Local governments should be held to greater scrutiny about how they allocate Commonwealth funds, in conjunction with increased audits to make sure accountability is achieved.

The ATA made the recommendation in its submission to the Productivity Commission’s benchmarking study into the role of local government as a regulator.

The submission also argues that local governments should seek to improve their road planning and access procedures through consistent guidelines and the employment of skilled engineers. In addition, there should be an external review process for access decisions.