The University of Tasmania has been enhancing its city-based presence for over 15 years. With support of Federal and State governments, the University has been transforming its southern campuses to provide critical teaching and research facilities in the heart of Hobart CBD.

Find out more at Building our Hobart University presence since 2007

Traders will receive a significant positive benefit from having all of the Southern Campus in the city.

The move will bring up to 8,500 students and 1,500 staff into the city , adding vibrancy and economic activity. Independent research by Urbis found that, in a typical week, virtually all city workers buy something before, during or after work. Only three per cent reported buying nothing.

The average city worker spends over $10,000 per year at nearby businesses. With 1,500 staff moving to the city, that’s an extra $15 million spent at small businesses in the area - cafes, restaurants, hairdressers and retail stores. And that doesn’t even include students.

Already, a diverse range of businesses have opened to cater for students and staff living and working in the city, contributing to the emergence of the vibrant Midtown precinct. Contrary to some reports, the majority of local traders support our move and the principles that underpin it.

The move will revitalise several empty sites as teaching, learning, research and service hubs. These include the:

• Forestry building (which was vacant)
• Freedom building (after the franchisee decided not to renew the lease)
• K&D site (after the business closed)
• Webster’s site (containing a long-disused building)
• McCann’s building (after a local business was seeking improved premises).

The move will transform these unused buildings into a sustainable, contemporary precinct that takes the city forward and benefits the whole community.

Long holidays may be pleasant memories for students in days gone by, but they are not how a modern university operates.

Even in the first week of January there is typically over 1,000 people at the University either studying or working.

The University of Tasmania offers courses year-round, including a summer session, to allow our students to complete as soon as possible. Students in our accommodation buildings sign 50-52-week leases each year. Professional and academic staff work year-round on teaching, research, events, operations and administration. The University’s facilities are used for extended hours to cater for the majority of our students who have work and caring responsibilities.

Yes. By making the campus more accessible by bus, ferry, bike and foot, we will decrease the number of car trips by staff and students.

From 10 years of travel surveys of our staff and students, we know that being in the city already results in 20% fewer people driving.

By locating our campus closer to students’ workplaces and our industry partners, we will reduce car trips between these locations. Some staff and students will be able to continue parking at Sandy Bay and the Uni Hopper (PDF 634.8 KB) bus will transport them between locations.

With our partners, we are actively involved in advocating for a better public transport system for Hobart. And we will provide smart parking options on our new campus.

Yes. It found that, on almost every road in and around Hobart, the traffic will be better.

Around half of University staff and students live on the Eastern Shore, in the Northern Suburbs or in Kingborough/Far South. Most of these people currently cross the city and add to the congestion on the main arterial routes.

There have been numerous traffic modelling assessments completed and shared with the public, including one submitted to the 2019 parliamentary inquiry into Hobart traffic congestion. In 2018 GHD Pty Ltd and RED Sustainability Consultants completed a Preliminary Traffic Impact Assessment for Central Hobart, which modelled our move and potential scenarios. It found, in all scenarios, ‘a likely reduction in trips made by car to the University’.

Reports have been available in both printed form and for download since the beginning of our community consultation in 2019 and submitted to the parliamentary inquiry into Hobart traffic congestion. The University’s full submission and the report are publicly available.

Our staff and student travel behaviour surveys have also been available to the public, from the first completed in 2013 to the most recent in 2021. They consistently demonstrate the shift away from car use and the differences in transportation use between people based in Sandy Bay and the CBD.

We have sufficient land to build all of our new facilities at a size and height that it is appropriate for Hobart and adheres to the recommendations of leading urban design consultant Leigh Woolley. Circumstances can change over a decade-long project.

No. The green space at Sandy Bay will be preserved and enhanced for use by all members of the community. The sports fields will be retained for use by our students, sports clubs and the community.

We plan to create new green spaces on our campus in line with the City of Hobart’s targets for a greener city. The revitalised Forestry building will have both an indoor forest under its heritage-listed dome and an outdoor garden on what is currently a long expanse of concrete.

We have extensively consulted with many people in the community, staff and students over many years and are committed to continuing to do so.

We’ve conducted hundreds of briefings, information sessions and presentations for students, staff, community members and business. Thousands of people have responded to our surveys, submitted written feedback or questions, been part of focus groups or invited us to engage with them at community meetings.

The decision to move to the city was made on deeply considered accessibility, educational, sustainability and financial grounds. The move will allow more Tasmanians better access to better facilities as we move to address some of the state’s deep problems. It will help with the University’s responsibility to act sustainably by taking cars off the road and constructing carbon-neutral buildings. And, with income from governments and international student enrolments far from secure, it will allow us to maximise our assets and fund our mission: to address the real needs of the state we are here to serve.

We are committed to a new campus that is more accessible, more suitable, more sustainable and more connected for students, staff and the Tasmanian community.

There will be plenty of modern, purpose-built and accessible space on our new campus.

Better design will mean our buildings are more flexible, better utilised and relevant to our digital world and how we work.

We currently average just 17 per cent utilisation of our learning and teaching facilities at Sandy Bay.

So while we anticipate building less overall space in the city, we will build more of what we use and less of what we don’t - and in a way that can be adapted easily in the future.

Most courses in Creative Arts and Media, Health and Medicine, and Marine and Antarctic Studies have been delivered in the Hobart CBD for some time. Courses in Business and Economics, and University College, are in the process of moving to the CBD. Other courses traditionally delivered at Sandy Bay will continue to be offered there in 2022. If you choose to study face-to-face, your course coordinator will provide you with detailed information on where your course will be taught .

The move to the Hobart CBD will take place in phases until 2030. Over this period, different courses will move to the city at different times. Students will be given plenty of notice of campus changes and the University will support movement between campuses to make it as easy as possible. The new facilities in the CBD are being purpose built to the highest standards for contemporary learning. It is expected that other courses traditionally offered at Sandy Bay will continue to be delivered there for several years from 2022.

Fine Arts is located in Hunter Street on the Hobart waterfront. Music and Theatre and Performance are located in the Hedberg on the corner of Collins and Campbell streets. Health and Medicine courses are delivered in the Medical Sciences Precinct (close to the Royal Hobart Hospital) and lower Domain. The Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies and The Media School are located at Salamanca. Business and Economics courses are offered in newly refitted rooms in the Vodafone (access from 59 Liverpool St) and KPMG (100 Melville St) buildings .

Metro buses service the CBD from most Hobart suburbs and regions across Southern Tasmania.

Our Uni Hopper bus service loops from Sandy Bay around our CBD locations every hour. Check out the Uni Hopper timetable (PDF 724KB).

Yes. The University is fully committed to maintaining the facilities for the life of the Sandy Bay campus to ensure all students’ needs are met during our transformation period.

The Morris Miller Library at Sandy Bay will continue to support all course offerings on the Sandy Bay campus until they are relocated to the CBD. New library facilities are planned for all offerings in the city. Students are welcome to make use of any of our library facilities for private study.

Sandy Bay will remain an active and vibrant campus during the transformation period. Teaching and learning will be focused on the area around our main square, ensuring social and academic interaction continues. Our new, local catering partners offer healthy and sustainable food and café services. The Tasmanian University Student Association will continue to operate a range of campus services through the transformation period.

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