Key messages

Social infrastructure, and the services it supports, not only enables Australians to live better lives, it delivers substantial direct and indirect benefits to the nation’s economy. Australia needs a nationally consistent approach to identifying and evaluating the quadruple-bottom-line value of all social infrastructure investments.
Education leads to higher levels of wages and employment, while lifelong learning produces a skilled workforce. Both require high-quality, cost-effective, digitally enabled educational infrastructure that is well located and fit for purpose.
Investment in safe and adequate social housing generates positive wellbeing, health and productivity outcomes for individuals and contributes to the effective functioning of society. To support more informed investment decisions, there need to be more fully developed business cases that capture and assess the wider societal and economic benefits of social and affordable rental housing programs.
Active recreation and sport and Australia’s world-class natural assets generate a wealth of health, social and economic benefits. Governments should drive economic growth by coordinating arts, cultural and recreational infrastructure strategies that capitalise on the unique strengths of Australia’s regions.

What are the impacts?

Social infrastructure delivers substantial direct and indirect benefits to the nation’s economy.
Harmonising investment decisions to deliver a national valuation framework to capture, measure and assess the quadruple-bottom-line benefits of social infrastructure will improve access for communities and drive governance improvements.
In Fast-growing Cities, significant performance and productivity gains can be harnessed by co-locating major infrastructure to improve the quality of assets.
In Smaller Cities and Regional Centres, investment in social infrastructure must plan ahead and respond to changes in population, improving social outcomes for communities.

How easy is it to implement?

While governments will need to increase its capacity to deliver this reform, it can leverage the experience of international case studies and partner with industry. A coordinated approach can draw on the expertise of government, industry, environmental, community and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders.
Better reflecting the economic benefits of social infrastructure will offset some costs for health services.
While these activities will build on existing frameworks, the significant cross-government and cross-sector coordination involved will increase the complexity of the reform.

How certain are the outcomes?

Establishing a social infrastructure valuation framework will improve confidence for the industry and communities.
Providing communities with more transparent information, including cost–benefit analysis, will enhance community acceptance of the reform.
Government has significant control over developing a nationally consistent assessment tool that will provide social infrastructure agencies with a better platform for developing business cases.