PT
Sunshine Rail Hub
Pathways Together · Aboriginal Business Engagement Forum
A forum for the Sunshine Rail Hub Project

Pathways Together.

Aboriginal Business Engagement Forum

A one-day forum to map Aboriginal business capacity and capability against procurement opportunities, creating real pathways for participation and shared outcomes on the Sunshine Rail Hub Project.

Date to be confirmed Venue to be confirmed Full day, two sessions
Aboriginal Business Engagement Forum
Registrations open
2 sessions, one day
About the forum

A different kind of conversation.

The Aboriginal Business Engagement Forum is a working day where Aboriginal businesses, alliance partners, project leaders and VIDA executives sit in the same room to map capability against opportunity, share the truth about what's worked and what hasn't, and lay the foundations for long-term Aboriginal participation, investment and growth on the Sunshine Rail Hub Project.

The Sunshine Rail Hub Project is a major rail program with significant procurement and workforce implications for the region. This forum exists to shift Aboriginal business engagement from compliance reporting toward genuine, relationship-based, accountable practice from the ground up rather than as a retrofit.

The day brings two sides of the conversation together. In the morning, Aboriginal businesses share the depth of their capability, workforce, supply chain relationships and growth aspirations. In the afternoon, alliances bring procurement pipelines, work-package scopes, EOI expectations and the support pathways they can offer. The point of the day is the meeting point between the two.

This is a pilot of a new way of working. Freeflowing, constructive engagement between Mob and Alliances that has not happened before, ultimately in support of Closing the Gap.

Enable Mob to have a voice in direct conversation with VIDA executives. Create a safe space to share and be heard. Source the truth rather than make assumptions. — Forum intent
Who it's for

Three groups in the room.

The forum is designed for three audiences whose work needs to intersect for Aboriginal participation on the project to be real. If any one of you is missing, the conversation is incomplete.

Aboriginal businesses

Supply Nation Certified and Registered suppliers, Kinaway members, Aboriginal-led joint ventures and consortia across civil works, trade, professional and corporate services.

Alliances and project teams

Alliance and JV partners, project leaders, procurement and operational decision-makers, and the Sunshine Rail Hub project management team.

VIDA executives

The leadership group whose endorsement and continued engagement turns conversation into commitment. The first session of the forum is reserved for VIDA executives.

The day at a glance

Two sessions, one conversation.

The morning builds a clear, shared picture of Aboriginal business capacity. The afternoon takes that picture and maps it directly to procurement opportunities. By close of business, the room has named commitments and a path forward.

Session 1 · Morning 8:30 — 12:30

Aboriginal Businesses Forum

A clear picture of Aboriginal business capacity, experience and collaboration. Truth telling about what's worked on past projects and what still gets in the way.

  • Welcome to Country and opening
  • Sharing the Aboriginal business capacity profile
  • Truth telling: experience on VIDA and prior projects
  • Collaboration and supply chain connections
  • Group reflection and key themes
Session 2 · Afternoon 1:00 — 4:30

Alliances, Leadership and Subcontractors

Alliances bring procurement pipelines and work-package scopes into the room. Capability gets matched against opportunity. Aboriginal businesses leave prepared to submit strong EOIs.

  • Welcome back, reframe from capacity to opportunity
  • Alliance thinking, plans and procurement priorities
  • Mapping opportunities against capability
  • Preparing Expressions of Interest
  • Next steps, commitments and closing
Coming prepared

What you'll bring, what you'll leave with.

The forum is a working day, not a presentation. The pre-forum survey collects the foundational data so the day itself can focus on conversation, matching and commitment.

Before the day

Come prepared with

  • Your capacity, capability and service offering, with workforce numbers and locations
  • Plant, equipment, resources, safety certifications and insurances
  • Experience on VIDA and other infrastructure projects, including who you've worked with
  • The Aboriginal businesses you collaborate with, subcontract to, or could build consortia with
  • Your growth aspirations and the support you need to grow strongly
  • For alliances: procurement pipelines, work package scopes, EOI expectations and support pathways
By close of day

You'll leave with

  • A clear, shared map of Aboriginal business capability and workforce across the region
  • Visibility of supply chain relationships and consortia opportunities between businesses
  • Direct insight into alliance procurement pipelines and timelines
  • Capability matched against opportunity, with practical pathways for participation
  • The preparation you need to put forward strong, competitive EOIs
  • Named commitments and a path forward, with continued conversation built in
Be part of it

Register your interest, or tell us about your business.

Registering tells us you're coming. Completing the survey adds you to the contact list for the project and shapes what we cover on the day. You can do one, or both.