Local governments are struggling to provide sufficient levels of infrastructure for their communities while community organisations have been hit by a significant drop in donations, according to this report.

The report presents a series of principles which the committee believes are fundamental to the development of a fair and transparent funding program, covering availability, accessibility and accountability.

Availability refers to a set of program guidelines which clearly establish what types of projects will be funded, who is eligible for funding and how the funds will be distributed; the principle of accessibility focuses on developing a simple, streamlined application process, supported by assistance to help applicants develop their proposals; accountability stresses the importance of ensuring that decisions made throughout the funding program are well documented and can be adequately expressed.

The report's first recommendation is for the continuation of ongoing funding support for community infrastructure beyond the direct payments already provided under the Regional and Local Community Infrastructure Program.