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Insider
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Transport & Infrastructure News
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What’s inside? A quick look at what’s in today’s edition: |
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1. CEO message
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Freight's contribution to economic prosperity |
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2. Policy news
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Industry leaders guiding TA policy work |
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3. Programs
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One day left to apply for 2027 Fellowship |
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4. Upcoming events
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Minister Mickelberg to headline Queensland freight lunch |
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5. Event highlights
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Emerging Leaders connect in Sydney |
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6. People moves
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Updates for your contact lists |
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7. Industry news
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News from across the sector |
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Have stories, news or an industry perspective to share?
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FROM THE CEO |
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At our recent Port of Brisbane event, members strongly agreed that Australia’s prosperity, national sovereignty and security depend on a productive and resilient freight network, rating this proposition 4.6 out of five. Yet confidence that our current infrastructure, systems, regulation and policy are ready for the future was much lower, at just 2.5 out of five.
Transport Australia is increasingly using our events to bring member expertise directly into our policy work. These discussions are providing important inputs into our major work on freight productivity, which we will release next year. |
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By gathering perspectives in different locations, we can test the national proposition against the practical challenges facing individual ports, networks and jurisdictions.
At Port of Brisbane, 93 per cent of respondents identified better coordination between road, rail, ports and intermodal assets as the greatest short-to-medium-term opportunity. Increased infrastructure investment followed at 74 per cent. Members also highlighted streamlined planning and approvals, stronger protection of freight corridors, and greater use of data and digital technology.
Their practical suggestions included more direct rail access to ports, a national target for freight on rail backed by investment, more efficient links to final destinations, greater automation in container handling and better integration between modes.
Members attending our recent Westport event were also asked for their views, helping us understand how these national challenges play out in Western Australia. Port of Melbourne will be the next step, adding insights from Australia’s largest container port and its landside freight network.
The findings will also inform our forthcoming freight report, due next year. While the work is still being developed, its focus is clear: to make freight’s contribution to prosperity, household affordability and national resilience more visible, and to examine how road, rail, active transport, ports and airports can operate as one connected system. |
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POLICY NEWS |
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Industry leaders appointed to guide TA's policy work
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Transport Australia has confirmed the Chairs and Deputy Chairs who will lead its policy working groups across four national priorities: productivity, network resilience, safety and workforce.
The working groups bring together expertise from across the membership to develop practical, evidence-led insights and support Transport Australia’s policy and advocacy program.
Productivity
Chair: Alison Close, Partner, Clayton Utz
Deputy Chair: Corey Hannett, Chief Operating Officer, CIMIC
Network Resilience
Chair: Kate West, Chief Officer, APAC Business and Markets, Arup
Deputy Chair: John Dyson, General Manager Australia, Mott MacDonald
Safety
Chair: Nicole Stoddart, Group Executive Delivery and Risk, Transurban
Deputy Chair: Aimee Wescombe, Business Group Leader Transport, GHD, and recipient of the 2026 Ray Fisher Award.
Workforce
Chair: Silje Troseth, Vice President APAC, Q-Free
Deputy Chair: Allen Macourt, Director and Transport Sector Leader, Australia, Stantec
The new leaders bring experience across transport delivery, operations, engineering, law, technology and risk. They will help focus member discussion on the policy changes and practical actions needed to strengthen Australia’s integrated transport system. |
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LEADERSHIP PROGRAMS |
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The value of staying connected
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One of the most valuable parts of the Transport Australia Fellowship is the network Fellows build across organisations, disciplines and jurisdictions.
Those relationships often continue long after the formal program concludes, creating opportunities for alumni to exchange ideas, support one another and stay connected to the broader transport community.
We always love seeing our alumni catch up, including this recent Adelaide gathering organised by Future Leaders Committee SA representative Ana Guzman. Please keep sending us your photos so we can celebrate the connections being sustained across the country and New Zealand.
For those considering joining this growing network, applications for the 2027 Transport Australia Fellowship have been extended by one week following several requests for additional time.
Applications will now close on Friday 11 September. The Fellowship offers emerging transport leaders a year of professional development, industry access and relationships that can last throughout their careers.
Ready to accelerate your career? |
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UPCOMING EVENTS |
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Minister Mickelberg headlines Qld industry lunch
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Transport and Main Roads Minister Brent Mickelberg to give keynote on Queensland’s freight priorities.
Visit Transport Australia for details and tickets.
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Minister to outline Queensland's freight, productivity agenda
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Transport Australia is pleased to announce that the Hon Brent Mickelberg MP, Queensland Minister for Transport and Main Roads, will deliver the keynote address at our upcoming Queensland industry lunch.
Minister Mickelberg will outline the Queensland Government’s freight delivery and productivity priorities, including the infrastructure, policy settings and partnerships needed to support a growing freight task across metropolitan and regional Queensland.
The keynote will be followed by an industry discussion featuring
- Dr Gillian Miles AM, Commissioner, Infrastructure Australia
- Sean Collingwood, Executive Director, Governance, Freight and Partnerships, Department of Transport and Main Roads
- Andrew Mahon, Deputy Director-General, Policy, Planning and Investment, Department of Transport and Main Roads.
Together, the speakers will provide national and state perspectives on Queensland’s freight priorities, emerging opportunities and the practical work required to support delivery. The discussion will cover investment, innovation, network resilience and collaboration across government and industry.
Minister Mickelberg has represented Buderim since 2017 and became Minister for Transport and Main Roads in 2024. His career has included roles as a stockman, bank manager and financial analyst, as well as service as an infantry soldier and officer in the Australian Defence Force.
For freight operators, infrastructure owners, planners, delivery partners and professional services firms, this lunch offers direct insight into the decisions shaping Queensland’s freight network and its contribution to productivity.
GET TICKETS |
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Minister Aitchison headlines Western Sydney event
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Minister for Roads and Minister for Regional Transport Jenny Aitchison to give keynote on the long-term planning supporting Western Sydney’s growth.
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NSW Roads Minister to outline priorities for Western Sydney
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Join Transport Australia in Sydney on Tuesday, 27 October for an industry lunch on the transport system shaping the next chapter of Western Sydney.
Just two days after Western Sydney International Airport welcomes its first passengers, this event will examine what comes next as the region moves from planning and construction into operation, connection and growth.
With the airport opening, freight already moving, and the continued development of Bradfield City Centre and the Western Sydney Aerotropolis, the focus is shifting to how the transport network will operate as one connected system.
Hear from The Hon Jenny Aitchison MP, NSW Minister for Roads and Minister for Regional Transport, on the infrastructure, connectivity and long-term planning that will support Western Sydney’s growth.
Transport infrastructure is critical to unlocking housing, connecting communities to jobs and education, supporting access to the airport and economic precincts, and moving freight efficiently across the region.
GET TICKETS |
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Don't miss Emerging Leaders networking event in Brisbane
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Following a strong launch in Sydney, Transport Australia’s Emerging Leaders Breakfast Series continues in Brisbane on Tuesday, 15 September.
From Pipeline to Site: Practical Lessons from Queensland’s Delivery Frontline will feature:
- Alex Borg, Principal and Roads & Streets APAC Leader, Arup, and 2016 TA Fellow
- Ryan Jones, Project Manager, CPB Contractors, and 2022 TA Fellow
Drawing on their experience across major road and rail projects, Alex and Ryan will explore the realities of moving from planning to delivery, including procurement, risk, constructability, workforce capability and decision-making under pressure.
Created for early career transport and infrastructure professionals, the series offers practical lessons from experienced industry leaders alongside opportunities to build connections across the sector.
Further breakfasts will follow in Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth during October, with an Emerging Leaders Speed Networking event in Auckland.
Program partner: CPB Contractors |
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Planning Victoria's future freight network
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With freight volumes continuing to grow, the question is not simply how the Port of Melbourne expands, but how Victoria’s wider transport network supports that growth.
At Transport Australia’s Melbourne Industry Lunch on Thursday, 17 September, Port of Melbourne CEO Saul Cannon will examine the priorities shaping the port’s next phase. These include stronger landside connectivity, network resilience, increased rail mode share and the long-term planning required for future container capacity, including a fourth terminal.
He will be joined by Isaac Wingfield, Vice President, Head of Ports, Global Transportation at AECOM, who will bring a global perspective on ports and infrastructure to the discussion.
With $200 million invested in rail infrastructure and major planning decisions ahead, this conversation will explore how infrastructure, policy and industry partnerships can support an efficient freight network for decades to come.
Join senior leaders from across the sector in Melbourne for a practical discussion about Victoria’s freight future.
Event partner: AECOM |
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EVENT HIGHLIGHTS |
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New breakfast series kicks off in Sydney
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What does it take to turn a strong design into transport infrastructure that works on site, across the network and over the long term?
That was the focus of Transport Australia’s inaugural Emerging Leaders Breakfast in Sydney: From Drawings to Delivery.
Simon Berry, General Manager at WSce, and Matthew Ferreira, Technical Manager at Transport for NSW, shared practical lessons drawn from their careers and major projects.
Their message to early career professionals was clear:
• Think beyond your individual package and understand how each decision affects construction, maintenance, operations and the wider transport system.
• Bring delivery experience into the design process early. A drawing can look perfect and still prove unworkable on site.
• Stay curious, seek mentors and ask for responsibility.
• Have the confidence to make decisions when there is no perfect answer. Sometimes the task is to identify the good, better and best options, then keep the project moving.
The Emerging Leaders Breakfast Series was created to give people in the early stages of their careers access to the practical knowledge that is rarely found in a textbook. Each session will explore real projects, real constraints and the judgement required to deliver better outcomes.
Thank you to our speakers, Transport Australia Future Leaders Committee Chair Verity Turner and Deputy Chair Matt Burns, program sponsor CPB Contractors and our Patrons for making the first event such a success. |
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PEOPLE MOVES |
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Simon Barnes has been appointed Chief Executive Officer, Australia, at Fulton Hogan. |
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Simon Berry has been appointed General Manager at WSce |
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Sigrid Groenhout has joined Queensland’s Department of Transport and Main Roads as Rail Executive Adviser. |
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INDUSTRY NEWS |
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Commonwealth focuses infrastructure planning on deliverability
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The Commonwealth has outlined how it will apply existing infrastructure reforms, with greater emphasis on project readiness, affordability and delivery capacity. Annual state and territory infrastructure plans will provide a ten-year pipeline view, supported by more consistent reporting on risks, outcomes and delivery.
Infrastructure Australia’s refreshed Priority List will distinguish investment-ready proposals from projects requiring further planning. Infrastructure Minister Catherine King also confirmed that the TRACK pilot for more fuel-efficient rail and coastal freight will open shortly, while discussions continue on South Australia’s High Productivity Vehicle Network.
For Westport, the Commonwealth expects planning to address road, rail, landside and workforce requirements. Construction workforce availability, integrity and market capacity will also inform the sequencing of infrastructure investment.
Consultation on proposed Commonwealth construction standards closes on 16 October. |
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Housing growth planned around Woollahra rail investment
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The NSW Government has placed the draft Edgecliff-Woollahra Precinct rezoning proposal on public exhibition until 7 October. It sets out a 20-year plan for up to 9,400 new homes around Edgecliff Station and the future Woollahra Station.
Up to 40 per cent of the homes would be located within 200 metres of a station. Woollahra Station is expected to open in 2029, providing an eight-minute rail journey to the Sydney CBD. The wider plan includes commercial space supporting around 1,000 jobs, upgraded parks, new walking and cycling connections, and improvements to local infrastructure.
The proposal reinforces the NSW Government’s approach of concentrating housing growth around major transport investments. It links land-use planning with public transport delivery to support higher-density development close to jobs and services. For industry, it highlights the need to coordinate transport, housing, utilities and community infrastructure early, and to sequence investment carefully as the precinct takes shape. |
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The next edition of Insider is out 24 September.
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