Level Crossing Removal Project: Driving Social Impact Through Procurement and Partnerships

CASE STUDY - DELIVERED IN MY PREVIOUS ROLE AT LEVEL CROSSING REMOVAL PROJECT, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORT AND PLANNING

The Level Crossing Removal Project (LXRP) is one of Victoria’s largest infrastructure programs, delivered through an Alliance model with five lead partners: John Holland, McConnell Dowell, Laing O’Rourke, Acciona and Fulton Hogan. While the project was achieving strong social procurement outcomes in some areas, progress was uneven across delivery partners. Each Alliance operated independently, with limited mechanisms for sharing lessons or scaling what was working. This made it hard to identify systemic barriers or build a coordinated response.

Working as a specialist in social procurement and inclusive employment, I operated across the full program and all five Alliance partners. I conducted in-depth data analysis and stakeholder interviews to uncover root causes of delivery challenges, then surfaced patterns, risks and opportunities to inform targeted action. A key part of the role was shifting the conversation from compliance to purpose — helping senior leaders understand not just what they needed to report, but why it mattered and where to focus for the greatest social return.

This work enabled LXRP to take a more strategic and coordinated approach to social impact across its decentralised delivery model. The program achieved over $580 million in cumulative social procurement spend (around 5% of the total project budget), with meaningful investment in Aboriginal businesses, social enterprises and employment for people facing disadvantage. Internal capability grew, and an emerging culture of collaboration and purpose-driven delivery helped position LXRP as a global leader in social procurement in infrastructure.