Renew focus on long-term transport planning and investment   

20 February 2025

A renewed focus on long-term transport planning and investment is critical to support economic growth, maintain living standards and accelerate decarbonisation, says Roads Australia.  

Amid a significant downturn in the transport investment pipeline, Roads Australia’s 2025-26 Pre-Budget submission has called for transformational infrastructure investment to be put back on the national agenda.  

“Transport infrastructure brings enormous community benefits, connecting people with housing, jobs, education and essential services and creating vibrant public spaces,” said Ehssan Veiszadeh, Chief Executive of Roads Australia, the peak body for roads within an integrated transport system.  

“Despite this, Infrastructure Australia’s 2024 Infrastructure Market Capacity report shows that the investment pipeline for transport has declined by 10 per cent in the past 12 months, representing a $32 billion reduction on the previous year’s outlook. 

“Multi-decade planning and a rolling pipeline of transport investment is key to support Australia’s economic growth and maintain living standards in our cities and regions. There are still many communities that bear the brunt of congested transport corridors and unsafe roads or have no access to any public transport services at all. These infrastructure gaps cannot persist,” Mr Veiszadeh said. 

  Roads Australia has identified four 2025-26 Budget priorities, which reflect concerns raised by its 120+ member organisations:  

1. Increase investment in Australia’s transport system to support economic growth, maintain living standards and accelerate decarbonisation.   

2. Drive reform of infrastructure procurement processes to support adoption of productivity-enhancing innovation.   

3. Address the culture of violence, intimidation and poor productivity on infrastructure construction sites.   

4. Advance a nationally harmonised approach to accelerate transport decarbonisation.   

Alongside further transport investment, Roads Australia has called for nationwide reform to address rigid government procurement processes, which are hampering the adoption of innovation.  

“Well-meaning policies and processes are having unintended consequences that negatively affect the productivity of our sector and the broader economy. This is driving up construction costs and impacting delivery of the infrastructure pipeline and the sustainability of our industry,” said Ehssan Veiszadeh.  

“There are worrying examples across the transport sector of firms that have invested substantively in innovative technologies and materials that are consistent with government policy at a strategic level, only to face barriers when it comes to implementation.   

“It is still the case that many government clients put up barriers, rather than support, innovation. We want to see government embrace the opportunity to unlock innovation, deliver better value for Australia’s 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. 

Media contact:  

Elizabeth Kelleher-Cook  
elizabeth.kellehercook@roads.org.au