Committee: Finance and Public Administration References Committee
Date referred: 26 November 2025
Submissions close: TBC
Reporting date: 30 March 2026

Terms of Reference

On 26 November 2025, the Senate referred the following matters to the Finance and Public Administration References Committee for inquiry and report by 30 March 2026:

The process, governance and effectiveness of federal financial support provided to state and territory governments for infrastructure development, with particular reference to:

1. the criteria and processes used by the federal government to assess, prioritise and allocate infrastructure funding;
2. the transparency, consistency and accountability of federal funding decisions;
3. how the viability and appropriateness of state and territory projects receiving federal funding is assessed, including the adequacy of business cases, rural and regional distribution impacts, and use of independent assessments;
4. how the economic, social, cultural and community impacts of federally supported infrastructure projects are considered during assessments;
5. federal oversight mechanisms used to track progress and performance of a state or territory project receiving federal funding and opportunities to improve governance, oversight and public reporting; and
6. any other related matters.

The committee will call for submissions and announce a date for close of submissions.