Designing a multi‑agency land‑improvement service that works for both first‑time landholders and experienced agricultural operators.
Landmate is a land‑improvement programme delivered in rural and regional communities. Through activities such as revegetation, fencing, and environmental remediation, the service delivers environmental and economic value to landholders while supporting rehabilitation and employment outcomes for corrections participants.
The challenge
Landmate operates in a complex public‑sector environment:
- Multi‑agency ownership across grants, labour, compliance and support
- Participation barriers limiting uptake and long‑term performance
- Stakeholders across government, agriculture, community and land workers
- The service needs to work equitably for all citizens, and different mental models
The problem to solve
From a construction and agriculture perspective, participation barriers risked the program’s ability to deploy labour efficiently:
Align stakeholders requirements through discovery and research activities
Shift the organisation from “building a website” to designing a service
Design one service that caters for different industry experience levels
Support services that lacked continuity and shared context across providers
Key deliverables
I was engaged as the research lead and service designer, reporting to senior technology leadership:
Strategic review of the operating environment
The service worked for internal teams, but placed multi‑agency complexity onto landholders, requiring them to repeat information and interpret eligibility across several providers.Conceptualised improvements aligned to land‑improvement delivery
Journey mapping across providers and landholders revealed where digital processes diverged from real‑world agricultural and land‑management workflows.Co‑creation with novice and experienced landholders
Card sorting and service blueprinting ensured the service supported practical project planning, labour scheduling and compliance tasks common in agriculture and construction.Proved outcomes through research and validation
Testing showed simplification was needed for novice users, alongside strong self‑service performance from industry‑experienced participants.Assisted and case‑managed services
Designing for first‑time landholders revealed demand for off‑digital support and clearer service ownership for complex or unfamiliar projects.Service ownership and escalation pathways
Defined service ownership and escalation pathways to support assisted and case‑managed landholder journeys across agencies.
Key takeaways
- 12 critical usability and process issues identified before build
- Research investment (~5% of delivery budget) reduced re‑work and protected productivity
- Evidence improved stakeholder cross-agency buy‑in and decision-making
- A strong foundation for an initial release aligned to real land‑improvement delivery
- Clear recommendations for scaling the service to support first‑time users
- Designing for novices unlocked opportunities for assisted and omni‑channel workflows
