Federal Budget 2026-27: Infrastructure and real estate

• The Government will provide $8.6 billion over 11 years from 2025–26 (and $75.7 million per year ongoing) for road and rail infrastructure priorities to support productivity and jobs. Funding includes:
  • $1.8 billion over six years from 2026–27 in equity for the Australian Rail Track Corporation to invest in its interstate rail network.
  • $1.7 billion over nine years from 2026–27 for new Infrastructure Investment Program projects (state-specific projects listed below).
  • $500.0 million over ten years from 2026–27 (and $50.0 million per year ongoing) to continue the Active Transport Fund to support the construction and upgrade of bicycle and walking paths across Australia.
• The Government will implement a temporary fuel and other materials disruption slippage adjustment for the Infrastructure Investment Program to recognise the uncertain impacts of the Middle East conflict on the availability of key materials for the delivery of projects. The adjustment is set at $2.0 billion in 2026–27, $1.6 billion in 2027–28 and $0.5 billion in 2028–29, and is unwound over 2030–31 to 2035–36.
• The Government will also consolidate the Inland Rail project at Parkes and preserve the remaining rail corridor and intermodal sites for future investment, with $4.4 billion in equity to be returned to the Budget.
• The Government is providing $1.7 billion over six years from 2025–26 to address unavoidable cost pressures for 28 existing Infrastructure Investment Program projects.  

• The Government will provide $2.1 billion over five years from 2025–26 to support increased housing supply and research. Funding includes:
  • $2.0 billion over four years from 2026–27 for the Housing Support Program – Local Infrastructure Fund to provide funding via states and territories (states) to support local governments and state utility providers to expedite the delivery of housing enabling infrastructure, with funding contingent on states committing to reforms to improve productivity in the housing sector, including faster and simpler approvals, releasing more land ready to build homes, and delivering a genuinely national construction code.
  • $56.4 million over four years from 2025–26 for the Treasury to support the oversight and delivery of key programs under the Government’s Homes for Australia plan and for a public campaign to inform taxpayers of the changes to the tax system.
  • $2.1 million in 2026–27 to extend Commonwealth funding to support the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute.

• The Government will provide $841.7 million over four years from 2026–27 to support economic growth and development across urban and regional Australia. Funding includes:
  • $781.6 million over four years from 2026–27 for further rounds of the Thriving Suburbs program and the Growing Regions program to deliver community infrastructure projects in urban and regional Australia.
  • $30.1 million over three years from 2026–27 for round ten of the Stronger Communities Programme to support small capital projects that deliver social benefits for local communities across Australia.
  • $30.0 million in 2026–27 towards the construction of a new animal welfare campus for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in the Australian Capital Territory.

• The Government will provide $59.4 million over four years from 2026–27 to provide states and territories with funding for community housing providers to supplement rental income for social housing for over 4,000 eligible young people, aged 16‑24, who are in receipt of the Away from Home rate of Youth Allowance or ABSTUDY and who are at risk of, or experiencing, homelessness. 

• The Government will provide $731.1 million over four years from 2026–27 (and $9.8 million per year ongoing) to support aviation priorities, including:
  • $600.0 million in 2026–27 as an equity investment in Airservices Australia to support continued provision of critical air navigation, air traffic control, and aviation fire and rescue services at major Australian airports
  • $66.5 million over four years from 2026–27 to support the Civil Aviation Safety Authority to continue its critical safety and regulatory functions.
  • $38.1 million over four years from 2026–27 (and $7.3 million per year ongoing) to enhance protections for aviation consumers.
  • $14.3 million over four years from 2026–27 (and $2.5 million per year ongoing) to the Department of Home Affairs for cargo monitoring and regulatory fit-out requirements at Western Sydney International (Nancy-Bird Walton) Airport.
  • $5.1 million in 2026–27 to continue to support airport compliance with environmental standards.
  • $4.5 million over four years from 2026–27 for the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to continue monitoring competitiveness in the domestic airline sector including on prices, costs and profit.
  • $1.7 million in 2026–27 in additional funding to continue the Remote Air Services Subsidy Scheme to subsidise the carriage of passengers and essential goods to communities in remote and isolated areas of Australia.
  • $1.0 million in 2026–27 for the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sport and the Arts to support the aviation sector.

The Government will provide $47.5 million over four years from 2026–27 (and $3.9 million per year ongoing) for the Treasury and the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) to strengthen and streamline Australia's foreign investment framework, including a new performance target to decide all low‑risk applications within 30 days from 1 January 2027, removal of ineffective conditions on existing approvals and reforms to foreign investment laws and the Register of Foreign Ownership of Australian Assets. 

ROAD PROJECTS

• $50.0 million for the Drake Brockman Drive Duplication in the Australian Capital Territory.

COMMUNITY INFRASTRUCTURE

• $30.0 million in 2026–27 towards the construction of a new animal welfare campus for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in the Australian Capital Territory.

NGURRA CULTURAL PRECINCT

• The Government will provide $4.2 million in 2026–27 to continue the development of Ngurra: The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultural Precinct. Funding includes:
  • $2.3 million in 2026–27 to the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies to progress delivery of the precinct.
  • $1.9 million in 2026–27 to the Department of Finance to support delivery of the precinct.

BRUCE HIGHWAY UPGRADE

• $812.5 million for the Bruce Highway – Gateway Motorway to Dohles Rocks Road (Stage 2) upgrade in Queensland, building on our $758.4 million investment in Stage 1 and connecting Moreton Bay and the Sunshine Coast growth areas to Brisbane's north. 

ROAD AND RAIL PROJECTS

• $50.0 million for the Sydney to Canberra Rail Corridor Upgrade.
• $45.0 million for M1 Safety Improvements.

HIGH SPEED RAIL

• $659.6 million over three years from 2025–26 for the High Speed Rail Authority to undertake development works for the Newcastle to Sydney high speed rail project.

ROAD PROJECTS

• $24.0 million for Bagot Road Safety and Capacity Upgrades in the Northern Territory. 

ROAD FUNDING

• ·        $230.8 million over ten years from 2026–27 (and $25.7 million per year ongoing and indexed) to continue supplementary local road funding for South Australia.

AUKUS PLANNING

• $7.5 million for the AUKUS Planning Study and Business Case for key transport infrastructure upgrades in South Australia. 

ROAD UPGRADES

• $552.0 million for Anketell Road Upgrades, Westport (Stage 1A and 1B) in Western Australia.

HENDERSON DEFENCE PRECINCT

• The Government has provided $30.0 million in 2025–26 to support the design and commencement of early works for interim facilities at the Henderson Defence Precinct in Western Australia. 

SUBURBAN RAIL LOOP

• $3.8 billion over four years from 2026–27 in additional funding for Suburban Rail Loop East in Victoria.

ROAD AND RAIL PROJECTS

• $76.4 million for the Melton Line Electrification.
• $50.0 million for the Western Freeway Upgrade (Melton to Caroline Springs).