The Federal Government has announced that it is searching for a Chief Commissioner and two Commissioners to lead Infrastructure Australia (IA), the country’s primary independent infrastructure adviser.
This is part of the government’s commitment to re-establishing IA as the pre-eminent adviser on nationally significant infrastructure planning and investment, following an independent review of IA commissioned by the Federal Government in 2022.
The independent review, conducted by Nicole Lockwood and Mike Mrdak, leaders in the infrastructure industry, recommended reforms to ensure IA is able to fully deliver on its responsibilities.
The Federal Government said that there will be a merit-based process to select the Commissioners, including the Chief Commissioner, to ensure they have the appropriate skills, qualifications, knowledge and experience to lead and deliver on Infrastructure Australia’s mandate.
The refreshed IA is expected to better support government infrastructure investment objectives, including through improved evaluation of infrastructure proposals and providing a more targeted infrastructure priority list aligned to the government’s infrastructure policy objectives.
Applicants will be assessed by a Federal Government selection panel against specific criteria, and the merit-based process will identify suitable candidates for consideration.
The decision to introduce three commissioners for IA, who will be supported by an advisory council with experts from infrastructure and related sectors and senior public service officials, will strengthen the foundations for better decisions on significant infrastructure investment, improving outcomes for Australians.
The Federal Government said that with these strengthened foundations, it can build the infrastructure Australia needs to connect people and opportunity, to connect people with each other and to leave a lasting legacy.
Applications for the positions will close on Monday 18 March 2024.
