Strengthening Regional Connections: The Welcome Experience in the Riverina at the Snowy Hydro Community Benefits Report Launch
L-R: Sarah Norris, Head of Sustainability Snowy Hydro; Andrew Burke, Acting Social Impact and Community Manager; Jayadev Ajayakumar, Local Connector; Susie Campbell, Communications Officer, Snowy Hydro; and Julia Ham, Mayor, Snowy Valley Council
On Thursday 23 April, Local Connector, Jayadev Ajayakumar attended the launch of the inaugural Snowy Hydro Community Benefits Report 2025. Held at Tumut River Brewing Co, the event provided a clear demonstration of how major infrastructure investment is translating into real outcomes for region communities and where future opportunities lie.
The event brought together key stakeholders across industry, education, and community sectors. More than a celebration, it served as a strategic touchpoint, highlighting the scale of local impact and the growing demand for a sustainable, supported workforce across the Snowy Mountains Region.
The report underscores this momentum, with over $8.2 million spent annually across local suppliers, 713 locals employed within Snowy Hydro’s workforce, and more than $189 million invested locally since the project’s inception. Alongside this, significant investment in education, community grants, and engagement initiatives continues to strengthen the social fabric in the region.
For The Welcome Experience in the Riverina, this event reinforced a critical insight: workforce attraction alone is not enough, successful regional outcomes depend on how well people are supported to settle, integrate, and remain long-term. As large-scale projects such as Snowy 2.0 continue to expand, so too does the need for coordinated support systems that connect skilled workers with communities ready to welcome them.
The Welcome Experience is uniquely positioned to support this space, working directly with essential workers and their families to enable a smooth transition into regional life. With a growing and diverse pipeline of talent arriving through these families, there is a clear opportunity to align this workforce with evolving needs of major employers and contractor networks operating across the region.
Engagement on the ground with Snowy Hydro and its partners highlighted strong alignment and a shared commitment to regional resilience. It also opened the door to deeper collaboration, ensuring that workforce solutions are not only responsive, but also sustainable.
As regional economies continue to evolve, partnerships like these will be key. The focus now shifts more from connection to coordination, bringing together industry, government and community to create pathways that support both economic growth and long-term settlement success.
The Welcome Experience in the Riverina looks forward to building on this momentum, working alongside partners to ensure regional communities are not only growing, but thriving.
Sarah Norris, Head of Sustainability, Snowy Hydro
David Fredericks, Non-Executive Director, Snowy Hydro
Scott MacKillop, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, Snowy Hydro
Snowy Hydro Team behind the Report
Julia Ham, Mayor, Snowy Valley Council
Team Snowy Hydro
