Sunbury Road Upgrade making a difference for people living with disabilities

We've teamed up with our construction partner Winslow and local disability services and support provider Distinctive Options Pathways to provide supported employment to local people with a disability.

Through Distinctive Options Pathways’ supported employment enterprises, staff will play a critical role in spreading the word about the Sunbury Road Upgrade by delivering pamphlets with important information to hundreds of properties.

This new partnership will initially see 12 adults employed by the locally-based not for profit – generating more than 1,000 hours of paid work each year.

The Sunbury Road Upgrade signed the contract with Distinctive Options Pathways, one of the area’s biggest employers of locals living with a disability.

In all, supported workers will deliver more than 100,000 pamphlets for the Sunbury Road Upgrade.

Distinctive Options supported employment enterprises, based in Sunbury employs more than 18 people, assisting them in realising their full potential by empowering them with skills, confidence and opportunities. The project’s investment in Distinctive Options Pathways will help them hire and train further staff, with an estimated 30 extra positions to be created. It will also give existing team members permanent long-term employment to maintain their independence.

Distinctive Options Pathways is also supporting the Victorian Government’s Social Procurement Framework, which uses government buying power to drive positive social, economic and environmental outcomes—such as creating meaningful job opportunities for jobseekers with disabilities.

The Social Procurement Framework is also providing opportunities for social enterprises, Australian Disability Enterprises and Victorian Aboriginal businesses, making a difference for major rail and road projects in Victoria.

The Sunbury Road Upgrade will improve traffic flow and peak travel times thanks to an additional lane in each direction that will widen Sunbury Road across 7 kms of the alignment, as well as new traffic lights that will replace roundabouts at Francis Boulevard and Lancefield Road. The project includes a new bridge over Jacksons Creek, an extra lane in each direction and a new walking and cycling path along the route.

The Sunbury Road Upgrade is expected to be complete in 2025.

Find out more about the Social Procurement Framework.