Chair's foreword

As Chair of Infrastructure Australia, I am immensely proud to present the 2021 Australian Infrastructure Plan.

Expansive in both scale and scope, the 2021 Plan is being delivered at a critical moment in Australia's history.

It is a time when Australians are recovering from the still-unfolding COVID-19 pandemic and the bushfires, drought, floods and cyber-attacks that tested our individual and collective resilience during 2020-2021.

Such a time demands an ambitious response.

With this landmark reform agenda, Infrastructure Australia aims to build a stronger, more secure country.

An Australia where access to high-quality infrastructure is equitably balanced across cities, regional centres and rural and remote areas.

An Australia where the infrastructure is resilient and adaptable in the face of changing trends and potential global shocks and stresses.

An Australia where the infrastructure sector has the capacity and capability to deliver on a record investment pipeline and continue supporting the national pandemic recovery.

This is a pragmatic, community-centred plan for reform. It will assist to grow the economy and jobs, maintain and enhance this country's enviable standard of living, and ensure our cities and regions remain world-class.

It acknowledges that, while infrastructure continues to be central to Australians' quality of life, user needs are evolving.

Around the country, communities are recovering from, and preparing for, new shocks and stresses, making their infrastructure needs more complex.

Tomorrow's infrastructure is likely to look very different to today's, and the way infrastructure is planned needs to embrace this uncertainty.

Historically, infrastructure planning has sought to project future conditions as an extension of today, then provided infrastructure to meet anticipated demand. In 2021 and beyond, the approach must be more robust.

" This is a pragmatic, community-centred plan for reform. "

Rather than simply projecting forward the status quo, infrastructure planning must set an ambitious vision for the country. It should anticipate and adapt to change, manage risk and deliver infrastructure that works towards - rather than against - the current and future needs of the community.

The 2021 Plan supports this new approach by providing a reform pathway that responds to the 180 infrastructure challenges and opportunities identified in Infrastructure Australia's 2019 Australian Infrastructure Audit.

It also responds to the infrastructure impacts of the pandemic, as examined in our Infrastructure beyond COVID-19 report.

Each recommended reform in the 2021 Plan prioritises community and user outcomes and balances them with implementation costs and risks.

To ensure our advice is practical and actionable across government and industry, every recommendation clearly identifies who is best-placed to implement that reform and own the interim outcomes and enabling activities.

Importantly, the 2021 Plan aims to represent an industry consensus on what needs to be done to deliver quality, fit-for-purpose infrastructure for all Australians.

It has been informed by an extensive sector-specific engagement program that targeted more than 5,500 stakeholders, including industry experts, government agencies and academics.

Across the transport, energy, water, telecommunications, waste and social infrastructure sectors, Infrastructure Australia was privileged to work closely with skilled and passionate stakeholders who are working to drive reform and deliver better community outcomes.

Now the 2021 Plan is published, we are focusing on collaborating with reform owners across industries and jurisdictions to provide guidance and support as the recommendations are adopted.

Infrastructure Australia is particularly well placed to drive these reforms.

As a priority, we will support collaboration in the three strategic focus areas that cut across all infrastructure sectors:

•  unlocking the potential of every place

•  embedding sustainability and resilience into infrastructure decision-making

•  driving a step change in industry productivity and innovation.

As well as being more active reform advocates, we will move to a more organic development cycle of Audits and Plans for Australia's infrastructure networks.

In the future we will focus resources on where our unique perspective can guide responses to issues as they emerge.

By becoming more responsive, we will be able to highlight infrastructure challenges and opportunities in an increasingly uncertain world, and to better guide industry and government on necessary reforms.

I want to acknowledge the incredible contribution of the highly skilled team that developed the 2021 Australian Infrastructure Plan, as well as our research partners, peer reviewers and industry experts. They were all instrumental in shaping the final document.

I am confident that by continuing to work closely with industry, governments and communities as the reforms in the 2021 Plan are planned for and implemented, Infrastructure Australia can help to deliver better infrastructure and improved quality of life for all Australians.