Providing shade in an outdoor dining space is an effective way to attract customers and make their experiences with your café or restaurant more enjoyable. When it comes to cafes and restaurants using umbrellas there is a New South Wales Outdoor Dining User Guide (2019) that lists the policies relating to ‘street’ or ‘footpath dining’- this is essentially having equipment on a footpath that is being used by pedestrians and customers together. This document has been created using the NSW guidelines as well as those of the biggest cities in the state to give you an idea of what you need to consider when choosing the right shade for your space. Some local councils will also have regulations in place, so it’s a good idea to check their website for an ‘Outdoor Dining Guide’ or ‘Footpath Dining Policies’. 

Height, Size, and Materials:

Generally, if you have an umbrella on a footpath or street, it should be over 1.2 metres wide and at least 2.1 metres tall

On Saturday 29^th March, Shade Australia was announced as the Champion Home and Improvement business at the Australian Small Business Champion Awards, marking the second time we have earned this achievement since 2022. This award has solidified Shade Australia as the leading Shade provider in Australia, and rounded out our 25th Birthday celebration that had been underway throughout March.

On top of a storewide sale, Shade Australia offered every customer the chance to win one of five $250 gift vouchers. By the end of March, we had over 400 customers in our draw which was run on the 3^rd of April.

Shade Australia congratulates the following winners:

John R. 

Wendy H.

Paula M.

Waterfront Tavern

Dean C.

We couldn’t be prouder of how far our small business has come in 25 years under the innovative eye of our director Andy McLeod and the steady hand of general manager Nikki McLeod, and we’d love to take

Join us in celebrating our 25th birthday!

Who would have thought that a walk in the park would lead to one of the biggest shade retailers in Australia? Our Director Andy McLeod had an inkling. Let’s set the scene: it’s the Summer of 2000 and Andy and his wife Nikki are walking through a park in Sydney on a hot day when the thought struck: where’s the shade? This thought rolled into another; where would the Council even get it?

Fast forward a quarter of a century and Shade Australia has sold thousands of shade sails and umbrellas across the nation and beyond into schools, backyards, public areas, restaurants, aquatic centres, private event spaces… and parks.  

When Shade Australia first started back in 2000, we sold shade sails. Over time, we’ve broadened our range to centrepost and cantilever umbrellas, gazebos, shade structures, and shade cloth. We even sell rain umbrellas, parasols, and beach umbrellas!

We’ve gone from a one-man-show

Two things go hand in hand when it comes to the Australian Summer season: swimming, and shade. Whether it’s at the beach or in the backyard, shade is a crucial element that should never be overlooked when spending time outdoors, especially under the harsh Australian sun. For a backyard pool umbrella, a cantilever style umbrella will be the most flexible shade option as it is able to be rotated and tilted to keep up with the sun moving during the day. We’ve surveyed our current range of cantilever umbrellas and picked out the top six Cantilever Pool Umbrellas for Australia in 2024.

Sunhaven Classic Cantilever

The Sunhaven Classic Cantilever umbrella has quickly

Every summer, the days get longer, brighter, and hotter – but that doesn’t stop Australians from getting together to catch up, enjoy holidays and celebrate Christmas and the New Year! Aussies love discovering new restaurants and cafes, but they won’t stick around if they have to sit in the sun. Having a commercial quality sun shade will not only attract customers to your location, but can also contribute to the vibe you’re trying to create. The following umbrellas have been chosen as the best commercial sun shades available in 2024 thanks to their longevity, style, and ease of operation.

Best all rounder: Sunranger Café Series

Looking for a backyard umbrella? Discover the top picks for Australian backyards in 2024. 

The backyard is a place to find peace and solitude, or a place to gather and spend time with others. Whether it’s around a barbecue, a pool, or on the lawn, the need for shade is always a top priority. Centre post umbrellas, also known as centre pole, café or market umbrellas, are often used as a sun shade thanks to their stable build, reliable shade, and ease of operation. We’ve looked for the best centrepost umbrellas for Australians in 2024, taking the longevity and features of the umbrellas in our range into consideration.

Best overall: The Sunranger Café Series

Plastic Free July is an initiative that has been driven by the Plastic Free Foundation since 2011. It asks us to challenge our use of plastic; to take notice of how much we’re using and look at ways to reduce and reuse. The Plastic Free Foundation has saved billions of tonnes of plastic from being discarded around the world and has inspired us here at Shade Australia to share our own sustainability practices.

As a business always looking to improve our own processes as well as the world around us, we found that our largest sustainability issue was packaging and waste going to landfill. We ship large, heavy products around Australia (as well as overseas) so it’s important for our goods to be well protected during transit and, to keep shipping costs down, packaging materials need to be as light as possible. Styrofoam and packing peanuts in cardboard boxes were once the most popular and economical choice however the past few years has seen a burgeoning availability in biodegradable

Commercial Umbrella Policies for the 5 Largest Cities in New South Wales

Protecting your customers from the elements is an important aspect of outdoor dining and events, but it’s important to do it safely and within the regulation of your local council. We’ve gone through the outdoor dining policies for the five largest cities in New South Wales in order to create a comprehensive list of regulations and restrictions for the use of umbrellas in outdoor dining areas belonging to businesses in each city. These cities are Sydney, Newcastle, Wollongong, North Sydney, and Parramatta. We will also include the policies so that you can check them out!

Before you start scrolling to your city, check out the following information which has been taken from the New South Wales Outdoor Dining User Guide 2019 and relates to every city on this list. Please keep this in mind while considering the best outdoor commercial umbrella to suit your outdoor dining needs.

Commercial

Parashade umbrellas set a new standard in the world of outdoor umbrellas.

1. Masterfully engineered.
2. A statement of design and, 
3. The perfect fusion of form and function.

Designed, and hand-crafted in Capetown South Africa by an architect with a lifelong mission to make the most beautiful and functional umbrella in the world, Parashade is the most innovative thing to happen to the umbrella world in over a decade. With three international patents, it does everything any other umbrella can do, only better!

The low prices of Bunnings' outdoor umbrellas are starkly contrasted with those from specialised shade providers like Shade Australia. A Bunnings umbrella may cost as little as $99, but it's crucial to recognize what this price entails.

Bunnings' selection includes brands such as Hartman, Marquee, and Mimosa. Marquee and Mimosa, in particular, offer some of Australia's most competitively priced large outdoor umbrellas. While their prices are hard to beat, it's worth considering why there might be little competition at this price point.

The eye-catching low prices of Bunnings umbrellas draw customers in, but savvy shoppers should ponder the feasibility of such economical manufacturing and marketing.

Buying cheap can have hidden costs. For instance, inexpensive umbrellas often lack available spare parts, leading to their premature disposal when damaged.