Eight per cent of local government infrastructure assets are in poor condition with significant defects.
The assets have a limited ability to meet the needs of the community with demand exceeding capacity.
The figures come from the 2024 National State of the Assets Report, which was launched on July 2 by Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) President Linda Scott.
Th ALGA commissioned the report to help councils and communities understand whether the state of local government infrastructure is improving, getting worse or staying the same.
The good news is that asset conditions have improved two per cent since the last report, three years ago in 2021.
“This is a small improvement on the 2021 results, in part due to the increased funding for local government over this period,” the ALGA said.
“Despite increased investment, the estimated replacement cost of all infrastructure assets in poor condition, function and capacity is estimated to be in the order of $50B to $55B, close to the $60B received in total annual revenue for the 2022/23 financial year.
The replacement cost of those in fair condition would add another $143B to $179B.
The report was launched as part of the National General Assembly (NGA) of local councils being held in Canberra this week, July 2-4.
Merilyn Vale