More than 75 per cent of Australia’s roads are managed by councils. These are the sealed and unsealed roads that link homes and businesses to the arterials, corridors, and freeways of the road network. Metropolitan councils often have the resources to manage their road networks professionally, but many remote and rural councils can’t afford to properly maintain their vast stretches of road.

The problem of poorly maintained roads is largely a problem of governance and the way local government is funded more generally. To help councils better manage their roads, the federal government should establish a national road hierarchy, minimum service standards, and basic data specifications for councils to follow. State governments should provide templates to help under-resourced councils create and maintain asset management plans and long-term financial plans in a consistent way.

This report maps the way to a better road network across Australia: an annual funding increase of $1 billion for local roads, better targeting to make sure the money goes to where it is needed most, and reforms to ensure that councils have the tools and time to fix the potholes and give their communities the roads they need.