Chief Commissioner

Geoff Roberts AM

Geoff Roberts AM was appointed as Chief Commissioner of the Greater Sydney Commission in April 2020. Prior to this, Mr Roberts served as the Deputy Chief Commissioner and Economic Commissioner from late 2015.

He has 35 years of experience in Australia and internationally working on city strategy, governance and leadership. Over his career, Mr Roberts has been involved on behalf of governments and the private sector, in the key economic challenges and opportunities facing cities. He has a deep history in decision-making around the delivery of integrated land use and infrastructure programs

Mr Roberts led the negotiation of the Western Sydney City Deal on behalf of the NSW Government and played a pivotal role in this tri-government agreement reached in March 2018 between the Australian Government, the eight councils of the Western City and the NSW Government.

In February 2019, Mr Roberts was appointed as a member of the board of the Western City & Aerotropolis Authority. He also served as Chief Coordinator of the Western City from May 2018 until November 2019.

The NSW Government, in November 2019, appointed Mr Roberts as Head of Global Relationships for NSW Treasury. He supports the delivery of international trade and investment strategy and enables a focused, collaborative and proactive approach across the government when engaging with top-tier investors both foreign and domestic.

In June 2019, Mr Roberts was made a Member of the Order of Australia in recognition of his significant service to urban planning and development. He also was the Planning Institute of Australia's National Planning Champion for 2019 and in September 2019 was conferred with an Honorary Doctorate by Western Sydney University in recognition of his work at the Commission.

As of September 1 2021 Geoff is Adjunct Professor in the School of Arts, Design & Architecture, Faculty of Arts, Design & Architecture, at the University of New South Wales (UNSW). He is a passionate practitioner of collaboration and a regular public speaker.