Infrastructure Australia

On 1 September 2014, amendments to the Infrastructure Australia Act 2008 came into effect. The amendments re-establish Infrastructure Australia (IA) as a separate entity under the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013, and provide for an independent governing entity that is both legally and financially separate from the Commonwealth, including a new Board. The amendments specifically created a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) position that reports to a newly created Board, effectively abolishing the existing Infrastructure Coordinator role and the IA Council. In accordance with other Government boards, the CEO position is responsible for implementing the Board's strategic objectives. It requires IA to: • develop a 15 year infrastructure plan for Australia based on national, state and local infrastructure priorities and revised every five years • undertake new evidence-based audit of Australia's current infrastructure asset base, in collaboration with State and Territory Governments that will be updated every five years and fed into the 15 year plan • develop top down priority lists at national and state levels • evaluate both economic and social infrastructure proposals and publish the justification for prioritisation, including benefit costs analysis • provide a quarterly publication summarising all project proposals evaluated • promote public awareness of matters arising from its functions