Startup Every day can reveal Fishburners operated beneath a long-term subsidised sublicence settlement with Stone & Chalk after the closure of the unique Sydney Startup Hub.
Fishburners was working beneath a long-term subsidised sublicence mannequin at Tech Central earlier than getting into voluntary administration final week. Stone & Chalk was performing as the first operator of the Tech Central precinct beneath a restructured NSW startup ecosystem mannequin.
Particulars supplied to Startup Every day by Stone & Chalk revealed how Sydney’s startup ecosystem was restructured following the closure of the unique Sydney Startup Hub.
This included a shift away from direct authorities tenancy relationships towards an operator-led construction at Tech Central.
How Fishburners’ Tech Central sublicence labored
Stone & Chalk CEO, Stela Photo voltaic, mentioned Fishburners and its neighborhood had operated throughout the Tech Central Innovation Hub since September 2025 beneath what she described as a “subsidised sublicence settlement”.
Photo voltaic additionally confirmed the association was supposed as “a longer-term working mannequin” reasonably than a brief transition measure following the closure of the unique Startup Hub.
Particulars supplied from a number of sources additionally confirmed that Fishburners operated as a sub-tenant of Stone & Chalk at Tech Central Innovation Hub (TCIH), with the latter acting as the primary operator of the site.
Startup Every day understands the NSW Authorities not held a direct tenancy relationship with Fishburners within Tech Central.
The association different considerably from the unique Sydney Startup Hub mannequin. The Wynyard-based precinct launched in 2018 beneath the earlier Coalition authorities as a centralised startup hub.
Fishburners operated there as an anchor tenant beneath a government-supported association that’s understood to have included subsidised lease to assist its community of tech innovators and entrepreneurs.
Nonetheless, after the Minns authorities deemed the York Avenue hub “not commercially viable”, the state moved startups and neighborhood companions into the newer Tech Central precinct in Haymarket.
ASIC filings lodged by Fishburners in October final yr revealed the organisation had gathered greater than $2 million in lease arrears linked to the previous Startup Hub web site, whereas concurrently transitioning into the TCIH mannequin.
The paperwork confirmed that Fishburners had entered right into a reimbursement association with Funding NSW protecting historic lease liabilities, whereas persevering with operations from Tech Central and a WeWork web site in Sydney.
The filings additionally revealed auditors had raised “materials uncertainties” across the organisation’s capacity to proceed working as a going concern.
Fishburners directors launch speedy EOI course of
Fishburners entered voluntary administration final week, with KPMG directors now overseeing an expression of curiosity (EOI) course of aimed toward recapitalising or promoting the organisation.
In a doc seen by Startup Every day, Fishburners chair Bilyana Smith described the method as a possibility for a “reset” that might enable the organisation’s applications to proceed “unencumbered by legacy debt”.
“The transfer is designed to resolve historic legacy debt and be sure that the Fishburners mission — supporting the subsequent era of Australian entrepreneurs — continues in a sustainable, well-capitalised surroundings,” the doc states.
The EOI doc describes Fishburners as a “strategic alternative” for buyers or consumers, citing its nationwide model recognition, founder community, applications and “two prime Sydney areas in main know-how hubs”.
The EOI course of is concentrating on consumers and buyers throughout innovation, know-how, training and “property-adjacent” sectors. The turnaround on the EOI is tight, closing on Could 15.
Regardless of the voluntary administration, Photo voltaic mentioned that Fishburners stays “a key member of the Tech Central Innovation Hub and a key participant within the NSW early-stage startup ecosystem” and that it’s “persevering with to function enterprise as regular.”
“We stay dedicated to sustaining continuity of assist for innovators throughout the Tech Central Innovation Hub, to allow them to proceed constructing and scaling with out disruption.
“We’re working intently with the Fishburners staff and directors to assist the members with as a lot continuity and readability as potential. It doesn’t matter what occurs, innovators have a spot to proceed constructing at Tech Central Innovation Hub.”
Funding NSW additionally mentioned it’s “exploring methods to assist impacted residents of Tech Central Innovation Hub to minimise disruption, guarantee continuity of operations and assist the innovation ecosystem.”
Disclosure: Fishburners CEO, Majella Campbell, is the co-host of Startup360.
