The new Western Sydney Airport Connectivity Centre has opened today, providing a one-stop shop to help jobseekers find employment on the once-in-a-generation project.
Federal Minister for Communications, Urban Infrastructure, Cities and the Arts, the Hon Paul Fletcher MP, said the Morrison Government's $5.3 billion investment in the new Western Sydney International (Nancy-Bird Walton) airport was already delivering employment benefits in the region.
"Already the benefits of this significant infrastructure project for jobs in the region is visible, with around half of those already engaged on the project from right here in Western Sydney," Minister Fletcher said.
"Around 11,000 jobs will be supported during construction of the airport alone, with tens of thousands more jobs to be created when it is up and running in late 2026 when up to 10 million passengers will use the airport each year.
"The flow on benefits of this investment - as well as investment from both the Commonwealth and State in the surrounding infrastructure like the Sydney Metro WSA line and the M12 - will be felt across a wide range of sectors including tourism, hospitality, freight and logistics, for decades to come.
"When our Liberal National Government came to power we made the new Western Sydney Airport a priority. Our government has a strong record on delivering infrastructure, especially when it comes to delivering mega projects like this one."
Federal Minister for Employment, Workforce, Skills, Small and Family Business, Stuart Robert, welcomed the centre, located in Penrith, saying it would help locals in Western Sydney get a job as part of the region-defining Western Sydney Airport project.
"The centre will provide the connection between local workers, apprentices and job seekers in Western Sydney with the skills and support needed to get a job at Western Sydney Airport including job-readiness training, housing, mentoring and work experience," Minister Robert said.
"This will ensure that locals are not only supported to take up one of the thousands of diverse and high-skilled jobs on offer in this project, but will remain employed, setting them up for a life-long high-wage high-skill career right here in Western Sydney"
"While Labor talked about the Western Sydney Airport for years it took a Liberal National Government to get on and build it, while Labor likes to talk about jobs we are getting on and connecting locals with jobs-when it comes to securing high-skill jobs for Western Sydney the choice is clear,"
Liberal Senator for Western Sydney, Senator the Hon Marise Payne, said significant progress was being made on preparing the Badgerys Creek site for the airport, which remained on track to open in late 2026.
"To date, 1500 workers, half of whom live locally, have helped move more than 23 million cubic metres of earth moved across the 1780 hectare site," Senator Payne said.
"The extensive range of jobs created by the airport is locking in our economic recovery in Western Sydney now, and over the long-term."
Federal Member for Lindsay Melissa McIntosh said the airport will have a lasting legacy for Western Sydney and Australia, creating the next generation of talented construction workers, engineers, project managers, pilots and more.
"We are thinking big but looking local when it comes to our record investment in Western Sydney, ensuring we are creating jobs, building skills, driving income and unlocking opportunity right here on people's doorsteps," Mrs McIntosh said.
"That's what this new centre is all about, empowering locals to gain employment, develop their skills and leap onto new opportunities through this once-in-a-generation project.
"As the project continues to transform Western Sydney over the decades to come, unlocking wide-ranging benefits right across the region, these people will be able to say 'I helped build this, I helped make all this possible', which will be such an incredible achievement to claim."
