Frequently asked questions (FAQs) about Sealing the Hills funding withdrawal
What is the current funding for the Sealing the Hills program?
In 2019, the federal government announced $150 million funding for the Sealing the Hills program with bipartisan support.
In January 2023, council received official confirmation that $109 million of the committed funding for the Sealing the Hills program had been discontinued and withdrawn by the federal government.
A total of $41 million in funding has now been secured deliver and seal 38 roads under the Sealing the Hills program.
Why did the federal government choose to withdraw funding?
Unfortunately, no official explanation for the reduction in funding was provided to Council. Instead, the federal government has encouraged council to seek alternate sources of funding through other federal and state government channels for the continuance of the program.
What is being done to have funding restored?
Council identified that the Sealing the Hills project was not detailed in the federal government’s revised budget in October 2022, and immediately contacted the federal government requesting clarification about the future of the vital funding.
Cardinia Shire Council and Yarra Ranges Council partnered to write a letter to the federal government asking for its commitment to current projects and clarification about the ongoing nature of funding for the critical ‘Sealing the Hills’ and ‘Roads for our Community’ programs.
Council continued to advocate strongly for funding while awaiting a response; writing letters to federal and state representatives and departments, sending representatives to Canberra to advocate in-person, and contacting the Prime Minister’s office.
When official confirmation was received , Council wrote to Minister King, urging the federal government to reconsider the severe impact of this funding cut and to reinstate funding in its entirety.
Cardinia Shire and Yarra Ranges Councils also submitted a joint business case to the federal budget submissions in late January, which urged the government to reinstate the funding in its entirety.
As of mid-2023, Cardinia Shire Council has been unsuccessful in having funding restored or obtaining additional funding for this unsealed road project.
Council is continuing to prioritise improving our road network, building better local roads, and advocating for future funding to seal these roads within the Hills.
Is Council considering funding the outstanding amount to complete additional roads?
The delivery of this vital program is simply not possible without significant government investment, as there are hundreds of kilometres of currently unsealed roads that stretch across Cardinia Shire and the Yarra Ranges.
The federal government’s funding subsidised about 85% of the works and without this funding, Council and residents are unable to cover the cost of this alone.
Council will continue to urge the federal government to reconsider its decision and reinstate the funding in its entirety and alternate funding sources will be considered for future projects.
Council is committed to working closely with the community to build better local roads and will be keeping project stakeholders and our community informed in due course.
Would Council consider increasing the Special Charge Scheme cost for residents to ensure that the program can continue?
The original funding commitment from the federal government subsidised about 85% of the total cost of works included in the Sealing the Hills program.
Due to the significant funding commitment made by the federal government in 2019, council was able to cap landowner contributions at $7,000 per ‘development unit’ for the life of the program, to make sealing these roads more attainable for the average household.
If council were to consider investing its own money to complete additional roads, the special charge scheme contribution cap would also need to be removed and landowner contributions would see a significant increase. If this were to be considered, landowner contributions could potentially range from between $20,000 to $35,000 on average per ‘development unit’.
Council understands that increased special charge scheme contributions would be unaffordable and unattainable for many Cardinia Shire households, and as a result, Council is currently exploring options that will enable these contributions to be reduced through altering the design standard to be delivered.
Why wasn’t my road prioritised earlier in the program?
To determine the delivery timeline for the Sealing the Hills program, Council developed a scoring system to create a priority order for all road packages.
Road packages were scored on their potential community value and benefit, traffic volumes, strategic value, residential density, safety, and maintenance costs. Individual road scores were tallied for each package, and the packages were then prioritised in order from highest scoring packages to the lowest.
However, as the time to develop a road project to construction stage can vary significantly between projects, it was not always possible to deliver packages strictly in priority order.
As packages completed their required special charge scheme consultations, designs, and environmental planning, Council called for tenders and then commenced construction shortly after.
Council has gone above and beyond to deliver these essential road upgrades for the community and at the end of 2022 was ahead of the expected schedule. Since commencing works in mid-2021, Council has sealed 7 roads across 3 townships.
Annual progress payments were initially proposed by the federal government in 2019 and outlined that Cardinia Shire would receive $10 million in funding by this stage into the program.
As of November 2022, Council had received $22 million in funding from the federal government for their current schedule of works; well beyond what was expected from the priority list.
Council operated with the belief that funding would be available in its entirety and the entire program would be delivered, which is unfortunately no longer the case.
Council will continue to prioritise improving our road network, building better local roads, and will be working hard to advocate and seek alternate funding to seal these roads within the Hills in future.
Why didn't council reprioritise the roads for delivery, once it was confirmed that funding would be withdrawn?
The initial priority list created in 2019 set in motion the extensive planning, consultation, design, and tender process for several road packages. As a result, many of the proceeding projects were completing, or had already completed these processes before the federal government funding cut future funding.
Unfortunately, council is unable to restructure and reprioritise the Sealing the Hills program to deliver alternate road packages, as the outstanding funding had already been allocated to projects underway.
In January 2023, when council received confirmation that $109 million would be withdrawn from the Sealing the Hills program, the 38 proceeding roads were already scheduled to start construction within 2023 or 2024.
How did Council select to progress to seal certain road packages over others?
Council is prioritising sealing the roads that will provide the maximum community benefit, with the outstanding available funding.
Despite already commencing designs, environmental investigations, and consultations with residents for many roads, this funding cut means that the delivery of numerous roads packages by Council is now not possible.
More than 2500 households across more than 130 roads in Cardinia Shire are affected by the federal government’s decision to withdraw funding from the Sealing the Hills program.
Council will continue to advocate for this important road project and for funding to be restored in its entirety, as it’s vital for the safety of our community based in the Dandenong Ranges and surrounds.
I still want my road sealed, what can I do?
Council is continuing to prioritise improving our road network, building better local roads, and advocating for future funding to seal these roads within the Hills.
The delivery of this vital program is simply not possible without significant government investment, as there are hundreds of kilometres of currently unsealed roads that stretch across Cardinia Shire and the Yarra Ranges.
The federal government funding subsidised about 85% of the works and without this funding council and residents are unable to cover the cost of this alone.
If the community are interested in having their local road/s sealed, they are encouraged to speak to their elected representatives about their options with an independent special charge scheme.
My road is still being sealed, what will I be charged?
Despite the federal government withdrawing $109 million from the Sealing the Hills program, council can confirm the original landowner contributions cap of $7,000 per ‘development unit’ is still in place for all proceeding road packages.
How can I get more information?
For further information, to receive updates or to see a full list of the continuing and discontinued roads and packages, please visit www.cardinia.vic.gov.au/sealingthehills