Deliver a greater return on investment by ensuring governments act as model clients and custodians of industry health and productivity.
- Community priorities
- Economic benefits
- Productive cities
- Low-hanging fruit
Key messages
All levels of governments play an ongoing role in improving infrastructure project investment decisions and deliverability, supporting sector productivity and ensuring value for money. The infrastructure sector needs a clear and consistent long-term direction, focused on improvements to productivity, investment and project outcomes over the next 15 years. This vision should be evidence-based, developed collaboratively by the Australian Government with jurisdictions and industry.
Before governments identify infrastructure projects as shovel-ready, proposals should first be developed and assessed as investment-worthy.
It is critical to invest in capabilities so the Australian Government can understand, execute and oversee more mature commercial and financial arrangements with states, territories and the private sector.
The Australian Government should continue efforts to become a more proactive investor by building capabilities and processes that help identify and initiate nationally significant projects, attract investment, upscale gateway reviews and assurances, and develop infrastructure delivery capabilities.
What are the impacts?
This reform supports the development of a national vision for infrastructure productivity, enabling the Australian Government as an active investor. It involves significant actions to safeguard economic and social value for taxpayers, ensuring scrutiny, assurance and transparency remain a key part of all infrastructure decision-making.
Strengthening the Infrastructure Australia Assessment Framework and enhancing gateway reviews with state and territory governments will improve collaborative governance.
Creating an equitable funding and financing environment will help governments to pursue the right projects in the right locations, improving the affordability and quality of infrastructure project outcomes.
How easy is it to implement?
This reform provides government with a range of non-build solutions to improve the efficiency of current infrastructure assets. This supports the Australian Government’s role as an infrastructure investor and benefactor, improving government and industry capacity to deliver the reform.
Significant upfront and ongoing cost reductions from the reform should deliver future infrastructure investments for less, although the actions will require developing new capabilities, which will involve a moderate degree of complexity.
How certain are the outcomes?
Broad acceptance of the reform is likely as it aims to increase clarity and confidence for industry, governments and the community.
As the success of the reform depends on the Australian Government and state and territory governments implementing it, there is significant control.
Although it may create short-term priority changes, there is a high level of confidence of achieving reform success.
| Governance |
National infrastructure industry vision
|
| Quality |
Infrastructure project delivery excellence
|
| Quality |
Asset register quality
|
| Affordability |
Whole-of-life value
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Read more about this recommendation in 3.4 Next generation infrastructure investment in the 2021 Australian Infrastructure Plan.
Reform implementation pathway
This recommendation comprises of outcomes and activities, which form the reform's implementation pathway.
The implementation pathway is designed to guide change agents on the supporting activities necessary to achieve the overall reform.
For each outcome and activity, we propose change agents to act as:
- Proposed sponsor: facilitate, coordinate and champion the recommendation
- Proposed lead: deliver specific activities or lead related outcomes
- Support: share ownership, contributions or knowledge to enable the reform process.
Improve user and community outcomes by aligning investment and reforms with a unified and central vision for future Australian infrastructure.
5-10 years
Increase clarity and confidence for industry, governments and community practice by creating a common national infrastructure vision with a commitment to principles, strategic focus areas, objectives and performance metrics.
5-10 years
Expand and promote new and existing industry and jurisdictional reforms and best practices by establishing a government and industry collaborative leadership group.
5-10 years
Provide a consistent view on the maturity of major project decision-making by refreshing and reporting against the Infrastructure Decision-making Principles.
5-10 years
Optimally allocate and invest in infrastructure with the Australian Government progressing towards a mature and informed investor.
0-5 years
Strengthen the Australian Government’s project delivery capabilities, processes and systems by establishing an office focused on infrastructure project delivery excellence.
5-10 years
Ensure Australian taxpayer interests are well-represented and drive national consistency in project delivery by appointing experienced senior responsible officers to all major federally funded projects.
0-5 years
Safeguard community interests and taxpayer funding by ensuring all proposed investments demonstrate an assessment of non-build solutions.
5-10 years
Ensure funding and finance decisions for nationally significant projects reflect best practice by updating the Commonwealth Procurement Guidelines, including a clearer and broader definition of value for money.
5-10 years
Provide a pathway for prospective bidders to submit proposals that align with federal infrastructure policy priorities by developing an Australian Government market-led proposals framework that integrates with jurisdictional guidance.
5-10 years
Strengthen asset management by ensuring asset registers include condition, use and quality, facilitated by a community of practice between governments, industry and academia promoting excellence in capabilities, processes, audits and systems.
0-5 years