University_
Hire a venue
Host your event at the University of Sydney
From high-tech lecture theatres to classical stained-glass windows, we have venues available for events and special occasions at the Camperdown Campus and Conservatorium.
Heritage venues
Our heritage venues include the Great Hall and MacLaurin Hall, with reservations managed through University Venues. Find out how to make a booking.
Our scenic grounds around the Quadrangle are ideal for smaller or more casual groups. Our museums and art gallery can also be booked for private functions.
Other historic sites, including the Refectory and Chancellor’s Room, can be booked by our partner, Host Co. Visit their website to find out more.
Talks, awards and business functions
The Eastern Avenue Foyer and Auditorium is a popular choice for large presentations and keynote addresses. The University of Sydney Law School offers several facilities suitable for business functions.
The Seymour Centre also has a range of adaptable spaces, from smaller areas for private gatherings, to rehearsal rooms and auditoriums for award ceremonies.
Make a booking
When organising an event on campus, you are required to ensure all attendees:
- agree to our conditions of entry when they come to campus
- follow our standard COVID safety precautions
- abide by Public Health Orders.
This includes wearing a mask indoors, vaccination requirements, and checking in and out of buildings.
Capacity restrictions
Capacity restrictions may apply for your event, according to PHO requirements.
University Venues will discuss any capacity restrictions with you as part of the booking process.
Contact tracing requirements
As required by NSW Health, you must:
- keep digital attendance records of your event (e.g. via Outlook calendar, Eventbrite)
- ensure all attendees use the building's Service NSW QR code to check in and out.
Booking approval process
University Venues will review your request and respond to you with relevant information about COVID safety precautions for your event. Once your request is submitted, you will receive a response within two business days.
Depending on the parameters of your event, University Venues may ask you to complete a COVID-19 Safety Plan in order to proceed with the event.
- The Great Hall
- MacLaurin Hall
- Eastern Avenue Lecture Theatre, or any other teaching spaces on campus
Please contact one of our event coordinators at University Venues via the Shared Service Centre number +61 2 9351 2000 and follow the prompts, or use the online form, and we will help you find and book the appropriate venue. If you are a staff member with a unikey, please access this online form for internal bookings.
To book:
- The Refectory
- Drawing Room
- Chancellor’s Room
- Sutherland Room
- Cullen Room
- Courtyard Bar at the Holme Building
Please contact our partner, HostCo on +61 2 95636245, or email info@hostcosydney.com.
To book:
- The Law Lounge, New Law School Level 2, Room 201
- The Law Foyer, New Law School Level 1, Room 113
Please email law.facilities@sydney.edu.au
We have several outdoor spaces that can be booked by the hour:
- The Quadrangle lawns 1-4 (inside the Quadrangle)
- The Front Lawn (in front of the Quadrangle, bordered by University Place)
- The Quadrangle Cloisters (inside the Quadrangle)
- The Botany Lawn (beside the Macleay Building)
- Cadigal Green (on the Darlington Campus beside the Old School Building).
Please contact University Venues via the Shared Service Centre number + 61 2 9351 2000 and follow the prompts, or book through the online form.
While a booking will ensure no other event can take place, we can’t guarantee exclusive use of the space, and the area cannot be blocked for access.
Eastern Avenue cannot be booked, however you can seek approval to hold an event in this area by contacting University Venues.
In all venues you will need to organise catering.
We can advise on catering budgeting and provide a list of preferred catering companies.
You can select a caterer yourself (not including Halls), but they will need to be approved by University Venues, hold a gold license, complete the University contractor induction, and sign the Catering Terms and Conditions.
Please note that all weddings must select a caterer from the Pre-qualified suppliers list.
Catering can’t be taken inside lecture theatres and seminar rooms but we can help you find a venue with a foyer area that can be used for eating and drinking.
The Great Hall does not have a commercial kitchen. The Ante Room can be used, however caterers need to bring in all the equipment to be used.
Venue hire includes any of the accessories, equipment and furniture already existing in the room. A list of these items will be provided on confirmation of your booking.
If your event requires additional furniture or audiovisual (AV) equipment, you may want to bring in external providers. The University has a list of preferred suppliers (listed below).
However, many venues include:
- data projectors with dual projection
- computers
- visualisers (document cameras)
- interactive screens
- user-friendly touch panels
- student interactive kits
- lecture recording tools.
Our core operational hours are Monday to Friday 7am – 7pm. If you book a room during these hours, the rate will cover the hire of University staff.
For after-hours bookings, additional charges may be incurred. Teaching spaces can be booked only at certain times of the year.
Teaching spaces cannot be booked during semester until timetabling has been completed and all classes allocated. This means we may be unable to check availability of spaces until the Timetabling Unit has released the rooms for bookings.
Semester One bookings may not be available until early March; and Semester Two bookings may need to wait until early May.
Bookings made during these times are allocated to a waiting list, so we recommend that you place a request as far ahead in advance as possible.
We cannot host religious ceremonies in our venues. This includes sermons (of any denomination), christenings and Bar Mitzvahs.
Civil service wedding ceremonies are allowed. However, weddings can only be held on weekends, to minimise disruption to students and staff, whether they are held during semester or not (view our key dates).
Sydney Conservatorium of Music
Corner of Bridge & Macquarie Street, Sydney
T: +61 2 9351 1203
E: con.venues@sydney.edu.au
Seymour Centre
City Road, Camperdown
T: +61 2 9351 7680
E: Use the contact form on the website
Holme Building and Manning House
Camperdown/Darlington Campus, Sydney
T: +61 2 9563 6245
E: info@hostcosydney.com
Pre-qualified suppliers
Cook and Waiter
www.cookandwaiter.com.au
+61 2 9387 4544
Elegancy Catering (The Grandstand)
www.elegancycatering.com.au
+61 2 9518 6222
European Catering
www.europeancatering.com.au
+61 2 9317 2733
Flavours Catering + Events
www.flavourscatering.com.au
1300 368 605
Forte Catering & Events
www.fortecatering.com.au
+61 2 9211 2802
HostCo (USU Caterer)
www.hostcosydney.com
+61 2 9563 6245
Laissez-Faire Catering
www.laissez.com.au
+61 2 9209 4810
Pearl Catering
www.pearlcatering.com.au
+61 2 8338 0266
Austage Events
www.austageevents.com.au
+61 2 9317 3900
Barton Management
www.bartonevents.com
+61 2 9144 6165
Norwest Productions
www.nwgroup.com.au/norwest/
+61 2 8838 0347
Encore Event Technologies
www.encore-anzpac.com/
+61 2 9556 8888
Divine Events
www.divineevents.com.au
+61 2 9125 4998
Designs by Booshi
www.booshi.com.au
+61 434 574 167
Decorative Events & Exhibitions
www.decorativeevents.com.au
+61 2 8399 2299
This Space Event Studio
www.thisspace.com.au
+61 2 9810 9981
ExpoNet
www.exponet.com.au
+61 2 9645 7017
Moreton Hire
www.moreton.net.au
+61 2 8394 8255
Pages Event Hire
www.pageseventhire.com.au
+61 2 9533 9400
Arinex
www.arinex.com.au
+61 2 9265 0732
ASN Events
www.asn.events
+61 3 8658 9530
Event Travel Management (ETM)
www.traveletm.com.au
+61 2 9230 1027
Essential Experiences Event Management
www.essentialexperiences.com.au
+61 7 3217 5353
ICMS Australasia
www.icmsaust.com.au
+61 7 3255 1002
