Exclusive: Australian singer Ūla was heading into Sydney's CBD to busk when she got an email from City of Sydney Council announcing major overhauls to busking rules "effective immediately".
Under the new rules, performers in George Street in Sydney's CBD are now restricted to just six new "special busking sites".
Performances at these sites are limited to one hour and can only take place between the the hours of 11am and 10pm, reduced from the previous 8am to 10pm hours.
The new restrictions, which Ūla said came without warning, could financially cripple buskers and prevent artists such as her from breaking into Sydney's music scene.
"There are a lot of older musicians and buskers in the Sydney CBD and this is genuinely the only thing they do, this is their livelihood," she told 9news.com.au.
"This is basically like being fired with no warning and no explanation."
Ūla questioned if the email was real when it first landed in her inbox, as it provided no details about what prompted the changes or how they would be enforced.
"They've taken away the biggest strip of busking and given us no reason and no help as to how to move forward," she claimed.
According to the email, which has been sighted by nine.com.au, the new rules are part of the Sydney Busking Code and Policy, which "have recently been endorsed by Council and are now formally implemented".
READ MORE: Half a million Aussies have three days to dodge $1650 fine
It included a summary of key policy changes, which included:
- the introduction of six new special busking sites along George Street (located at Herald Square, Margaret Street, Regimental Square, Town Hall, Campbell Street, and Barlow Street)
- Pitt Street Mall special busking sites reduced from two to one
- performances at special busking sites limited to the hours between 11am and 10pm
- busking no longer permitted on George Street outside the special busking sites
- busking no longer permitted within five metres of intersections, pedestrian crossings, or light rail tracks
A City of Sydney spokesperson told 9News that council unanimously approved the changes in August after a period of public exhibition.
"Updates to the code and policy were placed on public exhibition for community feedback for a period of 42 days, between 24 June and 5 August," council said.
"All registered buskers who have provided the City with an email address were notified about the public exhibition on 26 June 2025 and encouraged to leave feedback on the proposed changes."
Council said it received just 14 submissions from the public exhibition, including four from buskers, none of whom raised concerns about the George Street changes.
Council also said the changes on George Street were made to ensure public safety, as the strip now operated as a pedestrianised light rail path.
Special busking site performance times were reduced in response to "concerns raised by some heavily impacted businesses and residents".
"We continue to permit buskers to perform on most public land across our local area," the spokesperson said.
"In a small number of high-traffic areas like George Street and Pitt Street Mall, it is necessary for us to manage busking activity to balance public safety and harmonious shared use of the spaces."
Ūla called limiting busking to just six sites along George Street's three kilometre strip "crazy".
"Until yesterday you could busk anywhere, you could pull up on any corner," she said.
"Now you might rock up on a Saturday and end up not being able to busk at all, because all the main places where people pass that would give you money have been banned."
READ MORE: Brisbane wakes to rain, plummeting temperatures as storm clean-up continues
Buskers still have access to other areas in Sydney's CBD but Ūla said the potential earnings were much lower in areas outside George Street and Pitt Street Mall.
"Council says you can still busk in other areas, but what is the point if there's no people there?" she said.
"That's why I busk on George Street, because that's where people walk, that's where the shops are, that's where the heart of Sydney is."
Ūla is particularly worried about how the new restrictions will affect young and emerging artists who hoped to use busking as a way to kickstart music careers.
She started busking at George Street and Pitt Street Mall as a teenager and built a social media following by posting videos of her performances on TikTok and Instagram.
Now she has more than 1.6 million followers and a steady professional music career, but she still hits the city streets most weekends to busk.
"I built my career and my entire life off of busking on those George Street corners," she said.
"Without having the opportunity to do that, I honestly would not be anywhere near where I am right now.
"Who knows if I would even be making music."
Other Aussie artists started out the same way, including The Kid Laroi and Tones and I.
Now Ūla worries these kinds of success stories would become a thing of the past.
"This can actually help musicians build, and start careers and flourish, and that's just been stripped away from us."
She and other artists have called on council to provide clarification about how the new rules were decided and how they would be enforced, and urged council to listen to buskers' concerns.
She also shared videos about the situation to her 1.6 million combined followers across TikTok and Instagram.
"It's kind of just a plea to council to acknowledge us," she said.
"You can't just send an email and brush it under the rug."
Have you got a story? Contact reporter Maddison Leach at mleach@nine.com.au
DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. Available on the Apple App Store and Google Play.
