Background

The Newcastle 500 is a Supercars event held in Newcastle NSW, with the 2023 event to be held from 10 - 12 March. The event operates under a three-way agreement between the NSW Government, Supercars Australia and the City of Newcastle (CN) (see documents relating to the delivery of Newcastle 500).

The first Newcastle 500 was held in November 2017, followed by 2018 and 2019. Due to COVID-19, the 2020 event was cancelled and 2021 was postponed until March 2023 (the last year of the five-year agreement).

There may be an option to extend the Newcastle 500 for a further five years following the 2023 race. If the NSW Government and Supercars Australia first agree to extend the event, CN's elected Council will have the final decision on whether Newcastle continues as the host city.

Community Consultation Strategy

CN is committed to ensuring the community has the opportunity to provide meaningful feedback and input into the decision-making process for a potential five-year extension. To achieve this a Community Consultation Strategy was drafted by consultants KPMG, that outlines the approach that will be taken to engage with the community to seek their input on a potential extension. CN has engaged KPMG, an independent external third party with international standing and expertise, to undertake the community consultation. The draft strategy was placed on public exhibition from 14 December 2022 – 25 January 2023. Following the review of community feedback, the Strategy was finalised by CN (click here to view the final strategy).

Thanks for having your say!

Thank you to everyone who had their say on the possible five-year extension of the Newcastle 500 Supercars event. We heard from a broad cross-section of the community via an online survey, random telephone interviews and focus groups with residents, businesses and industry representatives. Read the final Community Consultation Report.

Next steps

Now the final Community Consultation Report is complete and released publicly, a decision regarding the event is yet to made by the NSW Government.

Any final decision on whether Newcastle continues as a host city will go to City of Newcastle's elected Council.