Standing outside a Surry Hills pub with a drink no longer depends on finding an available table, following changes to outdoor dining rules that allow venues to accommodate standing patrons in approved footpath areas.
The updated City of Sydney guidelines, introduced on 1 October 2026, remove the previous furniture requirement for outdoor drinking. Pubs, cafes, restaurants and small bars can now use designated spaces for standing customers without providing tables or chairs.
The arrangement offers greater flexibility for venues with limited outdoor seating, particularly when customers prefer to gather outside rather than occupy a table. However, the change applies only to approved outdoor areas and does not permit drinking elsewhere along public footpaths.
A Place To Drink, With Room To Walk
Outdoor drinking areas remain subject to rules designed to maintain pedestrian access, particularly along streets where hospitality venues operate close to homes and other businesses. The guidelines require clear walking paths of at least two metres along designated village main streets and 1.5 metres on local streets and certain connecting roads. Wider clearances apply in other street categories, while areas with heavy pedestrian traffic may require additional space.
Access must remain unobstructed for people using wheelchairs, mobility aids and prams. Outdoor drinking may not be approved where footpaths are too narrow, steep or busy to accommodate customers safely alongside passing pedestrians. The location of nearby homes also remains a consideration when outdoor trading hours are assessed. Applications are evaluated according to the size and arrangement of the proposed area, its operating hours and the potential for noise affecting surrounding properties.
Some new outdoor dining applications require public notification, giving nearby occupants an opportunity to comment. Where notification applies, notices are displayed for 10 days and distributed within a 25-metre radius of the proposed area. Venues must also maintain the cleanliness of their outdoor spaces, manage rubbish and ensure patrons leave before the approved closing time.
Crown Street Among Locations Undergoing Upgrades
Alongside the revised drinking arrangements, changes to outdoor dining spaces are taking shape across parts of the city. The October guidelines identify Crown Street, between Oxford Street and Devonshire Street in Surry Hills, as having planned streetscape upgrades in progress.
Businesses on suitable streets can also apply to use parking spaces directly outside their premises for outdoor dining. Where applications are approved, temporary roadside arrangements may be replaced by permanent footpath extensions.
Operators seeking these spaces must commit to using them for at least seven hours a day, five days a week, preferably including a weekend day. Streets already covered by planned public space upgrades are excluded from additional ad hoc footpath extensions.
Standing-only outdoor areas still require the appropriate council approval, and venues serving alcohol must have the space clearly included on their liquor licence. Patrons must remain within the approved boundaries, with existing alcohol service and trading restrictions continuing to apply.
Published 9-October-2026
