Connecting with Country on the Sydney Metro – Western Sydney Airport project

Sydney Metro is Australia’s largest public transport project. The new metro rail will become the transport spine for Greater Western Sydney, connecting communities and travellers with the new Western Sydney International (Nancy-Bird Walton) Airport and supporting the region’s continued growth.

The Sydney Metro – Western Sydney Airport project was nominated as a pilot under the NSW Government Architect’s Connecting with Country Framework. The framework sets out pathways, commitments and principles to guide how built environment projects in NSW are formed, designed and delivered in ways that are more informed by Country and Aboriginal knowledge.

As a pilot project of unprecedented scale, Sydney Metro needed an engagement approach that was culturally appropriate, First Nations‑led and capable of informing long‑term planning, design and procurement decisions.

Connecting with Country presents an opportunity to celebrate Indigenous Australian culture through places and spaces, while also encouraging care for and restoration of Country as Western Sydney continues to grow.

GHD, together with Zion Engagement and Planning (Zion) and Michael Mossman, were engaged by Sydney Metro to create a framework for long‑term engagement and implementation of Connecting with Country for the Sydney Metro – Western Sydney Airport project.

Working alongside Zion, we developed a First Nations‑led engagement process to support Sydney Metro to listen and respond to Country. The process centred on co‑designing the approach with Aboriginal stakeholders in Western Sydney, beginning with broad engagement to understand the most appropriate way to establish a trusted, long‑term way of working with Aboriginal communities and Knowledge Holders.

Insights from this early engagement informed the establishment of a Working Group of Knowledge Holders to support the Sydney Metro project team in listening to Country throughout the planning process.

In collaboration with Zion and Michael Mossman, we facilitated a series of workshops with the Working Group. These sessions focused on relationship‑building, storytelling, deep listening and sustained engagement, and created a culturally safe space for members to share culturally sensitive knowledge to inform design thinking.

The outcome of this collaborative process was the Connecting with Ngura document. Co‑designed with the Working Group, the document provides clear guidance for Sydney Metro and its delivery partners to inform their response to Connecting with Country for the project.

Connecting with Ngura provides a strong thematic framework to inspire design responses that are respectful, meaningful and grounded in the knowledge of Country and its Aboriginal communities.

The document embedded the voice of the Working Group throughout the tender process, with members engaged as expert advisors. GHD and Zion continued to facilitate Working Group meetings with Sydney Metro to support understanding of the framework and its practical application in planning and design.

We also engaged Aboriginal communities across Western Sydney to identify and share language, further informing design outcomes for the Sydney Metro – Western Sydney Airport project. This ongoing engagement has strengthened relationships with Sydney Metro and built cultural capability within the project team.

In 2023, Sydney Metro, GHD, Zion and the Working Group received the NSW Planning Institute of Australia’s Planning with Country Award.