People living in Lismore and surrounding areas will now have access to a new temporary Service NSW Centre located in the Lismore CBD.

Minister for Customer Service and Digital Government Jihad Dib and Member for Lismore Janelle Saffin visited the new centre at 152 Molesworth Street ahead of its opening today.

(Member for Lismore Janelle Saffin, Minister for Customer Service and Digital Government Jihad Dib and Service NSW CEO and staff at the new entrance on Molesworth Street)

For the past two years, Service NSW staff have been squashed into a small space at the Lismore Golf Club site on Barham Street. The trying conditions were not ideal. However, they provided the necessary services the community needed.

Belinda Cooling is the Manager of Service NSW Lismore and Casino. Although Belinda has been with the Lismore office for six months, she knows how much this move means to the staff.

"It's served its purpose, definitely, but it's cramped. It's not like a normal Service Centre. Everybody's crammed into one little space."

"I think they're still in shock because it's so awesome. They haven't had that for two years, coming from a big centre where they had 11 counters. It was definitely time to move on from that site as well and not to go back there."

While Molesworth Street is not as big as the old Ballina Road site, it is bigger than Barham Street.

"We've also increased our capacity to serve. We only had five desks and now we've now got seven with the ability to serve off another desk if we need to, so eight," Belinda explained.

"We've increased the space. We've also got a beautiful meeting room where we can have private meetings and bookings with people. We haven't been able to do that at Barham Street, so it's lovely to be able to give that back to our community."

"The big difference is, we're down in the CBD. So we're part of the heart of the city. Coming back to our community."

Moving to the CBD has a positive and negative effect on staff and users alike.

The positive is that ten regular staff members will be spending money at local shops and cafes helping them through what's been a tough year so far.

The negative is the lack of parking.

Staff will need to park at Harold Frederick or Crowther Carparks for the all-day free parking and take the short walk to walk each day. Service NSW customers will need to find a carpark at Clyde Campbell, Hensley or Kirkland Riviera Carparks for free parking or be lucky enough to find a 2-hour middle parking bay on Molesworth Street.

"It is not ideal," Belinda agreed, "But, there are places that people can park and walk to us from. I think parking, generally, in Lismore is a problem, and I think, even when we get to Goonellabah that it's still going to be an issue. We have to adapt with that and just try to service people as best we can with what we've got."

As Belinda mentioned, Service NSW's final destination is Goonellabah.

The permanent centre will accommodate driver testing and the full suite of government services and transactions and will be located in the “The Village” shopping centre, behind Rivers and The Reject Shop.

Planning approval from Lismore City Council has to be approved, and once received, the building process should take 12-18 months, depending on the weather.

(Ms Saffin and Minister Dib share an eye test joke with staff watching on)

Anyone attending the new Molesworth Street Centre will be able to access the full range of NSW Government transactions and services while driving and knowledge tests will continue to be offered on the ground floor of the Lismore Workers Golf Club at 1 Barham Street by appointment only.

Staff at the Service NSW Centre can also connect business owners with a Business Concierge for free, ongoing and personalised support for every stage of their business.

The Molesworth Street Centre will be open Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm, while the Barham Street Centre will be open Monday to Friday 9am to 4pm for driving and knowledge tests, but by appointment only.

Minister for Customer Service and Digital Government Jihad Dib said, “The NSW Government remains committed to supporting the Lismore community following the 2022 floods, and this new temporary Service NSW Centre helps provide certainty for locals until a permanent site is built at Goonellabah.”

“The new Lismore CBD location is convenient for locals wanting to renew a licence or register a vehicle, and the NSW Government’s investment in a new centre ensures government services remain accessible to those who need it the most.”

Member for Lismore Janelle Saffin said, “This Service NSW Centre in Lismore’s CBD will offer convenience and continuity for local people needing to access a range of Government services.”

“Local tradespeople assisted with the fit-out, and I’m sure Service NSW staff are looking forward to serving customers in this new space.”

“These staff have done a tremendous job while operating out of the ground floor of the Lismore Workers Golf Club in East Lismore, where driving and knowledge tests will continue to be offered.”

“Post-flood, we have all had to adapt and make the most of makeshift arrangements as we rebuild our existing premises or relocate to higher ground.”

For more information, visit the new location at 152 Molesworth Street or check the https://www.service.nsw.gov.au/service-centre/lismore-service-centre.