A scathing report from the Victorian Auditor-General’s Office has confirmed that Victorian roads are falling apart, and the Labor Government has known about it for years while doing nothing to fix them.
The Auditor-General’s report revealed the depths of Labor’s neglect of our roads and highlighted that the maintenance gap was only getting wider as Labor’s budget cuts continue to see the proliferation of potholes and other road defects.
The Maintaining State Roads report, tabled in Parliament today, reveals that almost half of Victoria’s state road network was rated to be in poor or very poor condition in 2024.
The report also revealed that bureaucrats have asked for more money from the government to fix roads and that Labor will again cut the roads maintenance budget next year if re-elected. This is in stark contrast to the Liberals and Nationals plan to boost investment in road maintenance to $5 billion over we the next four years and eliminate one million potholes while returning to a proper program of preventative maintenance.
Among the key findings from the report include:
48 per cent of roads were in poor or very poor condition in 2024, up from 39 per cent in 2021
Government funding was insufficient to maintain or improve the condition of Victorian roads
The gap between the number of road defects recorded and those repaired doubled between January 2025 and June 2026
There is a substantial and growing maintenance backlog that is accumulating faster than it can be addressed
69 per cent of roads in the Loddon Mallee region are in poor or very poor condition
The government has meaningful data on road maintenance performance but refuses to release it publicy
The numbers tell the story of a government that has walked away from Victoria’s roads.
Shadow Minister for Roads and Road Safety Danny O’Brien said the report was a devastating indictment of more than a decade of Labor neglect.
“Victorians already know our roads are an appalling mess but the Auditor-General has now revealed why.
“Labor hasn’t provided enough funding, plans to cut it again next year after the election and has failed to deliver the preventative maintenance that will stop potholes forming in the first place.
“Ben Carroll cut $214 million from the roads maintenance budget over two years while he was Roads Minister and his election-eve promises to fix the roads won’t be believed by Victorians who are sick of his potholes.”
“Only The Liberals and Nationals have a plan to get maintenance back on track with our $5 billion plan over four years. This is a 25 per cent annual increase on the current spend, and we’ll take action to get more accountability from contractors and ensure value-for-money for taxpayers.
