Office of the Cross-Border Commissioner

Our vision

Equitable access and opportunities, and seamless service delivery for people and businesses in cross-border communities.

Our commitment

We will continue to advocate for cross-border communities and advise the NSW Government and champion better cross-border outcomes for people, businesses, and government agencies.

What we do

The NSW Cross-Border Commissioner is an advocate for cross-border communities, businesses and organisations. The Office of the NSW Cross-Border Commissioner works closely with local, state and federal colleagues, in NSW and in other states and territories, to identify, analyse and resolve issues. When one community needs to comply with two sets of  rules or policy, this can cause confusion, make day to day activities more difficult, and can restrict access to work opportunities, investment, and facilities. Our goal is to achieve equitable outcomes between border and non-border communities.

What are cross-border communities?

More than 2 million Australian live close to a NSW border and their daily lives are often shaped by the challenges of complying with more than one set of rules and responsibilities.

NSW shares its borders with four jurisdictions: South Australia, Queensland, Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory. People living in border areas consider themselves to be one community, even if there is an invisible line running through the middle of town.

In NSW, the 29 councils that sit along a border share strong social and economic ties with their neighbouring state or territory. These communities are home to more than 620,000 NSW residents who live, work and play in communities bordering NSW. While our border communities provide outstanding lifestyle choices and remain attractive places to work, invest and live, their geography does create unique and often complex issues that the Office of the NSW Cross-Border Commissioner is committed to resolving.