Defence is holding firm on the sale of Sydney’s Victoria Barracks, with personnel at the 176-year-old Paddington base packing to leave by Christmas.
As at 26 October, the decision to sell stood, despite a cross-party rally against it and a call from NSW Premier Chris Minns to reverse it.
Defence sources told the ABC on 26 October that people were “packing boxes” to be out by Christmas. Defence said most personnel were expected to move off site before the end of 2026, ABC News reported.
A $200 Million Bill
Defence Minister Richard Marles has defended the sale on cost grounds.
“Victoria Barracks Sydney is not fundamental to the defence of the country and what we face in respect to Victoria Barracks Sydney specifically is a bill of $200 million over the next decade to secure it as a defence site,” he said, according to ABC News.
The base is one of 67 underused or vacant Defence properties earmarked for sale, in a program expected to raise up to $3 billion, ABC News reported. HMAS Penguin is also on the list.
The Rally
Thousands attended a rally against the sale on Sunday 25 October, by the ABC’s account. The Sydney Morning Herald counted at least several hundred, against organisers’ estimate of thousands.
John Howard headlined the rally, the Herald reported.
It was organised by state Labor MP Marjorie O’Neill and Liberal senator Jess Collins, the Herald reported. Other speakers and attendees included former army chief Ken Gillespie and Opposition Leader Angus Taylor.
Taylor called the sale a “rotten decision”, according to the Herald.
“We think it is a precious, irreplaceable, not-for-sale national asset,” Howard said, the Herald reported.
According to the Herald, Gillespie said: “The burden of proof rests with those who want to sell it. And they have not met that burden.”
The Premier Wants a Rethink
Premier Chris Minns has called on the Commonwealth to reverse the sale.
Minns said, according to ABC News: “I just think they need to rethink it.”
NSW Veterans Minister David Harris said blocking the sale was difficult because the Commonwealth has constitutional powers over the sites, the Herald reported.
A Convict-Built Base
Victoria Barracks was built by convicts in the 1840s and houses the Army Museum of NSW, according to ABC News.
ABC News put the number of people at the base at about 500. The Herald said up to 600, including personnel, families, public servants, reservists and cadets.
Where the Soldiers Go Next
Most personnel will move to Randwick Barracks, and some will go temporarily to Defence Plaza Sydney, an office tower in the Sydney CBD, ABC News reported.
Marles said Defence Plaza sat 60% empty, according to ABC News. Defence leases the building on a 10-year, $231 million contract, the Herald reported.
Buzzline’s Sydney coverage includes Western Sydney International opening to passengers on 25 October, and its defence reporting includes the plan by Anduril and the US Navy for a $6.6bn shipyard.
More defence news is in Buzzline’s Defence & Security section.
Sources: ABC News, “NSW premier says barracks sale a ‘big missed opportunity'”, 26 October 2026 (https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-10-26/sydney-victoria-barracks-christmas-eviction-chris-minns/107309632); The Sydney Morning Herald, “‘Precious, irreplaceable’: Howard headlines eclectic rally against Victoria Barracks sale”, 25 October 2026 (https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/precious-irreplaceable-howard-headlines-eclectic-rally-against-victoria-barracks-sale-20261025-p618f3.html)
Photo: J Bar, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
The main barrack block at Victoria Barracks in Paddington, Sydney, photographed in August 2007.
