Along with the recent real estate development in major cities of Australia, sustainable construction is one of the measures being implemented to reduce negative impacts of the construction industry on the environment, society, and economy. However, there is a lack of detailed review of this kind of important studies that is critical to Australian future endeavour. This paper presents a systematic review of a large scale earthwork project and discusses concerns/examples under three dimensions. Firstly the environment aspect, factors including remediation of the various type of contaminated and general waste, management of runoff water, dust control, noise and vibration monitoring are showcased; secondly the society aspect, factors including innovated wheel wash facility, CCTV system, drainage protection, and wildlife protection are mentioned; lastly the economy aspect, factors including integrated weighbridge management system, recycling waste water, recycling rock are demonstrated. The research identifies future opportunities such as the innovation of evaluation system, project design framework, finance analysis model, and potentially integration of sustainable construction practise into Australian code of practice. (C) 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.