tech
Central Coast Smart Tech Program Blends Regional Data Tools With Global Resilience Goals
The NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure program pairs parking sensors and water meters with safety trials to test how data supports jobs and community strength.
How we reported this
Work has commenced on installing 450 smart parking sensors across the Terrigal and Gosford CBDs under the Smart Central Coast Program. The NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure established the program to run from 2023 to 2025 and evaluate how technology and data can support job attraction, economic activity, and community resilience in the region.
The Central Coast effort stands out because it applies sensor networks and digital dashboards in a regional setting rather than a capital city core. Federal funding of $104,735 from the Australian Government's Smart Cities and Suburbs Program placed the parking project among 49 Round 1 initiatives, of which 40 percent were located in regional areas. This mix of scale and location gives the program a practical test bed for technologies that larger metros often trial only after pilot phases elsewhere.
Local deployments target daily friction points
Central Coast Council launched a smart metering program in June 2024 that equips 100 high-usage commercial customers with digital water meters connected to the MyWater dashboard. The meters deliver real-time leak and consumption alerts. A separate Safer Cities trial ran in Gosford from December 2023 to January 2024 and combined public space improvements, lighting installations, and activity programs, resulting in increased people movement and improved safety perceptions in key parks and laneways.
These projects operate on the same data infrastructure that the broader Smart Central Coast Program uses to measure economic and social outcomes. Drivers in Terrigal and Gosford will soon receive real-time available parking data via apps, while commercial water users receive consumption alerts on the same dashboard model. The shared approach lets council staff compare usage patterns across parking, water, and public-space activity within one regional dataset.
Next steps focus on scaling data use
Officials continue to monitor how the installed sensors and meters feed into job attraction and resilience metrics tracked by the 2023-2025 program. Residents and businesses can access the MyWater dashboard alerts and the forthcoming parking app as the remaining sensors come online in the two CBDs.