Industry sectors

Sydney and NSW, with leading strengths in creative industries and information and communications technologies (ICT), are primed for growth in the expanding global digital economy.

NSW has the largest creative industries economy in Australia, accounting for over 37 per cent of all creative industry employment in Australia and NSW dominates most sub–sectors.

NSW also has the largest ICT industry in Australia, accounting for 43 per cent of ICT businesses and 40 per cent of industry value added output.

Creative innovation

The convergence of these two sectors in the digital economy is bringing together our leading strengths in ICT and creative capabilities, spanning fine arts and music, animation, new media and design.

World class animation

NSW is today recognised as a world-class centre for digital animation and computer-generated imagery, servicing feature films, television commercials and the web.

Happy Feet, a winner at the 2007 Academy Awards and British Academy Awards for digital animation company Animal Logic, is a perfect example of what can be achieved in Sydney’s animation and post-production industry.

Growth opportunities

The growth in the information economy, driven by the roll–out of new communication devices, the National Broadband Network and social media, will create increased demand for creative content for new digital platforms.

NSW’s existing strengths in film, digital media, music, and design means that it is well placed to capitalise on these opportunities.

Multicultural strengths

NSW is also one of the most culturally-diverse locations in the world. More than one million residents speak a language other than English, including Mandarin, Cantonese, Arabic, Greek, Italian and Vietnamese. Our multicultural strength also help fuel the State’s creative diversity.

This all amounts to a creative nerve centre that inspired the World Economic Forum’s 2009 Building and Innovation Nation Survey to recognise Sydney as an innovation hot spring that “charted off the map”.