The Australian Infrastructure Plan 2021 states that the benefits of collaborative strategic planning and the shared use of social infrastructure include:

• more connected and healthier communities
• better use of assets, and
• optimised government investment.

Positive outcomes delivered by place-based planning include:

• delivering social infrastructure and services that are cost-effective
• using new models and operating processes that create efficiencies and drive innovation
• improving service quality and local community access
• unlocking both community and economic benefits by co-locating facilities in health and education innovation precincts
• improving affordability by delivering shared-use community facilities
• delivering the right services in the right places through integrated and early strategic planning, and
• supporting strong cross-sector governance and enabling effective service delivery.

Letting the needs of community drive the solution

Through engagement with the community, government, and service providers you will identify a specific set of needs that relate to that community.

Community hubs are an increasingly popular and effective solution that enable community members to access resources and services in a single location by clustering community facilities and integrating services.

Place-based planning of infrastructure recognises that there is no one-fits-all solution. You can choose from a number of collaboration models according to the needs that have been identified for your target community. Each has its own benefits and complexities, and these are discussed on the collaboration models linked page above.