Ipswich gets no new federal infrastructure funding as grants fall to 0.49%

Ipswich has been identified for no new infrastructure investment in the 2026 - 27 Federal Budget, while Financial Assistance Grants have fallen to 0.49% and the Local Roads and Community Infrastructure Program has stopped.

The Ipswich City Council Advocacy Advisory Committee noted the budget measures relevant to local government and the region at its 18 June meeting. Mayor Teresa Harding outlined the changes during the discussion.

The Thriving Suburbs Program is returning. The committee also noted that one quarter of the $2 billion Local Infrastructure Fund is dedicated to projects in regional Australia, leaving $1.5 billion for suburban, urban and peri-urban funding.

The changes reshape the federal funding available for local roads, community facilities and other infrastructure in Ipswich. No new infrastructure allocation for the city was identified in the committee’s budget discussion.

Economic Development Manager Dan Heenan said Inland Rail was a key regionally significant project. Ipswich City Council has engaged with the State Government about alternative pathways to fund the infrastructure needed to bring the project online.

Meetings were held with several government departments the previous week. The government is interested in forming a working group with council to explore a pathway for delivering the available infrastructure needed to activate the Inland Rail project area.

Advocacy Lead Kate Adams is to provide updates on regionally significant projects and a refreshed list of requests under each advocacy priority at a future meeting. The Advocacy Plan is scheduled for the 2028 elections, and the requests under each priority will be refreshed and brought back to the committee for review.

The committee is also expected to meet in late July 2026 to consider a Ross Planning draft report on the preferred location of the tartan track. The location was not determined at the June meeting.