//
© 2026 Zoe. All rights reserved.
Zoe is a legal information platform. Always consult the official source for authoritative text.
Commonwealth act
The National Land Transport Act 2014 is the legal framework that governs how the Australian federal government funds land transport infrastructure — think roads, railways, interchanges, and freight hubs — across the country.
Funding for building or maintaining roads, railways, and freight transfer hubs. The federal Minister decides which projects get approved based on factors like economic benefit, safety, and whether others (like states) are also contributing money. Recipients must spend the money only on the approved project, keep audited records, and allow government inspectors in.
Funding for research, planning, and studies related to the national transport network — for example, investigating better technologies or analysing how existing projects have performed.
Want the full deep dive?
Zoe can write the in-depth analysis on top of the summary above: how it works, who it affects and what each part actually does.
Direct links to the current provisions in National Land Transport Act 2014.
Zoe has indexed the source text for search and analysis. Use the official register for the original document and download formats.
View on official registerSourced from the Federal Register of Legislation (legislation.gov.au), CC BY 4.0.
Targeted funding to fix dangerous sections of roads — known as 'black spots' — where serious crashes involving death or injury have occurred or are likely to occur. Recipients must keep crash records for 5 years after receiving the money.
Direct funding to local councils and other bodies to build and maintain local roads. The Minister publishes a list specifying exactly who gets what amount. Councils must maintain their own spending on roads — the federal money can't simply replace what the council was already spending.
The Minister is required to formally determine and publish a map of the National Land Transport Network — the key roads, railways, and freight hubs considered vital for interstate trade and travel. This network determines which infrastructure is eligible for certain types of funding.
Anyone who receives money under this Act must:
For major construction contracts, states and state bodies must go through a public tender process (i.e., openly advertise for competitive bids), with limited exceptions for urgent or minor work.
This Act is the legal engine behind billions of dollars of federal infrastructure spending. Whether it's a new highway bypass, fixing a dangerous country road intersection, or funding transport research, this law sets the rules for how that money flows — and what happens if it's misused.