What are the Aboriginal participation requirements on NSW government construction work?

This is a contractual requirement on NSW government construction work above the relevant threshold, assessed at tender and reported on during delivery.

Treating it as paperwork produces a plan that scores poorly and performance that cannot be reported.

What the plan covers

**Aboriginal employment,** meaning participation in the project workforce, expressed against the policy targets and measured in hours or in a proportion of the contract.

**Engagement of Aboriginal businesses,** through subcontracts and supply, which for most projects is the most achievable component.

**Cultural awareness,** meaning training for the project workforce.

**Reporting,** against the plan, at the intervals the contract sets, with records that support the figures.

The thresholds, the target percentages and the reporting format are set by the policy and vary by contract value, so the current requirement is read from the contract rather than from a previous project.

What makes a plan credible

**Named opportunities rather than intentions.** Which trades and supply packages are realistically available to Aboriginal businesses on this project, identified by package.

**A path to finding them,** meaning the recognised business registers and the relevant land council or regional networks, engaged early rather than at the point the package is awarded.

**Numbers that match the project.** A target that ignores the size and trade mix of the actual job is either unachievable or unambitious, and evaluators read both.

**A reporting method that exists,** meaning the site records already collect the data. Hours by worker and spend by subcontractor are already captured for payroll and payment, so the reporting is a query rather than a survey.

Where it interacts with procurement

The opportunity is created at package level, when subcontracts are being priced and awarded.

Which means the plan has to influence how [subcontractors are engaged](/answers/how-subcontractors-are-engaged-and-managed) rather than sitting alongside it. A package tendered to the usual list and awarded before anybody looks at the plan cannot then contribute to it.

Long lead packages are the ones to identify first, because they are awarded earliest.

Reporting during delivery

Performance is reported through the project, not at the end.

A contractor reporting monthly can correct a shortfall while there are packages left to award. One reporting at practical completion can only explain it.

Why it belongs with the rest of the compliance work

It sits with the other policy obligations on government work: safety, quality, environment, [modern slavery](/answers/modern-slavery-and-supply-chain-reporting) and local content.

All of them are assessed at tender, all of them are reported during delivery, and all of them are easier where the site records are already accurate. A contractor whose administration is in order treats them as extractions from data it already holds.