The theatre housing some of Australia's greatest opera performances is badly aged and must not be forgotten in the NSW government's arts splurge, Opera Australia chief executive Craig Hassall says.

Premier Mike Baird this week announced $202 million for the Sydney Opera House, should his government be returned to office in March and its part-lease of the state's electricity "poles and wires" proceeds.

The work would include modernising the concert hall by improving acoustic quality and theatre machinery and enlarging the stage.

Mr Hassall welcomed the funding but said the building's opera theatre – frequently used by Opera Australia and the Australian Ballet – also had well-known "limitations".

"The opera theatre needs attention in terms of its improvements and upgrades, there is no question," he said, citing broken stage lifts and dimmer switches.

"The machinery backstage in both venues is basically 50 years old. It's really reaching the end of its life, so it has to be repaired."

Mr Hassall reiterated several other long-held concerns: a lack of seating, cramped orchestra pit and acoustics that varied wildly throughout the theatre.

"I hope [the spending promise] is the first of a number of announcements that show the government's commitment to the most famous arts venue in Australia, possibly the world," he said.

A Sydney Opera House spokeswoman said a renewal plan to be released this year would address every part of the building.

The comments follow criticism by the Western Sydney Arts and Cultural Lobby that the government's $139 million pledge to boost the Walsh Bay arts precinct is "misguided" and ignores the needs of western Sydney residents.

Mr Baird is on Thursday expected to make a cultural policy announcement in Parramatta. Of the government's promised $600 million for arts and culture infrastructure, $259 million remains unallocated. The government has previously mooted funding towards the Sydney Modern extension at the Art Gallery of NSW, and for a new cultural precinct in Parramatta.

Sydney Business Chamber western Sydney director David Borger said its report on western Sydney arts and culture funding due on Thursday "makes the case for a greater share of the pie, and, obviously, there are expectations now around the region being able to fulfil our potential".