The Lismore CBD continues to show signs of renewal and economic resilience, with an 81% occupancy rate recorded across audited business premises as of June 2025, representing a 3 percentage point uplift in activity from December 2024.

Lismore City Mayor Steve Krieg said this was the first time since the 2022 floods that the 80% occupancy barrier had been reached.

Council’s twice-yearly CBD Audit monitors the occupation rate of shopfronts and upper-level premises across the Lismore CBD to measure business growth and community confidence.

Mayor Krieg said the data helps track business and organisational trends within ‘the block’.

"It is a sign that Lismore is on the up, that Lismore is growing, the economy is strengthening, and Lismore City Council itself is doing a lot of work around the beautification, the maintenance and the cleanliness. You'll notice a lot more protective fencing going up. The pavements are all getting redone. The line marking is happening. The bins are getting emptied regularly. It's little things like that which really attract our retailers to come to Lismore.

"And we're encouraging anyone and everyone that the Lismore CBD, and Lismore as a whole, is well and truly open for business. If you're thinking about branching out and opening a retail store, we'd love to talk to you about it.

"We've got some really good success stories in Lismore, and one of our award winners from our Business Awards on Saturday night, Silt Studio, over in North Lismore, couldn't speak more highly of the support and the assistance that Lismore City Council has provided, and that's open to everyone and anyone that wants to look at setting up in in Lismore. Reach out to the council. We're here to help."

Despite some variation, occupancy rates remain on an upward trend compared to previous post-disaster audit figures.

The Lismore CBD Audit covers central portions of Keen, Molesworth, Woodlark, Conway, Magellan and Carrington Streets. Below are the street-by-street occupation rates as of June 2025, compared with December 2024.

• Keen Street occupancy rate – 88% (up 3% since December 2024)
• Magellan Street occupancy rate – 82% (up 7% since December 2024)
• Conway Street occupancy rate – 67% (no change since December 2024)
• Carrington Street occupancy rate – 82% (up 4% since December 2024)
• Molesworth Street occupancy rate – 83% (down 3% since December 2024)
• Woodlark Street occupancy rate – 70% (up 10% since December 2024)

This is the sixth Lismore CBD Audit following the 2022 natural disaster. The same area of the Lismore CBD has been audited by Council staff each year since 2017.

It’s important to note that fluctuations in total premises due to amalgamations or subdivisions can affect the baseline data used in each audit.

Lismore businesses have been doing it tough over the last 12 months; however, Mayor Krieg believes it is a good time to look at retial opportunities and for shoopers to support local businesses.

"It's not an easy time for anyone with interest rates climbing over the last three years. We're finally seeing that trend turn around with the Big Four announcing that they're going to reduce their interest rates. Any opportunity for people to have a little bit of extra money in their pocket will generally see them come out and spend it in their community.

"One thing that we really are trying to encourage is the trend of online shopping and buying from these big multinationals is something that we're trying to turn around. And if Lismore and the Northern Rivers want to see their retail sector and their hospitality sector growing and thriving, then we need to focus on that, and we need to spend locally. We need to put our resources into our local businesses.

"I often use the fact that collectively, small businesses are Australia's biggest single employer, but because we're all small businesses. We don't have that one unified and loud voice like the mining sector or the big corporate sector like the Woolies and Coles and the like. We employ mums, dads and kids in our local retail and hospitality shops right here in the CBD, in Goonellabah, and in South and North Lismore. It's important that we put our money behind that if, if we want to buy our fruit and vegetables, we we go to Lismore Business of the Year, PJs Fruit and Veg, or the Smash Avo or Farmer Charlie's, three really top quality businesses, all locally owned by small families, but really important families who also sponsor our local sporting clubs and get behind our cultural scene as well.

"It is really important to shop local, and give these prospective new businesses the confidence to invest."