Federal Budget - Limestone Coast Local Government Association welcomes help to address regional housing
The Limestone Coast Local Government Association (LCLGA) has welcomed new measures in the 2026–27 Federal Budget that will support more housing and better roads across regional Australia.
Last night’s Budget included a $2 billion Local Infrastructure Fund including $500 million set aside for regional Australia to help councils unlock new housing with essential infrastructure such as roads and water, sewer and stormwater connections.
“Financial support to councils for enabling infrastructure is exactly what the Limestone Coast Local Government Association has been calling for,” said LCLGA President Mayor Lynette Martin OAM.
“There is no doubt about the demand for housing in the Limestone Coast, but in the regions in particular, housing supply is not driven by demand alone. State and Federal Government partnering with Local Government in the Limestone Coast can unlock the housing supply our region needs for economic growth and workforce attraction,” said Mayor Martin.
“We look forward to hearing more detail about eligibility and how Limestone Coast regional councils can access this pool of funding.”
The LCLGA is also welcoming news that supplementary road funding for South Australian councils would be extended and increased in line with indexation.
The South Australian Supplementary Road funding is additional funding specifically for SA councils in recognition that our State otherwise receives an unfair share of national road funding.
The funding has been frozen at $20 million since 2017, which means its buying power decreases every year.
The LCLGA has been advocating alongside LGA SA to see this funding indexed.
“Increasing the Supplementary Road funding in line with indexation is certainly a welcome step forward,” said Mayor Martin.
“We are pleased that the Government has responded to our collective advocacy efforts on this matter,” said Mayor Martin.
The LCLGA also welcomed the continuation of the Stronger Communities Programme and further rounds of the Growing Regions program.
LCLGA Executive Officer Charlotte Edmunds said while the Federal Budget has delivered some wins for Limestone Coast Councils and communities, it was disappointing that untied grants to councils failed to increase.
“Local Government sustainability continues to be a concern for the sector, particularly in smaller, regional councils with a low-rate base and high asset maintenance costs,” said Ms Edmunds.
The Federal Parliamentary inquiry into local government sustainability has noted that FA Grants favour the densely populated states and that the distribution model diverts a large share of funding away from councils that are least able to raise their own revenue.
“There are systemic issues in the allocation of the Federal Government’s Financial Assistance Grants that continue to impact the sustainability of regional South Australia,” said Ms Edmunds.
“Compounding the distribution issue is the fact that despite sector calls for restoring Financial Assistance Grants to 1 per cent of Commonwealth Taxation revenue, this budget forecasts FA Grants will actually decrease from 0.51% to 0.49% of Commonwealth Tax Revenue,” said Ms Edmunds.
The Federal Parliamentary inquiry into local government sustainability has highlighted that many regional councils across the country are being asked to do more and more and not receiving adequate resources to do it.
“The role of local governments across the country has expanded exponentially beyond rates, roads and rubbish. Local Government is increasingly being relied upon to deliver services and infrastructure that were traditionally under the purview of the Commonwealth and State governments and, in regional communities, Local Government is often the first to step up and provide services that are not feasible for the private sector to deliver,” said Ms Edmunds.
Local Government are willing and able partners to deliver local solutions to national and state priorities, but only with sustainable funding to do so.