NSW to build five new SES zone headquarters in $27 million upgrade push

newy.com.au – The NSW Government will deliver five upgraded NSW State Emergency Service (SES) zone headquarters across regional NSW under a $27 million investment announced on Thursday 26 February 2026, including a relocated Northern Zone base for Newcastle at Beresfield.

The government said the new facilities were designed to boost disaster response, planning and preparedness as flood and storm events become more frequent and more intense.

Each site will include a Level 3 Incident Control Centre to coordinate large-scale emergencies, along with flood rescue coordination areas, media rooms, briefing spaces and an open plan operations room with increased capacity for information, rescue taskings, logistics and communications.

Construction is underway on a multi-million-dollar Southern Zone headquarters at Wagga Wagga, while work on expanded facilities in Goulburn for the South Eastern Zone and near Lismore for the North Eastern Zone is expected to start soon. In Newcastle, the Northern Zone headquarters will move to the Black Hill Industrial Estate in Beresfield, with construction of a larger facility to begin this year, and a new Western Zone headquarters at Dubbo is nearing completion.

NSW Minister for Emergency Services Jihad Dib said some existing facilities were decades old and no longer matched current needs. “Some of the current facilities were built in the 80s and 90s at a time when teams were much smaller and disaster management and responses were very different,” Dib said, adding that volunteers needed space “to grow, plan and train to rapidly respond to the next disaster”.

The Minns Labor Government said it was investing more than $2.2 billion in emergency services this year, describing the new SES builds as part of a wider effort to strengthen flood and storm response, including improved fleet assets and facility upgrades.

Member for Wallsend Sonia Hornery said moving the Northern Zone headquarters to Beresfield would improve coordination in the Hunter. “Our region is no stranger to natural disaster, and the SES play a crucial role in our region in times of need,” Hornery said.

Member for Newcastle Tim Crakanthorp said the new command centre would provide volunteers with more room and better infrastructure. “This facility is not only a boost for members and volunteers, but also a boost for public safety,” he said.

NSW SES Commissioner Mike Wassing AFSM said the upgraded bases would support the organisation’s growth and improve regional management of major incidents. “These new facilities will improve the operational response and management of major incidents at a regional level, close to where the disaster is unfolding,” Wassing said.

Work on the Newcastle headquarters is expected to start this year, with staff preparing to begin operating from the new Dubbo facility as the Western Zone build nears completion.