Realising the benefits identified in the Suburban Rail Loop business case
Overview
Why this is important
The Suburban Rail Loop (SRL) is a planned 90-kilometre orbital rail loop that will link Melbourne's eastern and western suburbs via Melbourne Airport. The Suburban Rail Loop Authority is responsible for planning and delivering the SRL, which in 2022 the Parliamentary Budget Office estimated will cost $125 billion.
In addition to being a significant infrastructure project, the SRL is intended to transform land use across suburban Melbourne with a particular focus on delivering housing and employment outcomes in the precincts surrounding SRL stations. The SRL business case estimates that the precinct development will deliver an additional 47,500 households and 165,000 jobs in SRL East and SRL North precincts.
Our 2022 Quality of Major Transport Infrastructure Project Business Cases audit found that planning and approval processes for the SRL had not followed usual government protocol, with the costs associated with developing these precincts not having been fully explored.
The process for planning SRL precincts commenced in mid-2023 with the release of the SRL Precincts: Discussion Paper, followed by the release of the Draft Precinct Vision in November 2023. While highlighting the importance of housing affordability and choice, these documents do not include any specific references to the scale of housing anticipated by the business case.
In the context of realising the wider economic benefits anticipated by the SRL business case, it is vital that the precinct planning process for SRL precincts is undertaken in a manner that can achieve the projected population and employment estimates. Failure to do so will reduce the benefits associated with SRL and add to the costs borne by the community.
What we plan
to examine
We plan to examine whether SRL East precincts are being planned in a way that the benefits identified in the SRL business case can be realised.
Who we plan
to examine
Suburban Rail Loop Authority, Department of Transport and Planning, Department of Treasury and Finance and selected local councils.