House of Representatives

Explanatory Memorandum

(Circulated by Authority of the Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development, the Hon Warren Truss MP)

Outline

The purpose of the Infrastructure Australia Amendment Bill 2013 is to amend the Infrastructure Australia Act 2008 (IA Act) which established Infrastructure Australia as an advisory body to governments, investors and infrastructure owners on a wide range of issues. These include:

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Australia's current and future infrastructure needs;

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mechanisms for financing infrastructure investments, and

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policy, pricing and regulation and their impacts on investment and on the efficiency of the delivery, operation and use of national infrastructure networks.

The Bill will strengthen the role of Infrastructure Australia, as an independent, transparent and expert advisory body through a change in its governance structure and through better clarification of its functions.

The Bill will re-establish Infrastructure Australia as a separate entity under the Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Act 1997, which will provide for an independent governing entity that is both legally and financially separate from the Commonwealth.

The Bill will more clearly define the functions of Infrastructure Australia. Better defining Infrastructure Australia's functions and deliverables will assist in improving infrastructure planning and prioritisation on a national basis, thereby providing a more transparent, robust, evidence-based approach to allocating public funds to projects with the highest yielding productivity returns.

Financial Impact Statement

There is no net impact on the Australian Government Budget flowing from this amendment.

It is proposed that Infrastructure Australia undertake its new functions within existing funding, including the current appropriations of $12.072 million in 2013-14, $12.126 million in 2014-15, $12.224 million in 2015-16 and $12.303 million in 2016-17.