III. Introduction

At a glance

• The 2021 Australian Infrastructure Plan is a practical and actionable roadmap for reform. It prioritises community outcomes and outlines meaningful steps to grow Australia's economy, maintain and enhance our standard of living and ensure every city and region is serviced by world-class infrastructure.

• The Australian Infrastructure Plan plays a key role in driving change in the infrastructure sector. While there has been significant progress since the 2016 Australian Infrastructure Plan, there remains unfinished reform that has been carried over into this new edition.

• The 2021 Plan is being delivered at a time of significant uncertainty and disruption that is having a major impact on the health of Australian communities, environment and economies.

• The community has experienced significant shocks, including the COVID-19 pandemic and the drought, bushfires and flooding that marked 2019-2020. In addition, there have been growing stresses that complicate conditions for long-term planning and decision-making. They include the increased pace of technological change, shifting geopolitical relationships, increased localisation and changing climatic patterns.

• The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated how quickly Australia's infrastructure services can adapt to deliver services in new ways as community needs change.

• The 2021 Australian Infrastructure Plan responds to the six challenges and six opportunities identified in the Infrastructure beyond COVID-19 report1and the 180 challenges and opportunities of the 2019 Australian Infrastructure Audit.2