HumeLink Transmission Project
Transgrid is delivering HumeLink, a major transmission project that will connect Wagga Wagga, Bannaby and Maragle in New South Wales. The project includes a new 500 kV transmission line and associated substation works to increase the amount of renewable energy that can be delivered across the national electricity grid.
UGL Engineering and CPB Contractors engaged our team to support their tender for the HumeLink project. Our work focused on community and stakeholder engagement, community investment and benefits, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participation, and environmental management planning.
The work helped shape a tender response that responded to the project’s landholder, community, First Nations and environmental challenges. After this phase, our team was asked to continue supporting UGL and CPB through delivery.
The challenge
HumeLink is a large and complex transmission project being delivered across a significant regional footprint. Projects of this scale require clear engagement with landholders, communities, councils, First Nations groups, businesses and other stakeholders, as well as practical planning to manage environmental and construction impacts.
For the tender phase, UGL and CPB needed more than standard plans. They needed tailored strategies that showed how the delivery team would communicate clearly, respond to community priorities, build local and First Nations participation, and manage environmental responsibilities in line with project approvals.
The challenge was to bring these elements together in a way that was practical for construction delivery and credible for Transgrid, while recognising the sensitivities that come with new transmission infrastructure across regional communities and private land.
Our approach
Our team worked closely with UGL, CPB and Transgrid to develop strategies and plans that addressed the project’s stakeholder, social outcome and environmental requirements.
We prepared a Community and Stakeholder Engagement Plan to guide engagement with landholders, local communities and broader project stakeholders. We also developed a Community Investment and Benefits Plan to support a structured approach to identifying local priorities and creating positive outcomes across the project footprint.
To support stronger participation outcomes, our team prepared an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Participation Plan that mapped a practical approach to First Nations engagement and participation during delivery. We also drafted Environmental Management Plans to support environmental approvals and delivery readiness.
Following the tender phase, our team continued supporting UGL and CPB through delivery, including managing community and stakeholder engagement, developing community investment and benefits initiatives, and preparing environmental management plans and sub-plans.
The result
Our work helped UGL and CPB secure the next phase of work with Transgrid to deliver HumeLink. The UGL and CPB joint venture is now delivering HumeLink West, one of the two main delivery sections for the project.
As the project moves through construction, our continued support is helping translate tender commitments and approval requirements into practical delivery tools. This includes engagement processes, community investment initiatives and environmental management planning that support clear communication, stronger local outcomes and responsible delivery.
For UGL and CPB, the work helped strengthen a major transmission tender and support transition into delivery. For Transgrid and the communities along the alignment, it supports the engagement, participation and environmental planning foundations needed to deliver infrastructure that is central to New South Wales’ energy transition.
