- Introduction
- Australia’s increasingly severe and intense weather events over recent years have placed immense pressure on the national regional, rural, and remote road network and tremendous strain on our communities, businesses, and freight systems.
- The unprecedented scale, intensity, and duration of floods and torrential rains in 2022 and 2023 caused catastrophic damage to our road infrastructure, exposing its vulnerability against severe weather events and a changing climate.
- Thousands of kilometres of roads across Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, the Northern Territory and Western Australia have been damaged or washed away. The Fitzroy Crossing flood saw the Fitzroy River Bridge, a vital piece of infrastructure, buckle under the intensity. Roads, towns and communities across Australia have been impacted by repeated severe weather events, many were isolated and, tragically, lives were taken. Remote Indigenous communities have been isolated, some displaced, many for weeks and months. Freight operators wereforced to detour over hundreds and thousands of kilometres to deliver essentialsupplies across the nation.
- The Australian Local Government Association estimates that the cost of repairing and replacing flood impacted roads is at least $3.8 billion in New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria alone.
- Our road networks are vital to the nation’s socio-economic sustainability, ensuring communities remain connected to essential health services, food and fuel supplies, social activities, culture, and to each other. A well designed and functional road network is also crucial to ensuring the safe and efficient evacuation of our communities during and following natural disaster events.
- However, the substantial climate-related damage to the nation’s road network has brought into sharp focus the pre-existing poor condition of our roads, particularly in regional, rural, and remote areas. The maintenance of our roads and bridges, essential to reducing the impact of severe weather events, has fallen behind across the state and local road networks. Local governments are struggling under the weight of servicing expansive road networks, along with providing essential services to their communities.
- Our roads and bridges are long-lived investments. Yet the majority of roads and bridges have been built to superseded engineering design and construction standards, based on outdated traffic volumes, populations, and climate conditions. It is imperative that road design and construction standards be updated to consider our current and future socio-economic needs, our carbon footprint, our increasingly varied and evolving climate change risks, and remain flexible to adaptive strategies.
- This report explores road infrastructure resilience across a range of interdependent issues, including our varied and increasingly unpredictable climate risks, government investment in the resilience of our road network, disaster recovery funding to build back better, the application of innovative, recyclable road material technologies to aidresilience and a circular economy, construction workforce issues, and broader whole-of-system dependencies.
- During this inquiry the Australian Government announced a commitment to double the Roads to Recovery Program funding over the next four years. The program funding will gradually increase from $500 million to $1 billion per year over the four year period. The program supports the construction and maintenance of Australia’s local road infrastructure assets and ‘provides funding to all local governments, and to state and territory governments’.
- The existing Local Roads and Community Infrastructure Program was established as a stimulus measure during the COVID-19 pandemic to improve local road networks and deliver priority community infrastructure projects. The program was established across four phases between July 2020 and June 2025, with Phase Four of the program continuing over the period 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2025.
- The Government has also announced that funding under the Black Spot Program will rise from $110 million to $150 million per year.
- The Heavy Vehicle Safety and Productivity Program (HVSPP) and the Bridges Renewal Program (BRP) will also be merged into a new Safer Local Roads and Infrastructure Program. The new program funding will gradually increase to $200million per year, up from the current $150 million total annual investment in the HVSPP and the BRP.
- The Government currently provides up to $85 million per year through the BRP to fund the upgrade and replacement of bridges to enhance access for local communities and facilitate higher productivity vehicle access.
- Additionally, the Government currently provides up to $65 million per year through the HVSPP to fund infrastructure projects that improve the productivity and safety outcomes of heavy vehicle operations across Australia.
- The HVSPP and BRP programs have not been abolished but merged together for administrative efficiency. Funding has been increased by 25 per cent.
- The new Safer Local Roads and Infrastructure Program, along with increased funding for the Black Spot Program, followed recommendations of the Independent Strategic Review of the Australian Government’s Infrastructure Investment Program.
- This combined approach will improve road safety, support local governments and reduce the administrative burden on councils, while also ensuring funding increases do not create downward inflation pressures.
Defining climate resilient infrastructure
1.18Infrastructure Australia defines infrastructure resilience as:
…the ability of infrastructure assets and networks to withstand, adapt to, and recover positively from changing conditions, including shocks (disaster events with immediate impact, including severe weather and other natural hazards) and stresses (chronic long-term or cyclical trends that undermine systems over time, such as climate change).
1.19The Institute of Public Works Engineering Australasia (IPWEA) defines resilience in the context of road networks and long-life infrastructure more generally as:
Resilience is the measure of adaptive capacity of people, communities, built environments, businesses, economy, infrastructure and natural ecosystems to respond and adapt to the demands of a short-term shock or long-term stresses.
1.20IPWEA further elaborates:
Resilient infrastructure reduces, but may not fully eliminate, the risk from a disruption or event. Resilience means that the risks have been considered and managed to achieve an acceptable level of performance given the available information, and that capacities to withstand and recover from disruption are in place.
Defining Regional Australia
1.21Australia’s regions are defined by different entities, often for different purposes. Following the practice of recent parliamentary committee inquiries into issues relating to regional Australia, the Committee has adopted a broad and inclusive definition of regional Australia, which includes all the towns, cities and areas outside Australia’s largest capital cities.
Recent inquiries and reports
1.22Recent Inquiries have considered issues relating to the impact of weather events on roads and regional road infrastructure more broadly.
1.23In June 2018, the Select Committee on Regional Development and Decentralisation reported on its inquiry into Regions at the Ready: Investing in Australia’s Future, in which it examined best practice approaches to regional development, the decentralisation of Commonwealth entities and corporate decentralisation.
1.24The Committee recommended the Government increase its investment into building enabling infrastructure to improve connectivity, key services and amenity through coordinated regional plans. The Committee’s recommendations also called for a consolidated government policy on regional Australia considering the need for strong and reliable transport infrastructure to support passenger and freight requirements.
1.25The Australian Government responded to the Committee’s recommendations on 13February 2019, agreeing in principle with their recommendations.
1.26In March 2022, the Select Committee on Regional Australia reported on its inquiry into the future of Regional Australia, Pride of Place, and made a number of recommendations relating to regional infrastructure in Australia:
- the Australian Government develop a nationwide Regional Development Plan which considers the current and future infrastructure needs of regional Australia and focuses on telecommunications and internet connectivity, road, rail, ports and airports along with soft infrastructure
- the Australian Government develop mechanisms to encourage private-public partnerships to fund regional infrastructure.
- In March 2022, the Joint Select Committee on Road Safety’s inquiry’s Driving Reform report examined factors that contribute to fatal and serious injuries on Australian roads and considered opportunities to improve road safety outcomes through a number of measures. The Committee made 61 recommendations that include:
- the Australian Government work with the state and territory governments and include stakeholders such as Austroads to establish consistent guidelines and standards for road infrastructure
- the Australian Government work with state and territory governments to agree a mechanism for sharing road safety data
- a review of the National Land Transport Act 2014, to ensure that it enables funding for projects which capture entire road corridors, including infrastructure which supports safe active travel
- the Australian Government work with state and territory governments to review and explore ways of improving funding arrangements for infrastructure and road safety programs and make funding conditional on the provision of data on road safety outcomes.
- A Government response was provided on 16 October 2023.
- In September 2018, the House Standing Committee on Infrastructure, Transport and Cities inquired into the Australian Government’s role in the development of cities. The Building Up & Moving Out report made a number of recommendations:
- the Australian Government improve infrastructure project appraisal and procurement
- that the Government develop a system of value capture as an organising principle of infrastructure planning and procurement
- all levels of government promote freight access and that all planning prioritise needs for freight terminals, and that it includes provision of Urban Consolidation Centres and shared parcel lockers at a regional and local level. Create a strong system of multimodal integration based on dedicated freight nodes and develop fast-rail and high-speed rail lines to relieve congestion
- the Australian Government develop incentives, including tax incentives, promoting fleet modernisation to make trucks safer, quieter and cleaner, and proceed with the development of the National Freight Performance Framework.
- A Government response was provided on 12 May 2020.
- The Senate Select Committee on Australia’s Disaster Resilience is inquiring intoAustralia’s preparedness, response and recovery workforce models, as well as alternative models to disaster recovery. The Committee tabled an interim report on 14September 2023 and is yet to present its final report.
Other reports and reviews
1.32The Committee also notes existing reviews with regard to natural disaster responses. Namely, the Productivity Commission Inquiry Report on Natural Disaster Funding and the 2022 New South Wales (NSW) Government Flood Inquiry. Key sources are referenced below.
Productivity Commission Inquiry Report – Natural Disaster Funding Arrangements
1.33The report was sent to Government on 17 December 2014 and publicly released on 1 May 2015. The report includes two volumes and is focused on efficacy of national natural disaster funding arrangements and highlights the need to prioritise natural disaster mitigation and assist with reducing impacts on communities from disasters.
1.34The report made a number of recommendations:
- the development of a coherent policy package across recovery and mitigation funding budget treatment of recovery costs, and accountability requirements for all governments, as well as greater state autonomy and balance between mitigation and recovery
- that Australian Government post disaster support for state and territory governments be reduced and mitigation support be increased, and greater budget transparency
- that governments improve policies to enable the understanding of natural disaster risks and provide incentive to effectively manage risks
- that insurance markets be taken into consideration as an important risk management option and in providing households with important insurance policy information.
- A Government response was provided on 22 December 2016.
2022 NSW Government Flood Inquiry
1.36In March 2022, the then NSW Premier, the Hon Dominic Perrottet MP, established the NSW Flood Inquiry which commissioned an independent expert inquiry into the preparation for, causes of, response to, and recovery from the 2022 catastrophic flood event across the state of NSW.
1.37The final report was brought forward to 30 September 2022 due to further flooding events across eastern NSW necessitating urgent action. The inquiry made 28 recommendations, however given the complexity of the issues and broad terms of reference, it was not possible to report on all issues and many issues required further consideration and consultation.
1.38The NSW Government provided a response that supports six recommendations and 22 recommendations in principle.
2020 Royal Commission Natural Disaster Arrangements Report
1.39On 20 February 2020, the Governor-General, His Excellency General the Hon David Hurley AC DSC (Retd), issued Letters Patent appointing the Royal Commission and its Inquiry. The Inquiry was established in response to the devastating 2019-2020 bushfire season.
1.40The Commission Chair, Air Chief Marshal Mark Binskin AC (Retd), presented the report to the Governor-General on 28 October 2020 and the report was tabled on 30October 2020.
1.41The Inquiry held 35 days of hearings and heard from more than 270 witnesses including:
- individuals directly affected by natural disasters
- current and former representatives of state and territory fire and emergency management agencies
- experts in a broad range of fields including climate science, fire prediction, and the health impacts of bushfire smoke
- representatives of charities, industry peak bodies, and consumer groups
- senior officials from the Australian, state, territory, and local governments.
- The report made 80 recommendations aiming to improve Australia’s national disaster arrangements and make our nation safer.
Australian National Audit Office – Administration of the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements Report
1.43The objective of the Auditor-General Report No. 23 of 2022–23 Performance Audit, Administration of the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA), National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) audit was to examine the effectiveness of the agency’s administration of the DRFA.
1.44The audit was recognised by the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit as an audit priority of the Parliament. The Australian Government estimates $6.5 billion will be paid to state and territory governments through the DRFA from 2022-23 to 2025‑26.
1.45Three recommendations were made around the timeliness of DRFA assurance activities, internal performance monitoring and external reporting. The NEMA agreed and supported all recommendations.
Independent Review of Commonwealth Disaster Funding
1.46The Australian Government has commissioned an Independent Review of Disaster Funding, led by former Australian Federal Police Commissioner, Mr Andrew Colvin AO APM, with the support of a NEMA taskforce.
1.47The review will consider how Commonwealth arrangements for disaster funding can be optimised to support a system that is fit-for-purpose to support wellbeing, national productivity, prosperity, and economic security and maintains state, territory, and local government roles and responsibilities in the context of the projected increase in natural disasters over the coming decades.
1.48The Independent Review is expected to take approximately 18 months with the final report expected to be delivered to Government in April 2024. The extensive consultation will include all levels of government, as well as industry, businesses, community groups, and the not-for-profit sector.
About the inquiry
Scope and conduct of the inquiry
1.49The Committee adopted the inquiry on 1 December 2022, following a referral from the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government, the Hon Catherine King MP. The terms of reference for the inquiry are provided on page ix of this report and are available on the inquiry webpage.
1.50As part of the inquiry, the Committee focused on road engineering and construction standards to strengthen road resiliency against natural disasters, including the critical role of climate change trends and data to inform infrastructure standards.
1.51In undertaking this inquiry, the Committee was concerned about the increasing deterioration of the nation’s road network, particularly in regional, rural, and remote areas. The extreme flooding events and other natural disasters across the nation have impacted many Australians, and the Committee was focused on understanding how road planning and construction may be improved to enhance road climate resiliency and to support communities.
1.52The Committee called for written submissions from individuals and organisations providing recommendations relating to any or all of the inquiry terms of reference by Tuesday, 28 February 2023.
1.53The Committee received 104 submissions and 1 exhibit and held 17 public hearings around Australia, including Wodonga (Victoria), Perth (Western Australia), Darwin (Northern Territory), and Kununurra (Western Australia). The Committee also undertook site inspections to further assist the work of the inquiry at the National Transport Research Organisation (Port Melbourne), Roma (Queensland), and the Renmark Paringa Council, the Berri Barmera Council, and District Council of Loxton Waikerie areas in the South Australian Riverland region. The list of submissions is provided at Appendix A. The list of exhibits is provided at Appendix B. The list of public hearings and witnesses is provided at Appendix C.
1.54The Committee would like to thank everyone who participated in this inquiry and provided evidence – either by written submission or in person at public hearings or at site inspections. The Committee greatly appreciates these contributions, and the interest in the Committee’s work.
Report structure
1.55Chapter Two considers climate trends over recent years and the role of climate modelling and prediction to inform road infrastructure planning and investment. The relationship between climate change and impacts on road infrastructure is examined, along with climate data collection and sharing among relevant agencies.
1.56Chapter Three examines the government layers of road infrastructure ownership and funding. Prioritising road investment to enable resilience is also examined, considering maintenance and capital investment priorities, and the role of asset data collection to inform government investment. The Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements program and claiming issues are also examined.
1.57Chapter Four examines current engineering and construction standards and identifies issues for consideration to lift road resilience, including embedding fit-for-purpose standards, heavy vehicle technologies, and betterment in future design and construction standards. Innovative materials, along with circular economy principles are also examined.
1.58Chapter Five considers broader whole-of-systems issues across transport infrastructure, including impacts of severe weather events on road and rail infrastructure and interdependencies across transport networks and freight chain supply systems.
1.59Chapter Six provides a brief overview of the Standing Committee on Regional Development, Infrastructure and Transport’s delegation to New Zealand and Samoa from 5‒10 June 2023 as part of the Australian Parliament's outgoing official delegation program.