Infrastructure Australia CEO, Adam Copp
Monday, 26 October 2026
Check against delivery
Thank you, Catherine.
It's a pleasure to be here in Canberra, and I would like to add my acknowledgement of the Traditional Owners of the land on which we meet today and pay my respects to Elders past and present.
It's always encouraging to see government and industry in the same room talking about how we plan, deliver and improve the infrastructure Australia needs.
Across Australia, we are all grappling with the same question:
How do we invest in the right infrastructure, at the right time, as demand grows and resources tighten?
Infrastructure Australia brings a national perspective to that question, identifying the investments and reforms that can deliver the greatest long-term benefit.
We work with governments, asset owners and industry so local priorities inform national decisions, grounded in evidence and focused on outcomes.
The challenge is deciding what matters most, when to deliver it, and where investment will have the greatest impact.
Because without clear priorities, there is less certainty, less confidence and less capacity to deliver.
We also can't assume that every challenge will be solved through new investment alone.
Some of Australia's biggest productivity opportunities will come from making better use of the assets and networks we already have.
That means treating innovation as core business: using data, artificial intelligence and digital technologies to make our networks work better together.
One of Infrastructure Australia's tasks is to shift the conversation from assets to systems.
Because while we often plan infrastructure one asset at a time, that's not how outcomes are delivered.
Outcomes come from systems.
From the way assets, networks, technology, regulation and operations work together.
It sits at the centre of some of Australia's biggest challenges and opportunities, from housing and population growth to the energy transition, defence capability and economic resilience.
The rapid growth of data centres and AI infrastructure is a recent example.
No infrastructure system can respond to those pressures on its own.
Meeting that demand requires coordinated planning across energy, water, transport, digital and land-use systems.
That's the perspective reflected in the 2026 Infrastructure Priority List.
Rather than starting with projects, we started with the forces reshaping Australia and what they mean for infrastructure demand, system performance and investment priorities.
Population growth. Trade and defence pressures. Climate change, and the need both to reduce emissions and adapt to its impacts.
All of these issues will need action across infrastructure sectors, portfolios, levels of government and the private sector.
That work was informed by engagement across every state and territory, including with many of you here today.
The result is a more strategic, multimodal Priority List, focused on productivity, growth and resilience.
It includes 68 nationally significant proposals across transport, freight, ports, water and energy.
It sets out what needs investment now, over the next two to four years, and over the longer term.
That gives governments, industry and investors greater visibility of what's ahead.
Because certainty helps build capability.
And it gives industry the confidence to invest in people, skills and capacity before constraints become bottlenecks.
When we looked across the systems that will shape Australia's future productivity, growth and resilience, five priorities emerged.
The first priority is High Productivity Freight Networks
Our domestic freight task is on track to grow by up to 26 per cent over the next 25 years.
Growing passenger demand, extreme weather and geopolitical uncertainty are adding pressure to ageing infrastructure and supply chains.
We won't meet that demand simply by building more capacity.
We'll also need to get more from existing networks and improve how roads, rail, ports, intermodal terminals and logistics precincts operate as a connected system.
Some of our biggest productivity gains will come from improving interoperability, data sharing and the way those networks work together.
In many cases, that can unlock capacity faster and at lower cost than building entirely new infrastructure.
In rail, interoperability is about more than track gauge. Differences in signalling, operating rules, accreditation and data systems can all create barriers.
That's why Infrastructure Australia identified National Interoperability of Digital Signalling and Train Control as a nationally significant proposal on the Priority List.
The aim is to reduce friction across network boundaries through common technologies such as the European Train Control System, or ETCS.
Common digital train control can improve capacity, safety and interoperability. But a consistently signalled national network will require sustained leadership and investment over decades.
Across freight networks, digital twins, predictive maintenance and real-time data can improve coordination and reliability. The opportunity is to remove barriers between assets, not just add assets.
This links us to the second nationally significant investment priority, which is Ports Capacity and Connectivity.
More than 99 per cent of Australia's international trade by volume moves through maritime ports. Larger ships and new demands will require upgrades, but port capacity means little without strong connections inland.
Ports increasingly support defence, the energy transition, new export industries and sovereign resilience.
How well they perform depends on the freight corridors, rail access, logistics precincts and digital systems that connect to them.
Digital freight platforms, automated access systems and better data sharing are improving visibility, efficiency and reliability right across supply chains.
That is reflected in Priority List proposals including:
- Improved rail access to major gateways like the Port of Brisbane.
- Long-term capacity planning for Westport in Western Australia.
- And freight and logistics infrastructure supporting major defence investments at Henderson and Osborne.
Together, these investments strengthen some of Australia's most important economic gateways.
The third priority is High-Capacity Transport for Growing Cities.
Transport underpins productivity, connecting people to jobs, housing, services and supply chains.
By 2065, almost three-quarters of Australians are expected to live in our capital cities.
Here in Canberra, the population is projected to approach one million people.
That growth will transform the scale and complexity of the city's infrastructure needs.
The real opportunity is getting ahead of growth instead of chasing it.
Investments in mass transit and strategic transport connections can unlock housing, connect people to jobs and services, and support more productive and liveable cities.
We can see that here. In May 2024, the ACT Government reported 6,100 new homes along Canberra’s first light rail corridor since 2016. Not rail alone, but frequent services, urban renewal and private investment working together. The lesson is simple: plan the transport and the neighbourhoods together—not just the tracks.
New infrastructure will be needed across the country, but so will a stronger focus on how existing networks operate, how different modes connect, and how technology improves reliability, capacity and performance.
Technologies like intelligent traffic management, digital signalling and AI-enabled asset management can help us get more from existing networks.
Let’s look at a local example. Here in Canberra, more than 75 per cent of residents commute by car.
Without stronger public transport connections along key corridors, growing congestion risks making it harder for people to access jobs, education and services, while constraining productivity.
That's why the Priority List identifies Canberra public transport improvements, Sydney–Canberra rail connectivity, and planning for future east coast high-speed rail connections including Canberra. These are opportunities to shape growth, not simply respond to congestion.
Growth is coming whether we plan for it or not.
The fourth priority is Secure, Sustainable Water for Growth.
Today, growing demand, climate variability and ageing assets are placing increasing pressure on our water systems.
Climate change is strengthening the case for rainfall-independent supplies, including desalination.
Reliable supply underpins agriculture, mining, manufacturing and energy, while emerging industries and data centres add new demand.
It requires us to manage the full water cycle as an integrated system, from storage and supply through to treatment, recycling, reuse and demand management.
Meeting future demand will require both new infrastructure and better management of existing systems.
In the Northern Territory, the Darwin Region Water Supply project is focused on strengthening long-term water security.
And in South Australia, the Bolivar Wastewater Treatment Plant expansion highlights the importance of renewing existing essential infrastructure.
Water security is not just an environmental issue. It is a productivity issue. Without integrated planning, water can become a brake on growth.
The final priority is Delivering a Net Zero and Clean Energy Economy.
Few challenges will reshape Australia's infrastructure systems more profoundly than the energy transition.
This is not simply a generation challenge. It requires an integrated system of generation, transmission, storage and distribution, supported by technology, data and coordinated planning.
And increasingly, that system must respond to new sources of demand, including data centres and AI infrastructure.
The ACT Renewable Energy Storage Enhancement proposal recognises the growing importance of energy storage in maintaining grid stability, reliability and resilience as renewable generation continues to increase.
In New South Wales, the Central-West Orana and New England Renewable Energy Zones show why transmission, freight routes, regional transport and workforce capability must be planned together.
Done well, these investments will strengthen energy security, support regional development and position Australia to compete in a lower-carbon global economy.
Australia's future prosperity will depend on how well our infrastructure systems perform and interact.
Because core productivity gains will come from improving performance, not just adding capacity.
The Priority List was never intended to be static, and consultation is already underway on the 2027 edition.
The five national priorities will continue to guide our assessment of nationally significant proposals.
We're looking closely at data centres and AI: both their demands on energy, water and networks, and their potential to lift productivity from existing infrastructure.
Data centre investment is emerging as a major infrastructure driver, with more than $150 bn in the pipeline to 2030 and rapid new capital investment across digital and telecommunications infrastructure.
As demand and technology evolve, the task remains the same: understand the connections, anticipate pressures and plan at system level.
Throughout today's conference, you've heard about building capability and building confidence.
From Infrastructure Australia's perspective, both depend on making good infrastructure decisions.
Australia is not short of opportunities.
But we can't build everything, everywhere, all at once.
We need clear priorities, credible sequencing and a relentless focus on performance. Build where capacity is needed. Improve what we have. Plan the connections, not just the projects.
The decisions we make now will shape how Australians move, work, live and do business for decades to come.
And in a constrained environment, making the right choices has never been more important.
Thank you.