Making the case: Sydney as a global legal hub

27 October, 2026

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Committee for Sydney

Sydney’s maturation as a key economic engine in the Asia-Pacific requires the growth of the professional services sectors alongside emerging industries that are shaping Sydney’s role in the global economy. Chief among these is Sydney’s highly regarded legal sector – a sector that has the potential to become a key export industry in its own right. 

We collaborated with The Law Society of New South Wales to explore what it would take to position Sydney as a global legal hub. 

Making the Case: Sydney as a global legal hub examines Sydney’s competitive strengths in Australia’s legal system, how we compare internationally and what we can learn from the cities that have become globally recognised legal centres – the likes of London, Singapore and Dublin. 

The report proposes six ideas across two distinct themes that can help put Sydney on the international legal hub. 

Coherence and communication  Capacity and capability 
  1. Put NSW front of mind, at home and abroad 
  2. Build the sector relationships that turn the case into contracts 
  3. Build the coalition to tell Sydney’s story 
  1. Back Australian Centre for International Commercial Arbitration (ACICA) to compete 
  2. Connect the courts to international parties and to arbitration 
  3. Compete for legal functions and legal talent