Infrastructure Victoria finalises update to the 30-Year Infrastructure Strategy

Infrastructure Victoria, the state’s independent advisory body on infrastructure planning, has made 94 recommendations for the Government’s consideration.
On the whole, the recommendations represent sensible and pragmatic thinking about how we best need to not only direct new infrastructure investment, but also to coordinate and implement effective policies that maximise the use of that infrastructure.
The strategy, which has considered the effect of COVID-19 from a social and economic perspective, contains several key themes, including:
- Navigating our energy transition, including mandating home energy disclosure ratings, strengthening minimum efficiency standards, addressing underperforming Victorian Government-owned and tenanted buildings and ensuring a comprehensive gas transition;
- Integrating land use and infrastructure planning, including long term planning to enable local government and stakeholders to have greater visibility in infrastructure planning, and reinforcing the importance of optimising the capacity of the Port of Melbourne;
- Expanding social and affordable housing, including the setting of a transparent statewide target for social housing delivery that goes beyond the Big Housing Build program, and includes a strong focus on social and affordable rental housing and a focus on making social housing energy efficient;
- Infrastructure contributions system reform, including creating or empowering a body to monitor infrastructure delivery in growing communities, moving to a simpler, broad-based contributions system and reforming the developer open space contributions scheme;
- Developing an integrated transport plan, and implementing strategies that enhance capacity of our existing transport infrastructure, including reconfiguration of the City Loop and reshaping of Melbourne’s bus network;
- Developing freight infrastructure, including a shift to moving more freight by rail and making quick progress on the development of an intermodal freight terminal,
The strategy contains sensible recommendations that recognise the Government’s already large infrastructure delivery pipeline, as well as the financial constraints caused by the pandemic, ensuring a focus on using what we have in a smarter and more effective way.
There is also a strong focus on the infrastructure needs of regional Victoria, with nine regional profiles summarising the varied needs of our regions.
Read more at The Property Council of Australia and Infrastructure Victoria