The Pulse | 22 October 2026

Change of Use: A Former Hunter Mine Is Earmarked for Trains as Two Bills Clear Parliament

This week's reporting traced NSW moving from statute and site selection toward construction, with the Hunter's former coal land to the fore. 

Two Bills reached the end of their passage and now await assent: the Future Jobs and Investment Bill 2025, after the Assembly accepted the Council's amendments on 20 October 2026 [13], and the strata Bill, which cleared the Council on 15 October 2026 and would free two-lot schemes from committees and meetings [6, 8]. The former Teralba mine became the preferred site for the State's train factory under the $12 billion Future Fleet Program [12]. On delivery, SHAPE Australia took on an expansion of DigiCo's SYD1 data centre in Ultimo worth about $800 million [3], and securities on aluminium windows and doors imported from China have applied since 15 October 2026 [2, 7].

Approvals and exhibitions carried the second thread, across housing and energy. Rowan Village in Wagga Wagga was rezoned for about 2,200 homes on a 220-hectare site [11]; a 28-storey, 180-apartment scheme at Gordon was approved using the in-fill affordable housing provisions [1, 10]; the New England REZ transmission EIS opened for submissions until 12 November 2026 [4, 5]; and a $3.7 billion data centre application for the former Kurri Kurri aluminium site, drawing up to 550.5 megawatts, went on exhibition [9].

The Future Jobs Bill Passes Both Houses as Teralba Becomes the Preferred Train Factory Site

The Parliament of NSW record shows the Future Jobs and Investment Bill 2025 completing its passage on Tuesday 20 October 2026, when the Legislative Assembly agreed to the amendments the Legislative Council had made five days earlier [13]. Passed by the Assembly on 18 March 2026 after its introduction by Paul Scully, the Bill completed its second reading, committee stage and third reading in the Council on 15 October 2026 [13]. Its long title describes the creation of a Future Jobs and Investment Authority and a Future Jobs and Investment Fund, together with a framework for intervening to support growth in regions facing structural change as demand for coal and coal-fired power shifts [13]. The register now records its status as awaiting assent [13].

The NSW Government confirmed on 20 October 2026 that former mine land at Teralba, owned by Glencore, is the preferred home for a State-owned plant to build the next NSW passenger fleet under the $12 billion Future Fleet Program [12]. A preliminary assessment of Teralba and the Government-owned Broadmeadow site found Teralba bigger and more adaptable, with space to build, assemble, commission and test trains and to grow later; Broadmeadow remains an alternative while due diligence and acquisition work proceed [12]. The release says the choice is consistent with the State Significant Rezoning of the Macquarie Coal Complex Transformation Precinct, which it presents as a chance to repurpose the old mine site as a hub for manufacturing and jobs [12].

The program is forecast to support up to 780 jobs in construction and around 550 ongoing roles across the facility and its suppliers, starting with the Tangara replacement trains and running to the Waratah fleet in the 2050s [12]. Detailed site investigations with Glencore come next, opening the way to planning, design and procurement; an expression of interest for manufacturers to design and build the trains opened last month [12]. Transport Secretary Josh Murray said "Future Fleet is taking shape at pace" [12].

Strata Reform Heads to Assent as Rowan Village Is Rezoned and Gordon Clears 28 Storeys

The Strata Schemes Legislation Amendment (Miscellaneous) Bill 2025 passed the Legislative Council without amendment on Thursday 15 October 2026 and is listed by the Parliament of NSW as awaiting assent [6]. LSJ Online set out the Government's account of the package: duplexes and other two-lot schemes would no longer have to run a committee or convene meetings, and would stop filing annual reports with NSW Fair Trading [8]. It also reports limits on bonds for items such as swipe cards, wider powers for NSW Fair Trading to publicise compliance action against owners corporations, and a right for owners to fit electric vehicle chargers on their own lot unless the committee has reasonable grounds to object [8]. Minister for Better Regulation and Fair Trading Anoulack Chanthivong said "Owners and residents want clearer rules, greater transparency and stronger protections" [8].

In the Riverina, Australian Development Review reported that Wagga Wagga City Council and the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure have rezoned DevCore Property Group's $2.5 billion Rowan Village, a 220-hectare holding on Holbrook Road within the city's Southern Growth Area, for about 2,200 homes by 2037 [11]. Development Control Plans and a Contributions Plan were approved alongside the rezoning, allowing a Precinct 1 development application for around 220 lots to go in this month, and work is already under way on lead-in services and the $70 million Plumpton Road upgrade [11]. Subject to approval, Stage One works are expected to start in mid-2027, with homes following in 2028 [11]. Martin Keogh, who chairs the Housing Industry Association's committee in Wagga, described the approval as "a major step forward in addressing Wagga's critical housing shortage" [11].

In Ku-ring-gai, Urban Digest reported the approval through the State Significant Development pathway of Ecove Group's $142.6 million mixed-use project at 810 Pacific Highway, Gordon, which takes a site consented in 2018 for eight storeys and 55 apartments to 28 storeys and 180 apartments, using the in-fill affordable housing provisions of State Environmental Planning Policy (Housing) 2021 with variations to the height and floor space ratio standards [1, 10]. The Department's exhibition notice from March described the scheme with 39 affordable apartments, an ALDI supermarket and 269 car spaces over six basement levels, and stated that approval would require Ku-ring-gai Council's consent DA-610/2017 to be modified under section 4.17(1)(b) of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 [1]. Urban Digest notes that the affordable housing allocation was revised during assessment [10].

The New England EIS Opens for Submissions as a $3.7 Billion Kurri Kurri Data Centre Goes on Exhibition

EnergyCo announced on 15 October 2026 that the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure has placed the EIS for the New England Renewable Energy Zone Network Infrastructure Project on exhibition until 12 November 2026 [4]. The project would link the zone's generators with Bayswater Power Station, outside Muswellbrook, through new energy hubs and a backbone of dual 500 kV lines, serving a zone planned for an initial 6 gigawatts over two stages, with scope to reach 8 gigawatts by 2034 [4]. EnergyCo states that it earlier refined the corridor after community feedback, aiming to cut how many landowners are directly affected and how many homes sit within 500 metres, and to keep clear of the Timor Caves area and sensitive land near Barry [4]. Project Director Doug Parris said "Feedback from landholders, communities and councils has helped shape the project to date" [4].

The New England Times reported that the document runs to 889 pages and shows a much lower water requirement than earlier estimates, with communities from Walcha, Uralla and Armidale down to Scone and Muswellbrook along the route [5]. Deputy Project Director Julian Watson told the publication that formal submissions go to the Department through its major projects portal, not to EnergyCo, and that the plans can still change in response, saying "the idea of the environmental impact assessment process is that we find out things that we couldn't have known without doing that consultation" [5]. EnergyCo is running 10 community sessions from 27 October to 12 November 2026 [4, 5].

Urban Digest reported that a $3.7 billion data centre at Hart Road, Loxford, on a portion of the old Hydro Aluminium Kurri Kurri industrial land, is on exhibition as a State Significant Development application seeking consent for fit-out and operation at a total power draw of 550.5 megawatts [9]. The scheme turns an already approved two-storey industrial building, whose envelope and earthworks hold a separate complying development certificate, into 47,143 square metres of floor space, served by 312 air-cooled chillers, battery storage, six standby diesel generators and a dual 132 kV Ausgrid connection [9]. The EIS puts peak construction staffing at 1,210 over a 14-month build and fit-out, with about 254 ongoing roles to follow [9]. In its edition of 23 September 2026, this newsletter reported AirTrunk's plans for a 540 MW facility on the former smelter site.

SHAPE Takes On SYD1's Next 52 Megawatts as Securities Apply to Imported Aluminium Windows

Business News Australia reported that DigiCo Infrastructure REIT has appointed SHAPE Australia as head contractor to add 52 MW to its SYD1 campus in Ultimo, taking the site to 88 MW, under a design and construct contract priced as a fixed lump sum and worth about $800 million [3]. The works repurpose the existing facility, which already holds approved grid capacity, water access and planning consent, so the new capacity needs no greenfield site [3]. The award lifts SHAPE's work in hand above $1.4 billion, and works are due to begin straight away [3]. Chief executive Peter Marix-Evans said early contractor involvement let the team "scope, design and price this next phase with precision and confidence ahead of the formal award" [3].

On materials, David Latina, Commissioner of the Australian Trade Remedies Commission, renamed from the Anti-Dumping Commission on 29 September 2026, published Preliminary Affirmative Determination No 691 on 14 October 2026 under section 269TD of the Customs Act 1901 (Cth) [2]. He was satisfied there appear to be sufficient grounds for a dumping duty notice on aluminium windows and doors from China, covering every exporter but one, and a countervailing duty notice for non-cooperative entities [2]. Securities apply to goods entered for home consumption from 15 October 2026, at effective rates of between 5.3 and 51.6 per cent for the five exporters given individual rates, 24.4 per cent for residual exporters and 73.3 per cent for uncooperative and all other exporters, and final recommendations go to the Minister by 16 December 2026 [2].

The Australian reported that the finding is expected to push building costs higher while importers lodge security ahead of a final ruling early in the new year, after an inquiry that attracted more than 500 submissions against a usual 20 or 30 [7]. The masthead put the local window and door industry at $2.8 billion, with 9,000 direct and 170,000 indirect jobs, and recorded that the Australian Glass and Window Association, which lodged the complaint with Ventora, welcomed the result while opposition, on cost grounds, was led by the Master Builders Association [7]. The Australian also reported Viewco, a local manufacturer, as saying cheaper imports had cost it projects in NSW and Canberra [7].

Final Thoughts

Two patterns run through the week's coverage. The first is legislation and site decisions lining up behind regional transition. The Future Jobs and Investment Bill reached the end of its passage [13] in the same week the Government named former mine land at Teralba as the preferred site for its train factory, a choice it ties to precinct planning for manufacturing and jobs [12], while the Kurri Kurri application proposes a data centre on former aluminium industry land [9]. The composition of that reporting was consistent with former coal and heavy industry land being drawn into the State's next pipeline of building work.

The second is projects advancing through their formal steps while contract terms and input costs are being set around them. Rowan Village, Gordon and the New England transmission project each reached a defined planning stage [4, 10, 11], SHAPE's SYD1 award was reported as a fixed lump-sum contract settled after early contractor involvement [3], and interim securities on imported aluminium windows and doors were reported as adding to the cost of a common building input until the Minister decides on final measures [2, 7]. The pattern of reporting was consistent with approvals, procurement terms and material prices moving together as NSW projects advance.

1.  NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure (6 March 2026). Exhibition of State Significant Development Application: 810 Pacific Highway, Gordon (SSD-101444458). https://www.planningportal.nsw.gov.au/major-projects/projects/mixed-use-development-affordable-housing-810-pacific-highway-gordon  

2.  Australian Trade Remedies Commission (14 October 2026). Trade Remedies Notice (TRN) No 2026/147: Aluminum Windows and Doors Exported From the People's Republic of China, PAD 691 and imposition of securities. https://www.industry.gov.au/australian-trade-remedies-commission/current-cases-and-electronic-public-record-epr/691

3.  Business News Australia (15 October 2026). SHAPE Australia's work in hand tops $1.4b after $800m DigiCo data centre win. https://www.businessnewsaustralia.com/articles/shape-australia-lands-800m-digico-contract-to-expand-sydney-data-centre.html  

4.  EnergyCo (15 October 2026). New England Renewable Energy Zone Environmental Impact Statement released for consultation. https://www.energyco.nsw.gov.au/news/new-england-renewable-energy-zone-environmental-impact-statement-released-consultation  

5.  New England Times | by RK Crosby (15 October 2026). It's out: the 889 page New England REZ transmission line EIS. https://www.netimes.com.au/2026/10/15/its-out-the-889-page-new-england-rez-transmission-line-eis/  

6.  Parliament of NSW (15 October 2026). Bill Details: Strata Schemes Legislation Amendment (Miscellaneous) Bill 2025. https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/parliamentary-business/bills/bill-details?billId=18845  

7.  The Australian | by John Durie (16 October 2026). Construction costs tipped to surge after trade watchdog targets Chinese aluminium. https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/construction-costs-tipped-to-surge-after-trade-watchdog-targets-chinese-aluminium/news-story/68b66699bab9e1eaf3e9a91fd39c22d2 
   

8.  LSJ Online | by Karl Hoerr (19 October 2026). Two-lot schemes exempt from committees and meetings under strata reform. https://lsj.com.au/articles/two-lot-schemes-exempt-from-committees-and-meetings-under-strata-reform/  

9.  Urban Digest | by Stephanie (19 October 2026). $3.7b Data Centre Proposed at Former Kurri Kurri Aluminium Site. https://urbandigest.com.au/ssd-128819490-3-7b-data-centre-proposed-at-former-kurri-kurri-aluminium-site/

10.  Urban Digest | by Stephanie (19 October 2026). Gordon Development Revised from Eight to 29 Storeys. https://urbandigest.com.au/ssd-101444458-gordon-development-revised-from-eight-to-29-storeys/ 

11.  Australian Development Review | by Editorial Team (20 October 2026). DevCore's $2.5B Rowan Village Receives Rezoning Approval For 2,200 Future Homes. https://australiandevelopmentreview.com.au/devcore-rowan-village-rezoning-approval-wagga-wagga/  

12.  NSW Government, The Premier and Ministers (joint release) (20 October 2026). Teralba identified as preferred Hunter site to build NSW's next train fleet. https://www.nsw.gov.au/ministerial-releases/teralba-identified-as-preferred-hunter-site-to-build-nsws-next-train-fleet 

13.  Parliament of NSW (20 October 2026). Bill Details: Future Jobs and Investment Bill 2025. https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/parliamentary-business/bills/bill-details?billId=18846  

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