The ACT government has scrapped a key measure of road conditions despite an audit finding Canberra’s road network had been gradually deteriorating and that maintenance funding had previously been insufficient to keep it in a stable condition.

In a report released today, Auditor-General Ajay Sharma found the removal of the Pavement Condition Index from the 2026-27 Budget meant there was no longer a publicly reported performance indicator measuring the condition and quality of ACT roads.

The audit also found the government had continued to rely on cheaper bituminous resealing rather than substantially increasing the use of more expensive, longer-lasting asphalt as intended under its road maintenance strategy.

While overall resurfacing targets were met in 2023-24 and 2024-25, spending on bituminous resealing exceeded the program’s original assumptions by 34.9 per cent and 67.6 per cent respectively, while asphalt spending fell 26.6 per cent and 43.5 per cent below expectations.

The audit warned the continued reliance on resealing could have longer-term consequences for the condition of Canberra’s roads, particularly suburban streets.

It also found that between 2017 and 2022, public reporting showed 87 to 90 per cent of major roads were in good condition, while more detailed internal assessments painted a different picture of a road network in fair but gradually deteriorating condition.

The report raised concerns about the transparency of the Pavement Condition Index, warning that changes to the system’s settings could alter road condition scores without any physical improvement or deterioration in the roads themselves.

“Without this transparency, it is difficult for the community to assess whether the condition of the road network is improving or deteriorating,” Sharma says.

The audit examined the government’s Strategic Road Maintenance and Renewal Program, announced in February 2023, which included a 52 per cent increase in road maintenance spending and plans to increase annual resurfacing from one million to about 1.26 million square metres.

It also identified shortcomings in how roads were selected for resurfacing. Of 421 roads initially identified as priorities in 2023-24, 221 were deferred, with no recorded reason for 95 of those decisions.

Road maintenance planning relied heavily on staff experience and professional judgement because of inadequate documented procedures, while Roads ACT’s strategic asset management plan, developed in 2018, had not been updated.

However, the audit found the government’s newer resurfacing contractor arrangements had increased competition among suppliers, with officials effectively considering value for money when awarding work.

The Auditor-General made 12 recommendations to the City and Environment Directorate, including developing a new strategic asset management plan for road maintenance and regularly reviewing and updating its resurfacing strategy, which should also be made publicly available.

The report calls for clear, publicly available standards on road conditions and when maintenance should occur, along with a review of the performance measures used to track resurfacing of major and suburban roads.

It also recommends better documentation of how resurfacing costs are classified as capital or operating expenditure, annual business plans with regular progress reviews, and a dedicated operating plan for Roads ACT’s asphalt team.

Other recommendations include improving business systems and data quality, establishing clearer policies and procedures for resurfacing decisions, and recording reasons for selecting, adding or removing roads from maintenance programs.

The audit also calls for better forward planning and value-for-money assessments of maintenance contracts, documented quality assurance procedures for resurfacing work, and the restoration of public reporting on the condition and quality of both major and suburban roads.

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