How to incubate a successful Indigenous owned construction company: the story of Barpa and key lessons shared
This University of Technology Sydney case study follows how Indigenous builder Barpa grew from a $50,000 first job with backing from construction company Icon. It shares the key lessons for buyers who want to help Indigenous businesses scale up.
Social procurement in construction: Sydney Metro case study (2-part special report)
This two-part special report looks at how Sydney Metro ran its social procurement program. As at January 2024, about 48% of jobs on its projects under construction had gone to people from Greater Western Sydney, with $321 million invested in Aboriginal participation and 4,163 previously long-term unemployed people engaged.
Pushing the boundaries of Aboriginal social procurement on the Rozelle Interchange Project
On Sydney's Rozelle Interchange, the John Holland CPB Contractors joint venture required every commercial tender to include an Aboriginal subcontractor. This University of Technology Sydney best-practice case study looks at how the project approached its 1.5% Aboriginal spend commitment under the NSW Aboriginal Participation in Construction policy.
Hardy Fencing: safe solutions for remote communities
Indigenous-owned Alice Springs business Hardy Fencing built a snake-proof fence at the Kaltukatjara (Docker River) aged care facility, working for prime contractor Intract Australia. The project shows how subcontracting to local Indigenous businesses can deliver practical results for remote communities.
Kany Bidi and Laing O'Rourke: one clear path for traffic management and Indigenous employment
Former AFL player Michael Johnson's traffic management business Kany Bidi has grown alongside Laing O'Rourke across six major projects in Perth, with contracts now worth $14.5 million. The business averages 65% or more Aboriginal employment and delivered over 40,000 hours of traffic management on the Swan River Crossings Project.
Government procurement teams have the power to drive real change
The NSW Department of Communities and Justice buys courier and cleaning services from Flourish Australia across 36 sites. In 2023 the $2.9 million spend created $860,000 in economic value and employed 18 people facing barriers to work, showing government buyers can secure quality services and social impact together.
One introduction made a national impact
A January 2024 introduction through Social Traders connected Heidelberg Materials with textile recycling social enterprise RCYCL. A 48-site pilot diverted 6,766 kg of textile and PPE waste from landfill, and the partnership now covers more than 430 sites nationally.
Case Study: Ventia and Australian Spatial Analytics – Leveraging Local Supply Chain Spend for Social Value and Impact
Since mid-2021, Ventia has bought spatial design work for its nbn projects from Australian Spatial Analytics (ASA), a not-for-profit social enterprise that trains and employs young people with autism. The work grew from as-built drawings into other design tasks, and ASA won the 2022 Queensland and NT regional Social Traders Game Changer Award.
Mirvac Supplier Development Program video
Video on Mirvac's first Supplier Development Program with Social Traders, which built the capability of social enterprises including YMCA ReBuild, ReGround, CommUnity Construction and Green Connect. The program led to five new contracts and 50% growth in certified social enterprise suppliers.
Change happens at the speed of trust
A 2021 tender for washroom soap grew into a partnership worth over $1 million a year between Charter Hall and Two Good Co, a social enterprise supporting women leaving family violence and homelessness. Two Good now supplies close to 20,000 litres of washroom products a year to Charter Hall buildings.
A blueprint for social impact: Downer and GAME Traffic
What started as a small traffic management job in 2014 has grown into a multi-million-dollar partnership between Downer and social enterprise GAME Traffic & Contracting in north-east Victoria. Downer spent $5.8 million with GAME in 2024, helping fund programs that have supported 2,000 young people.
Delivering infrastructure with social impact
Since 2008, drainage and underground services social enterprise KADYN has worked with John Holland on more than 17 rail and infrastructure projects across Sydney, including Sydney Airport and the Botany Rail Duplication. In the last six years it has supported 50 at-risk young people into construction careers.
Insights into Social Procurement: From Policy to Practice
SPA’s report on how Australian governments are putting social procurement into practice, drawing on interviews with three State government departments. It includes case studies of the NSW Aboriginal Participation in Construction policy, SA’s Department for Communities & Social Inclusion, and WA’s Australian Disability Enterprise exemption, plus five local economic development snapshots from Queensland, Victoria, SA and the Gold Coast.
The Business Case for Social Procurement
Social Procurement: The Business Case is a 12 page booklet which demonstrates why procurement is an effective and efficient means of achieving social, environmental and local economic objectives.
SPA - Insights into Social Procurement: From Policy to Practice
This publication provides insights on effective approaches to developing and implementing social procurement strategies. It also provides provides five case studies that highlight how social procurement can assist delivering social and local economic development objectives.
Measuring the impact of social procurement: a new approach
Social Traders research on demonstrating social value without costly measurement. It introduces the Social Value Handprint: five questions (Function, Focus, Form, Fidelity, Funding) for choosing a “right fit” way to show the social value a procurement creates.