In this edition: 

• CEO's message
• Meet Infrastructure Australia's new Chair and Board members
• I-body collaboration
• 2021 Australian Infrastructure Plan - Digital Implementation Pathway
• Digital Infrastructure Priority List consultations

From our CEO

Today Infrastructure Australia warmly welcomes Colin Murray as our new Chair and Vicki Meyer, Vonette Mead, Amanda Cooper, Dr Vanessa Guthrie AO, Elizabeth Schmidt and Robert Moffat as new Directors to our Board. 

As noted by our Interim Chair Mark Balnaves last week, our incoming board members bring a range of diverse experiences and perspectives from cities and regions across Australia, and we look forward to the valuable contributions they will bring.

I also want to wholeheartedly thank our Interim Chair, Mark Balnaves, and also recognise our outgoing Board members - Peter Corish, Gabrielle Trainor, Deena Shiff, Peter Harris, Samantha Hogg and Reece Waldock for their leadership. 

Collectively, these Directors have overseen a number of milestones for Infrastructure Australia, including publication of our 2021 Australian Infrastructure Plan, delivery of our Market Capacity Program, the launch of our refreshed Assessment Framework and utilisation for both project assurance and assessment for proposals for the Infrastructure Priority List, as well as our resilience and sustainability work. 

Recently, they've overseen the assessments of the Edith Cowan University: Creative Industries, Business and Technology City Campus, M1 Pacific Motorway Extension to Raymond Terrace and Hexham Straight Upgrade and Shepparton Line Upgrade (Shepparton Corridor Upgrade Stage 3) proposals, which were recently published on our website. 

Our Executive and staff look forward to working collaboratively with our new Chair and Board members to provide research and advice to governments, industry and the community on the infrastructure investments and reforms that will benefit all Australians.

Regards,

Romilly Madew AO FTSE
Chief Executive Officer

Meet our new Chair & Board

Colin Murray - Chair

Colin Murray has more than two decades of experience in the construction industry and considerable knowledge of local infrastructure issues in regional areas, gained through previous roles including Chair of Regional Cities NSW and Deputy Chair of Regional Capitals Australia.

As Mayor of Tamworth Regional Council, he has overseen several major infrastructure projects that have helped underpin the city’s growth. 

New Board members

• Vicki Meyer is the Chief Executive Officer of Deniliquin Freighters and has more than 30 years’ experience in agribusiness. She also has an extensive background in the finance sector and considerable knowledge of transport and water infrastructure.
• Cr Vonette Mead is the Operations Manager of building company Meadcon and a former Board member of the Tasmanian branch of Master Builders Australia. She is currently a member of the Tasmanian Building and Construction Training Board and a Councillor at Latrobe Council.
• Amanda Cooper is a Director of Urban Utilities in Queensland and a former Brisbane City Councillor. She has a deep understanding of local government, specifically in the fields of infrastructure planning and delivery, and urban planning and development.
• Ms Elizabeth Schmidt currently sits on the Board of the Dalrymple Community Cultural Centre Trust and is a former Mayor of the Charters Towers Regional Council. She has extensive experience in local government and in the transport sector.
• Dr Vanessa Guthrie AO has an extensive background in the energy, mining, communications and transport sectors. She currently holds non-executive director positions at Santos Ltd, Tronox Holdings, AdBri Limited and Lynas Rare Earths Ltd. She is a former Chair of the Minerals Council of Australia Board.
• Robert Moffat is the Chief Executive Officer of the Australasian Centre for Rail Innovation and Vice-Chair of the International Railway Research Board. He has extensive experience in engineering and planning gained from a long career in the transport sector.

I-body collaboration

Infrastructure Australia is proud to collaborate with a number of Australian and international 'I-bodies' throughout the year, sharing insights and perspectives on the infrastructure challenges and opportunities we collectively face. 

Cross Jurisdictional Meeting

Infrastructure Australia hosts a monthly Cross Jurisdictional Meeting with representatives from infrastructure agencies and i-bodies across Australia and New Zealand, as well as Transport, Treasury, Prime Minister & Cabinet/Premier’s Departments. Representatives from infrastructure-aligned government organisations across Australia and New Zealand are welcome to attend.

The group, established by Infrastructure NSW in early 2020, has evolved from a primary focus on COVID related issues to a more collaborative, knowledge sharing platform regarding current issues facing the infrastructure sector.

The latest meetings have included a briefing from the Construction Industry Culture Taskforce; Infrastructure NSW’s Trends and Insights report, an annual analysis of INSW’s assurance activities and findings; the Australian Government’s Regional Data Hub and Infrastructure Victoria’s Behaviour Change Impacts of Covid-19 report.

If you are a government official who would like to attend or brief the Cross Jurisdictional Meeting in 2022, contact Sarah Dagg, Associate Director - Stakeholder Engagement, sarah.dagg@infrastructureaustralia.gov.au

I-bodies network

In addition to the monthly Cross Jurisdictional Meetings, Infrastructure Australia also facilitates regular meetings of the Australian and New Zealand i-bodies Chairs and CEOs, called the i-bodies network. 

This network considers the ways in which our local i-bodies can collaborate and share information to ensure each organisation is well equipped to deliver on its mandate.

International i-bodies forum

Infrastructure Australia also participates in the international i-bodies forum, arranged by the Global Infrastructure Hub.

This forum invites organisations including the UK's Infrastructure and Projects Authority and National Infrastructure Commission, National Infrastructure Commission for Wales, Scottish Futures Trust, Infrastructure Canada, Infrastructure Ontario and Australia and New Zealand's domestic i-bodies to share international learnings and perspectives. 

2021 AIP - Digital Implementation Pathway 

Today we have added to our website an interactive view of the 2021 Australian Infrastructure Plan, which allows you to search the 29 recommendations that make up the 2021 Plan's reform agenda.

You can click on the recommendation relevant to your search, and this will take you to a dedicated page that outlines the implementation pathway for that recommendation. These pages contain related information such as progress measures and summaries of the evidence-based impact assessment that informs reform prioritisation. 

We will work closely with change agents to ensure this new and interactive capability is as useful as it can be to guide implementation of reform, and to monitor progress over time.

For an unfiltered view of the implementation approach of the 2021 Australian Infrastructure Plan across all 29 recommendations, you can download the 2021 Implementation Pathway, and for further information contact Steve Brogan, Director of Data and Analytics, steve.brogan@infrastructureaustralia.gov.au

We have also recently published new supporting documents for the 2021 Australian Infrastructure Plan, A guide to applying theory of change and a theory of change template. 

Digital Infrastructure Priority List

With a new, user-friendly Assessment Framework in place, we are now simplifying the Infrastructure Priority List to improve its value, structure and readability and support better infrastructure decision-making in Australia

We have recently engaged with close to 100 stakeholders regarding the enhancing and digitalisation of our Infrastructure Priority List which sets out the investment opportunities that can deliver nationally significant benefits to Australians.

Our team undertook 12 consultation sessions with stakeholders from across Australia to understand user needs when accessing the Infrastructure Priority List through our website.

As a result of this feedback, we will be making a series of enhancements to our digital offering, over the coming months.

In the meantime, we have recently published the business case assessments of three proposals: 

• Edith Cowan University: Creative Industries, Business and Technology City Campus
• M1 Pacific Motorway Extension to Raymond Terrace and Hexham Straight Upgrade
• Shepparton Line Upgrade (Shepparton Corridor Upgrade Stage 3)

You can also search for past proposal evaluations on our website. 

We welcome early engagement from project proponents, contact us via email at proposals@infrastructureaustralia.gov.au.