Development of a national appraisal methodology for transport proposals

In 2002, the Australian Government announced its intention to embark on a new approach to planning, developing and managing Australia's national land transport infrastructure. Following release of the AusLink Green Paper, a project appraisal methodology was developed. This was undertaken via two working groups comprising representatives across all three levels of government in Australia: federal, state/territory and local. This paper discusses the deliberations of those two working groups to date, including a transport system management framework, an assessment methodology, and a national transport data framework. The resulting framework recognizes the importance of strategic planning as the process for identifying potential project proposals. It also recognizes the hierarchy of assessment levels required as a proposal evolves from an initial idea to a well understood detailed project. Finally, the methodology takes into account the multiple objectives of government, and introduces an adjusted benefit cost analysis approach for project appraisal. (a) For the covering entry of this conference, please see ITRD abstract no. E211825.