cities program, the Strategy provides a framework for key improvements, such as better lighting, signage and improved public spaces, to enhance safety and access for women and girls so they feel confident to explore the area at all times of the day and night.

The Strategy incorporates insights from women and girls from ‘walkshops’, information gathering, consultation with precinct partners and businesses, alongside data and technical analysis.

Functioning as a guiding document for all future development, upgrades and activities that occur within The Rocks, this Strategy will help all stakeholders make informed decisions and prioritise the initiatives that will improve the overall experience of The Rocks.

Since the launch of The Rocks / Tallawoladah Women’s Safety Strategy in 2024, Placemaking NSW has made meaningful progress. A number of key projects have been completed with more underway.

Importantly, we have continued to involve women and girls throughout the delivery of this Strategy, including guidance from Aboriginal women and girls and a further walkshop to gather feedback on the progress made to date. This approach reflects one of this Strategy’s core objectives to involve women and girls in urban governance and the design of public spaces.

In the year since this Strategy was developed, Placemaking NSW delivered a number of the Strategy’s key actions including:

  • Lighting Strategy - to guide the design, delivery, maintenance and renewal of lighting
  • Wayfinding Strategy – to support navigation and legibility of public spaces, including a cohesive signage suite
  • Nurse’s Walk – upgrades to lighting and public art along Nurse’s Walk, Globe Street, Suez Canal, Greenway Lane and Well Courtyard
  • Unwin’s Courtyard – major refurbishment including lighting, accessibility, seating and landscaping
  • Cleland Bond, Playfair Street - a new lighting scheme to highlight the building’s iconic heritage façade features
  • Foundation Park – major lighting upgrades and wayfinding improvements
  • Cumberland Place and Steps – heritage conservation of existing walls and steps, upgrades to handrails and lighting.

The impact of these projects can already be seen and felt, with women and girls reporting feeling more positive and safer when exploring The Rocks, particularly at night.

We are proud to release an updated version of the Strategy in August 2025 to incorporate feedback and lessons learned during the first year of project delivery.

Read The Rocks / Tallawoladah Women's Safety Strategy