NSW councils own and manage a diverse range of infrastructure assets that are essential to the communities they serve. While information about asset condition, age and performance is often well documented, determining which assets are most critical to council operations and community outcomes can be challenging. Without a consistent and evidence-based approach, prioritising investment and renewal programs can be difficult.
To help address this challenge, the Illawarra Shoalhaven Joint Organisation has developed the Infrastructure Criticality & Prioritisation Tool. The tool provides councils with a practical framework for consistently assessing and ranking infrastructure assets based on their criticality to service delivery, community wellbeing, compliance obligations and organisational resilience.
Using a weighted multi-criteria assessment model, the framework considers a range of factors including consequence, vulnerability, compliance and financial impact. The result is a clear and transparent criticality score that can support more informed infrastructure planning and investment decisions.
The Excel-based tool has been designed as a flexible starting point and can be adapted to reflect local priorities, risk appetite and organisational circumstances. This allows councils to tailor the framework to their specific needs while maintaining a structured and consistent assessment process.
Benefits
The Infrastructure Criticality & Prioritisation Tool can support councils with:
- Asset management planning
- Infrastructure renewal prioritisation
- Disaster resilience and climate adaptation planning
- Long-term financial planning
- Business case development
- Infrastructure investment decision-making
As councils face increasing pressures from ageing infrastructure, climate change, natural hazards and constrained budgets, understanding which assets are most critical has never been more important. By providing a consistent and transparent assessment framework, the tool helps councils make informed decisions, target investment where it is needed most, and build more resilient communities.
Access both the Tool and the Framework by clicking on the images above.
