Key Facts:
- The state has made progress through reforms to quarry planning and the Extractive Resources Joint Ministerial Statement 2025, establishing clear actions for resource management
- CCAA supports the strategy's focus on coordination, freight and sustainability but sees opportunities for improved materials supply and resource planning integration
- The cement industry represents nearly 25% of Victoria's freight by weight, making efficient transport and recycling systems crucial
- CCAA recommends government implementation of embodied-carbon requirements and performance-based specifications to encourage low-carbon materials adoption
Cement Concrete & Aggregates Australia (CCAA) has welcomed the release of Victoria's Infrastructure Strategy 2025–2055 as a valuable framework to guide future investment and planning, while highlighting the importance of strengthening the link between infrastructure delivery and the materials that make it possible.
CCAA Chief Executive Officer Michael Kilgariff said Victoria's Infrastructure Strategy 2025–2055 builds on the Victorian Government's leadership in quarry approvals and resource planning.
"Victoria's transport, energy, water, housing, defence, and social infrastructure all start with cement, concrete and aggregates," said Mr Kilgariff.
"Victoria has made real progress through reforms to quarry planning and approvals, positioning the state ahead of the curve nationally."
This progress was reinforced through the Extractive Resources Joint Ministerial Statement 2025, which set clear actions to unlock new quarry materials, expand Strategic Extractive Resource Areas and strengthen planning policies to secure resources close to where they are needed.
While CCAA is supportive of the Infrastructure Strategy's focus on coordination, freight and sustainability, there are further opportunities to strengthen materials supply and resource planning integration.
"The next stage is about linking land use, freight and resource planning so materials can be supplied efficiently, sustainably and close to where they are needed," Mr Kilgariff said.
"Further focus on freight productivity, long-term quarry access and circular economy innovation will also be critical to meeting Victoria's housing and net zero goals.
"Our industry moves nearly a quarter of Victoria's freight by weight, so ensuring efficient transport corridors, approvals and recycling pathways is essential to affordability and sustainability.
"Government can also create strong market pull for low-carbon materials by embedding staged embodied-carbon requirements in major tenders, shifting to performance-based specifications, and recognising verified lower-carbon concrete and fit-for-purpose recycled inputs—sending clear demand signals that de-risk investment and accelerate adoption at scale.
"CCAA will continue to work closely with Infrastructure Victoria, the Department of Transport and Planning, and Resources Victoria to ensure the state's long-term infrastructure vision is supported by a secure, sustainable and affordable materials pipeline."
About us:
About CCAA
CCAA is the voice of Australia's heavy construction materials industry, an industry that generates over $15 billion annually and directly employs 30,000 Australians, with a further 80,000 employed indirectly. CCAA members produce most of Australia's cement, concrete, and aggregates, which are essential to the nation's building and construction sectors.
