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Renew Australia was founded by Marcus Westbury in 2013 following the success of Renew Newcastle.

Established in late 2008, Renew Newcastle has been the inspiration for empty space revitalisation schemes across Australia and internationally. Inspired by the success in Newcastle, many communities launched activation projects with varied success. The challenges that these projects faced led to the establishment of Renew Australia and our sister project, Renew Adelaide.

The Renew team has learnt that the ‘Renew’ idea cannot simply be replicated but must be tailored to the context of each town or community we work with to achieve successful outcomes.

Renew Australia now offers a wide range of services to both the public and private sector, activating otherwise empty space while providing rent free opportunities for creative enterprises to trial an idea with minimal overheads. Our projects look to drive life and activity to vacant spaces and streetscapes while supporting and capacity building locally-focussed businesses and creative ideas. From our base package for Affilate Membership to fully Managed Projects, Renew continues to lobby for creative spaces and places across Australia.

Below you will find examples of projects Renew Australia has developed and delivered since 2013. The Participants page features some of the innovative businesses, ideas and collectives we have been proud to host over the years.

If you have questions about how Renew Australia could help you, please reach out via the contact us page.

Current Projects

Renew Burnie

Business North West’s have partnered with Business in Burnie 2.0 ,Burnie City council and Renew Australia to work together in a project that involves reimagining, reinvigoration, reinvestment projects for Burnie ...

Renew Wagga & Eastern Riverina Arts

Two new creative businesses led by local artists will open their doors on Thursday 27 May. An initiative of Eastern Riverina Arts, RENEW WAGGA is breathing new life into empty shopfronts in Wagga Wagga and providing ...

Nelson Place, Williamstown

Williamstown Scoping Study

Hobsons Bay City Council has engaged Renew Australia, a national social enterprise focused on community renewal and economic development, to undertake an urban renewal scoping study within Williamstown encompassing Ferguson ...

Upcoming Projects

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Past Projects

Creative CBD Toowoomba

An initiative of Toowoomba Regional Council, using the Renew Australia model, the Creative CBD Toowoomba program will see emerging businesses gain access to vacant commercial spaces in the CBD, supporting ...

Jack’s Reloaded

The Jack’s Reloaded project began in November 2016 with a view to activating a group of disused spaces within the Jack’s Magazine heritage precinct. Hidden away on the banks of ...

Revolution Marrickville

Revolution Marrickville has now closed. Thank you to our funding partners and participants for all your support throughout the life of the project.

Renew the Far West

Renew Far West NSW aims to bring empty buildings in Broken Hill and the Far West Region to life again. Property owners license (for a nominal sum) their buildings to ...

Shop in a Box 3280 – Warrnambool

Shop in a Box 3280 is a Renew Australia affiliate run by Leadership Great South Coast. Shop in a Box seeks to create a vibrant Warrnambool CBD, by encouraging local ...

Picture Windows

The City of Melbourne is partnering with Renew Australia to support the creative reactivation of the city and facilitate the leasing of vacant shops. Renew Australia is working with property ...

Scoping Study

Nelson Place, Williamstown

Williamstown Scoping Study

Hobsons Bay City Council has engaged Renew Australia, a national social enterprise focused on community renewal and economic development, to undertake an urban renewal scoping study within Williamstown encompassing Ferguson ...