Parks, paths and plantings, built by local crews.
The OpenSpace Collective is an Aboriginal-owned landscape contractor. We build public open space for councils and state government with native plants from an Indigenous-owned nursery, and a training plan on every contract.
Barangaroo Reserve, Sydney. Photo: wuppertaler, CC BY 4.0
A landscape contractor that leaves more behind than the landscape.
Councils and agencies are asked to deliver better parks and to spend with Aboriginal businesses. We were set up to do both on the same contract: build good public space, and use the build to train and employ people from the communities who will use it.
We are a sister business to DICE Contracting, and share its owners and their experience delivering government works. Who we are
Hard landscaping
The built bones of a site: the levels, walls, paths and light that decide how people move through it.
- Hard landscapingWalls, steps, edges, paving and the built bones of a site.
- Pathways and shared pathsFootpaths, shared paths, boardwalks and accessible routes.
- Park and path lightingPole, bollard and feature lighting for public spaces.
Soft landscaping
Everything that grows, and the soil, water and care it needs to still be growing a year after handover.
- Native planting and revegetationGarden beds, grasslands, revegetation and establishment.
- Street and park treesAdvanced stock, root barriers and tree protection.
- Water sensitive designSwales, raingardens and bioretention planting.
- EstablishmentWatering, weeding and replacing losses after handover.
Or the whole park, under one contract.
Earthworks to establishment, with one program, one site team and one point of contact.
Grown by an Indigenous-owned nursery, planted by our crews.
Our stock comes through a partnership with an Indigenous-owned nursery nursery name, so the supply chain is Aboriginal owned from seed tray to garden bed. This is the kind of palette we plant across coastal and Sydney basin sites.
Ban int
Lom lon
Aca lon
Dia cae
Cor ref
The tri| Code | Botanical name | Common name | Form | Typical height | Where we use it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trees | |||||
| Cor mac | Corymbia maculata | Spotted gum | Tree | 20–30 m | Street and park trees, large-scale shade |
| Ang cos | Angophora costata | Sydney red gum | Tree | 15–25 m | Feature trees on sandstone soils |
| Ban int | Banksia integrifolia | Coast banksia | Tree | 6–15 m | Coastal parks, windbreaks, bird habitat |
| Ban ser | Banksia serrata | Old man banksia | Small tree | 3–8 m | Sandstone reserves, habitat planting |
| Shrubs | |||||
| Aca lon | Acacia longifolia | Sydney golden wattle | Shrub | 3–6 m | Fast screening, nitrogen fixing, revegetation |
| Wes fru | Westringia fruticosa | Coastal rosemary | Shrub | 1–2 m | Low hedging, exposed and coastal sites |
| Cal spp | Callistemon spp. | Bottlebrush | Shrub | 1.5–4 m | Swales and damp ground, nectar for birds |
| Cor ref | Correa reflexa | Native fuchsia | Small shrub | 0.5–1.5 m | Shaded understorey, winter flowers |
| Grasses, strappy plants and groundcovers | |||||
| Lom lon | Lomandra longifolia | Spiny-headed mat-rush | Tufting perennial | 0.6–1 m | Batters, verges, bioretention edges |
| Dia cae | Dianella caerulea | Blue flax lily | Strappy perennial | 0.5–0.9 m | Understorey, mass planting under trees |
| The tri | Themeda triandra | Kangaroo grass | Tussock grass | 0.5–1 m | Grassland restoration, low-mow areas |
| Poa lab | Poa labillardierei | River tussock | Tussock grass | 0.6–1.2 m | Creeklines, swales, wetland margins |
| Xer bra | Xerochrysum bracteatum | Golden everlasting | Short-lived perennial | 0.3–0.8 m | Meadows, seasonal colour, pollinators |
| Car gla | Carpobrotus glaucescens | Pigface | Succulent groundcover | 0.1–0.2 m | Coastal batters, erosion control |
| Ani fla | Anigozanthos flavidus | Tall kangaroo paw | Clumping perennial | 1–2 m in flower | Feature beds only: a Western Australian species |
Indicative only. On a real job the species, provenance and pot sizes follow the landscape architect’s schedule and the site’s own vegetation community. How we source and establish native plants
Every contract carries a training plan.
Landscape construction is one of the few trades where a new starter can do useful, paid work on day one. We use that to turn each contract into jobs and qualifications for local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
On site, paid, from day one
Inducted, kitted out and working alongside an experienced leading hand.
Skills on the tools
Set-out, planting, paving, walls and machinery, learned on real work with real standards.
A qualification
Enrolled in a nationally recognised landscape construction or horticulture qualification. training partner
A next job
Ongoing work with us or DICE, or a reference into council parks crews and other contractors.
A community hub, not just a depot.
Our base is planned as somewhere the community can use: planting days with schools, skills workshops, a place for trainees to meet mentors, and a yard where people can see how the work is done.
Buying from an Aboriginal business, simply.
Commonwealth, NSW and local government all have ways to engage Aboriginal businesses directly. We make that easy to use.
Councils
Parks, reserves, streetscapes and paths, often with social procurement targets we can report against.
NSW Government
The Aboriginal Procurement Policy lets agencies engage Aboriginal businesses directly for many contracts.
Commonwealth
The Indigenous Procurement Policy asks agencies to consider Indigenous businesses first for many contracts.
Have a site, a scope or a closing date?
Send us what you have. We will tell you straight whether it suits us, and how we would staff and train on it.