Our community stretches the length and breadth of Melbourne and our work touches the lives of hundreds of thousands of people every day.

Since the project’s inception, we have been committed to involving local communities in the decision making, guided by the principles of best practice engagement as set out by the International Association of Public Participation (IAP2).

To inform the business case for the first level crossing removals, we sought input from the community about how they would like to participate and undertook broad research to better understand community needs, issues and opportunities.

Our community engagement is built on 3 key principles:

• Engage with local communities and stakeholders in the early stages of each project
• Draw on local insights, values and knowledge to inform each project
• Ensure communities and stakeholders have multiple opportunities to meaningfully participate in the planning and delivery of each project

While our projects have fixed technical requirements in relation to rail and station aspects, we actively collaborate with the community on negotiable elements including open spaces, landscaping, station precincts and public art.

We recognise the importance of effective community engagement and play an active role, including meeting with key stakeholders to understand their interests, engaging with the community through discussions at information sessions and Community Reference Groups and facilitating community-driven outcomes on our projects.

Technical experts such as our engineers, architects and landscape designers also attend community information sessions and seek community input on their designs, giving them a first-hand understanding of the needs of the community.

Visit Engage Victoria to have your say on our active projects