$17bn investment in resilience, safety and productivity of Australia’s transport network welcomed

The $17.1 billion investment in transport infrastructure over 10 years announced in the 2025-26 Federal Budget has been welcomed by the sector as a critical investment to support economic growth and maintain living standards in our cities and regions.

Ehssan Veiszadeh, Chief Executive of Roads Australia, the peak body for roads within an integrated transport system, said continued investment and reform across road, rail and active transport would deliver significant community benefits.

“Transport plays a vital role in improving living standards and enabling access to housing,” Mr Veiszadeh said. 

“Even in a deeply constrained budgetary environment with significant economic challenges both domestically and abroad, we need to invest in the resilience, safety and productivity of our transport system.

“Investments such as $7.2 billion to upgrade the Bruce Highway in Queensland, an additional $1 billion towards Victoria’s Road Blitz and $1.8 billion for Western Sydney road projects, will have a transformative impact on those communities.

“Preserving future transport corridors is a sensible investment and Roads Australia welcomes the Government’s $1 billion investment to preserve the corridor for the South West Sydney Rail Extension. We’re also pleased to see an additional $2 billion allocated towards transforming Sunshine Station to enable the delivery of Melbourne Airport Rail.”

Mr Veiszadeh reiterated Roads Australia’s calls for nationwide reform to address rigid government procurement processes and design standards, which are hampering the adoption of innovation in the transport sector.

“Australia needs a long-term plan for the future of our transport system, supported by a continued focus on supporting industry innovation and addressing the construction sector’s long-standing productivity challenges,” Mr Veiszadeh said.

“Construction sector productivity is continuing to decline, dropping from 0.3 to -0.8 over the last 12 months. At a time where all government budgets are under considerable pressure, rigid procurement processes, overly onerous and outdated technical standards and poor labour productivity are collectively driving up the costs of project delivery.

“In these challenging economic times, it’s more important than ever that government embrace the opportunity to unlock innovation, deliver better value for our growing communities and support a sustainable infrastructure sector,” Mr Veiszadeh said.

Roads Australia’s members include Australia’s transport agencies, major contractors and consultants, asset owners and operators, material suppliers and technology providers.