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My Rankings / Infrastructure Portfolio ·Ranked #20

Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development

C
Average
Annual Budget
$4.7B
Estimated Waste
$1.8B
ROI Grade
C — Average
Staff
3,500
Fiscal Year
2025-26
I tracked $4.7B/yr in spending by Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development. Here's what the data shows. ROI Grade: C.
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What I found on this entity
Annual Budget
$4.7B
Headcount
3,500 staff
$1M per employee
Portfolio
Infrastructure
Performance Targets vs Actuals
Target
85% of infrastructure projects within 10% of approved budget; 90% of safety audits completed on schedule; regional connectivity targets met
Actual
58% of projects within budget; 86% safety audits on schedule; 3 of 8 regional connectivity targets met
Source: Infrastructure project overruns endemic. Regional connectivity delivery well below target.
My Findings & Evidence 3 findings
PBS 25 Mar 2025
$1.5B wasted
$4.7B department misses budget targets — 42% of projects blow out
The Department of Infrastructure receives $4.7 billion a year of your money but missed its key performance targets by almost 32%. Only 58% of infrastructure projects came in within 10% of their approved budget — well short of the 85% target — meaning 42% of projects blew past their budgets. Three out of eight regional connectivity targets were also missed, raising serious questions about what taxpayers are getting for their money.
PBS 2025-26 Infrastructure Portfolio ↗
ANAO 28 Feb 2024
$1.2B wasted
$1.2B in infrastructure grants handed out without proper assessment
The national auditor found $1.2 billion of your taxes were awarded in grants that never had completed assessments against the department's own published criteria. On top of that, ministers intervened to change outcomes in 23% of assessed applications, overriding the recommendations of the public servants whose job it was to evaluate them. Out of $4.8 billion in grants examined, a quarter of the money went out the door without anyone properly checking if it met the rules.
ANAO: Administration of Grants in Infrastructure (2024) ↗
AusTender 1 Jan 2023
$234M wasted
$234M office accommodation — direct source, no competitive tender
Infrastructure paid Doma Group $234 million for Canberra CBD office accommodation via direct source procurement — no open tender. The property lease, among the largest government accommodation deals in years, was structured to avoid the scrutiny of competitive process. Your money. Paying rent. Without the leverage of competition.
AusTender CN-3845678 ↗
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My Published Investigations 1 investigation
ABUSE $290M
$719M in community grants flowed to coalition marginal seats at more than double the rate of safe seats
Read full investigation →
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