The Minns Labor Government is moving ahead with a new, data-driven system to ensure NSW roads are categorised, funded and maintained by the right authority - ending years of delay and broken promises by the former government.
The New Approach to Road Recategorisation will replace the outdated, ad-hoc review system with an 'always open' process, giving local councils and road managers the ability to apply for category changes at any time.
An example of when recategorisation is necessary is when a previously semi-rural area becomes urbanised, or experiences a significant increase in freight volumes.
The Nationals and Liberals' signature regional roads commitment back in 2019 was to reclassify up to 15,000 kilometres of regional roads but they failed to deliver.
The new Minns Government framework puts evidence at the centre of decision-making, backed by a Self-Assessment Tool under development to help councils identify when a road's use no longer matches its current category of State, Regional or Local.
The new approach to road categorisation delivers a system that is fair, transparent and evidence-based . This will strengthen the partnership between state and local government in managing the local, regional and state road network.
Consultation earlier this year saw 57 submissions from councils, industry groups and other stakeholders.
Feedback strongly supported a system that is fairer, faster and more transparent.
This reform is being delivered within existing Transport for NSW funding, supported by a new online self-assessment tool and data portal that will give councils clear, consistent criteria to build proposals.
Implementation of the New Approach will roll out in the coming months, with Transport for NSW keeping councils updated every step of the way.
Minister for Roads Jenny Aitchison said:
"Roads are the lifeblood of our communities - connecting homes, schools, hospitals, farms, industry, and small family businesses. They need to be funded and maintained by the right authority so they're safe and reliable.
"With increased populations in regional communities, increasing freight tasks on the regional network and changes to resilient routes to deal with climate change, we need a dynamic, transparent approach to applying for recategorisation that quickly becomes straightforward and business as usual.
"Under the Coalition's approach, it was unclear who would fund the transfers, or fund and deliver ongoing maintenance, whether or not all regional councils were eligible, and it relied on their ad hoc, one-off approach which wasn't transparent or accountable to communities.
"Not only are we fixing the system, we have been fixing the roads after years of Coalition neglect.
"We poured $390 million into regional council roads for pothole repairs in our first budget. In 2024-25 we delivered five times as much disaster recovery funding to councils. This commitment exceeds $1 billion in a single year, more than the former Government did it in its last five years in office, and we are continuing this work in the current year.
"Motorists don't care who owns the roads, or how they are categorised, they just want them to be functional and maintained. This approach will support all road managers to get on with the vital work of maintaining and improving the standard of our roads.
"This new approach will give councils greater clarity, speed up decisions and ensure roads are categorised based on how they are actually used, not on outdated reviews or political deals.
"Combined with our recent announcement of AusRAP ratings, assessing the condition of State and Regional roads, and our advocacy to the Federal Government to increase Financial Assistance Grants for local council road funding, the Minns Labor Government is pulling every lever to improve the condition of our roads."
