Funding

These grants are provided annually for routine maintenance of Local Government roads. The grants are allocated directly to a Local Government using the Asset Preservation Model formula provided by the Western Australia Local Government Grants Commission.

Road Project Grants are allocated on an annual basis and are used for specific projects assessed and prioritised by a Regional Road Group using a multi-criteria assessment/analysis model. Funding may only be used on roads of regional significance for specific road improvements and major preservation works, such as resealing to maintain the road asset.

The State Road Funds to Local Government Agreement makes provision for a Commodity Route Fund (CRF). Commodity Routes are defined as routes where there is a significant high priority transport task associated with the transport of a commodity such as grain, timber, agricultural lime, iron ore etc.  The assessment process for the Commodity Routes Fund will prioritise projects not eligible for Road Project Grant Funding.

Application Forms, Application Guidelines and Assessment Guidelines for the CRF are available via the links below:

• Application and Assessment Guidelines
• Application for Funding

Funds are provided annually for assessing the condition of regionally significant Local Government bituminous sealed roads, as defined in each Regional Road Group’s Regional Strategies for Significant Local Government Roads, and to assist Local Governments to perform Level 1 bridge inspections on local roads.

The Commonwealth provides Financial Assistance Grant funding to the Western Australian Local Government Grants Commission in the form of Untied Funds for Local Government. Some of this funding is set aside for major maintenance and replacement of bridges on Local Government roads. The State provides a matching contribution of $1 for every $2 provided under this arrangement.

The Commonwealth provides Financial Assistance Grant funding to the Western Australian Local Government Grants Commission in the form of Untied Funds for Local Government. Some of this funding is set aside for access roads serving Aboriginal Communities. The State provides a matching contribution of $1 for every $2 provided under this arrangement.

Black Spot Programs are administered via the State Government, but are divided into two funding streams, one from the State Government and the other from the Federal Government. The main difference between these programs is the required level of financial commitment from Local Governments.

The Program targets improving the safety of roads with a proven crash history or high-risk location with the likelihood of crashes occurring identified by a road safety audit/inspection. Projects on local roads are funded by a joint contribution of two dollars from the State Government and a one-dollar contribution from the Local Government where the project is located.

The Program aims to reduce the social and economic costs of road trauma by treating locations with a record of casualty crashes or with the likelihood of crashes occurring identified by a road safety audit/inspection. The Australian Government fully funds projects on local roads under this program.

Financial support from Federal and State Governments is critical to enable Local Governments to restore public assets following disasters such as floods, cyclones and bushfires. The Federal Government implemented new funding arrangements for all eligible disasters from 1 November 2018.

The Western Australian Government has developed systems, processes, guidelines, templates and supporting information to facilitate implementation of these new Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA WA).

These and a series of updates for Local Governments are being regularly released and are available

The State Government provides other funding sources for specific infrastructure improvements, including the Low-Cost Urban Road Safety Program and the WA Bicycle Network Grants Program, among others.

The goal of this program is to identify and prioritise areas within neighbourhoods that have a higher-than-average casualty crash rate. Once identified, funding is available to Local Governments via reimbursement to construct various area-wide or whole-of-street road treatments with the intent of reducing serious injuries and fatalities. Local Governments are responsible for conducting consultation, maintenance, and evaluation under this program.

Administered through the WA Department of Transport, the WA Bicycle Network Grants Program provides funding to Local Governments for various initiatives intended to encourage people of all ages and abilities to ride bicycles. There are currently two streams of funding, the Perth Bicycle Network and Regional Bicycle Network grants, which supports the development of bicycle plans and infrastructure, and the Active Travel Officer grants, intended to provide financial support to Local Governments in employing Active Travel Officers.

Funded by the Australian Government, the Roads to Recovery Program commenced in 2001 to address the significant amount of Local Government road infrastructure reaching the end of its economic life. In many cases, replacing this infrastructure was beyond the capacity of Local Governments. Roads to Recovery funds are paid directly to Local Governments for priority road projects chosen by Local Governments.