Victoria Barracks must stay in public hands, with greater public access

October 21, 2026 — 4:24pm

You have reached your maximum number of saved items.

Remove items from your saved list to add more.

No gift articles left

You've used all of your gift articles. 3 more will become available on the 1st of every month.

Victoria Barracks is one of the jewels in Sydney’s crown. Convict labour built the elegant buildings quarried from Hawkesbury sandstone and the site, regarded as the spiritual and historical home of the Australian Army, is poised to begin an uncertain new life.

Following an independent audit of the national defence estate, Defence Minister Richard Marles last February announced Victoria Barracks was part of a plan to divest the government of 67 Defence properties, including other Victoria Barracks in Melbourne and Brisbane.

The aim was to raise $3 billion and avoid $100 million annual upkeep costs, with savings ploughed back into the........

© The Sydney Morning Herald