Records show funding for regional Victorian roads has crashed

The Victorian government has repeatedly claimed it is delivering major regional road funding blitzes. These figures show otherwise.

The Victorian Government's performance measures show regional road maintenance work has collapsed.

The Victorian Government plans to undertake maintenance on just 1.6 per cent of the state’s dilapidated regional road network in the new financial year.

The Allan Government’s measures of its road repair performance have exposed a massive crack in its repeated claims that it is delivering major regional road funding blitzes.

Over the past three years the government has announced “Maintenance Blitz Kicks Off Across Regional Victoria (2023)”, “Maintenance Blitz Revs Up Across Regional Victoria (2024)” and this year “Billion-Dollar Better Roads Blitz To Fix Our Regional Roads”.

Yet the Department of Transport’s performance measures show the State Government is maintaining less than a third of road repairs it did in the past – patching, resurfacing or rehabilitation.

Up until 2022-23 the department was consistently undertaking maintenance on nine to 10 million square metres of the state’s 173 million square metres of regional roads, about 5 to 6 per cent of the network.

But the government’s performance has collapsed as it tries to offset a $31.5 billion Covid debt.

In 2023-24 the government only managed to resurface and rehabilitate 422,000 square metres of the regional network.

The 2024-25 budget set a target of maintaining 4.1 million square metres of regional roads, but only managed to complete work on 3.6 million square metres.

Even more alarming for regional communities is the government’s latest decision to wind back the target to just 1.6 million square metres of road maintenance in this week’s 2025-26 budget, equal to 1.6 per cent of the regional network.

Victorian regional road network maintenance by financial year. Records from as back as 2014-15 show about 5 per cent of the regional network was repaired annually, until recent years.

Road contractors have previously said every road needed to be resurfaced at least once every 12 years, which equated to about 8 per cent of the regional network being treated annually.

Victorian Nationals leader Danny O’Brien said: “When it comes to roads, the budget figures show it is always prudent to look at what Labor does, not what it says.

“Despite claiming it is spending record amounts on roads, Labor’s own budget papers show a shocking 93 per cent reduction next year in patching works and a 14 per cent reduction on road resealing and rehabilitation.

“Where is the money going? Or is it just a fiction? Because whatever Labor claims to be spending, its own figures show it is not improving our roads – indeed it’s doing less.

“All Victorian motorists, regional and metro, are suffering from roads that are more like goat tracks because of Labor’s neglect.”

In announcing this week’s latest $967 million road blitz Premier Jacinta Allan said: “We’re focused on what matters most – getting regional families home safer and sooner with our Better Roads Blitz.”

Roads Minister Melissa Horne said: “We delivered record roads funding last year and this Budget will deliver even more – making our roads more resilient.”

The Goulburn Valley Highway outside Numurkah (picture taken May 14).

Originally published as Records show funding for regional Victorian roads has crashed