National Transport Policy - Integrated Passenger Transport and Land Use Planning (2009)

Client

Australia Transport Council 2009, jointly with Geoff Anson Consulting

Project Description

The Australian Transport Council (ATC), established in June 1993, provides a forum for Commonwealth, State, Territory and New Zealand Ministers to consult and provide advice to govern-ments on the co-ordination and integration of all transport and road policy issues. ATC Transport Ministers determined that there is a need for a national approach to transport policy. Part of this broad policy included the development of Guidelines for the inte-gration of Passenger Transport and Land Use.

However, the primary responsibility for transport and land use policies and actions lies with State and local governments and the guidelines should be integrated with the processes of these juris-dictions. The principles and processes outlined in the guidelines are applicable at any level of planning and could be applied at the commonwealth, state or local government level.

InfraPlan Involvement

InfraPlan, in conjunction with Geoff Anson Consulting, was commissioned by the Australian Transport Council to develop the National Transport Policy—Passenger Transport and Land Use Planning Guidelines and Case Studies. The purpose of these guidelines is to assist planners and policy makers in considering (and understanding) land use and passenger transport when making transport infrastructure investments, whilst providing case studies to support the policies. Some of the objectives of the Policy include:

• To link transport and land use with road planning
• Assist governments to make more consistent and sustainable decisions
• Provide tools to support integrated planning
• Support case for inclusion of transport and land use in planning, options analysis and decision-making
• Inform the decision-making of external transport and non-transport groups

The Guidelines articulate a step-by-step approach to incorpo-rating land use planning process and describe mechanisms to enable linkages with other relevant planning policies, in par-ticular metropolitan and regional planning strategies.