The Fair Co. Partnerships
Case Studies
Our case studies show the impact of social procurement, delivering outcomes that align with both policy and purpose.
We work with forward-thinking businesses to help them build genuine social licence, navigate complex procurement requirements, embed inclusive workplace practices and transform ESG commitments from box-ticking exercises into strategic advantage.
Our partnerships demonstrate what’s possible when we break down the barriers, and the impact for individuals, workplaces, communities and the economy.
AECOM and Aurecon – Project Thrive Joint Venture: Strengthening a Winning Bid for Greater Western Water
The Fair Co. recently partnered with Thrive, a joint venture between AECOM and Aurecon, to support their bid for a Greater Western Water (GWW) 5-year infrastructure program, where Social Procurement Framework and Local Jobs First commitments made up over 30% of the evaluation.
We worked across various teams including procurement, sustainability and engineering to align Thrive's national capability with Victoria’s policy landscape, shaping a clear and competitive response.
The result? A compelling, evidence‑backed bid that helped to secure Thrive’s role as GWW’s planning partner for the next five years.
"The experience and expertise that The Fair Co. brought to the Thrive bid complemented the existing technical knowledge and skills of the AECOM and Aurecon teams."
Tender Support: Victorian Battery Energy Storage System (BESS)
We engaged The Fair Co. to support the development of our tender documentation and evaluate submissions across four specific domains: Social Procurement, Local Jobs First (Major Project Skills Guarantee), Circular Materials (Commonwealth Environmentally Sustainable Procurement Policy), and Gender Equality.
Having not previously structured procurement requirements of this nature, we needed specialist input to ensure our tender conditions were clearly articulated and that incoming submissions could be meaningfully assessed against them.
"The Fair Co provided that expertise across both Victorian and Commonwealth policy frameworks, translating requirements into clear evaluation criteria and delivering structured analysis of bidder submissions."
Employment Program: Melbourne International Comedy Festival
In 2021, Jobsbank (now The Fair Co.) partnered with the Melbourne International Comedy Festival as it returned to live events.
After a “less than hilarious” 2020, the 2021 festival saw 3,822 performances of 390 separate shows, with a dedicated and extremely hardworking team making sure it all ran smoothly.
“We have long and established programs with First Nations peoples, but we identified a gap around creating opportunities to join our team."
"Working with Jobsbank (The Fair Co.) was a targeted way to provide opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and others who might be experiencing difficulty."
Program Partnership: One young person 'Out for Good'
Out for Good was Jobsbank’s (now trading as The Fair Co.) very first demonstration project. Alongside the Department of Justice, community organisations and a cohort of employers, we worked to support young people within the justice system into jobs, also providing support for those who employed them.
For participants who secured work, the Out for Good program was life changing. Here’s a snapshot of how the program changed the life of just one participant, who, 12 months since re-joining the community, is thriving.
