Roads to Home

Roads to Home empowers Aboriginal communities to make decisions about construction of powerlines, roads and other infrastructure on Aboriginal-owned land.

How does Roads to Home work?

Aboriginal communities prioritise the works they need done to improve quality of life. By working with the community to resurface a main street, for example, Roads to Home has knock-on benefits such as:

• better household waste collection
• more reliable postal delivery
• access for emergency vehicles
• improved community transport.

The program also helps with long-term solutions for maintaining infrastructure in partner communities.

Training and employment opportunities for Aboriginal people

Local Aboriginal land councils stress the importance of local training and job opportunities for their communities. Roads to Home partners with TAFE NSW, registered training organisations and Yarpa NSW Indigenous Business and Employment hub to provide these.

From 2023, about 50 Aboriginal people have had training and job opportunities through the program in their local area. Twenty-five Aboriginal liaison officers have been employed through the program.

How many communities are working with Roads to Home?

The NSW Government has committed $109 million to upgrade infrastructure and services for 34 Aboriginal communities across the state.

The program began in July 2019 with 10 communities, followed by 11 more in 2021.

The program included another 13 communities in February 2022.

What has the program achieved so far?

Roads to Home has delivered upgraded infrastructure for the Bowraville, Gulargambone and Forster communities.

Bowraville Reserve

Roads to Home worked with the community of Bowraville Reserve to deliver more than $2.2 million in upgrades to infrastructure and services.

These upgrades included:

• repaving roads
• installing kerbs, guttering, stormwater drains and other drainage
• upgrading street and public area lighting
• connecting sewerage, electrical works and new water meters.

The community celebrated the completion of works in December 2020.

Gulargambone Top

Roads to Home worked with the Weilwan people of Gulargambone Top to deliver more than $1.6 million in infrastructure upgrades.

The upgrades included:

• paving roads
• installing kerbs, guttering, stormwater drains, other drainage
• installing street and public lighting.

In October 2020, other activities began, such as:

• building a new laneway with solar lighting, new culverts and drainage
• upgrading kerbs and guttering
• planting trees and landscaping.

Cabarita Reserve

Roads to Home worked with the Worimi community to deliver around $3.5 million in upgrades to the Cabarita Reserve near Forster.

The upgrades included:

• laying footpaths
• building bioretention basins
• sealing a road
• installing street lighting and stormwater drains
• upgrading wetlands
• landscaping.

The residents can now have mail delivered directly to their homes and move safely around the community. The program is now helping the community to build a new playground.

Several community members also completed TAFE civil construction qualifications and 10 local trainees worked on the project.