Having a say. Casting a vote. Ticking a box and grabbing a democracy sausage. However we put it, Australians are heading to the polls this weekend.

Election campaigns often feature big-ticket infrastructure announcements. That’s no bad thing. Infrastructure is one of our most powerful levers to drive economic growth, improve equity and unlock opportunity. 

But let’s not forget: the impacts of these decisions last far longer than the three-year political cycle.

We’ve seen it before. A minister makes an election promise. The clock starts ticking. Procurement happens fast and is flawed. Consultants are brought in late and must work with a predetermined design. Scope is shaky, costings are off, risk is transferred not managed. Years later, the headlines write themselves: delayed and over budget.

Our new report Unravelling Risk connects the dots between campaign trail commitments and the construction site. 

Drawing on real-world claims data and insights from insurers and global experts, we find poorly managed risk is fuelling disputes, driving up costs and threatening industry stability. In fact, 51% of Australian dispute claims stem from scope issues, compared to 37% globally.

When things go wrong, it’s all too easy to point the finger at consultants or contractors. However, this is a problem of systems and structure. Governments are right to scrutinise cost blowouts. But if we want to fix the system, not just the symptoms, we need to take a step back. 

Stepping back starts by scoping projects properly, engaging early, allocating risk fairly and adopting national coordination. Our five policy priorities for the next federal government, covered in this issue of Consulting Matters, offer a roadmap for reform.

Meanwhile, the National Construction Industry Forum (NCIF) draft Blueprint for the Future echoes our concerns. It acknowledges calls for nationally consistent procurement principles and a shift away from lowest-cost thinking to collaborative, value-for-money decision-making. 

Importantly, the Blueprint recommends a string of “immediate actions” for the NCIF, including a task to explore how procurement frameworks “can operate to drive mutually beneficial and lawful behaviour” and to assess “risks inherent in the announcement of unrealistic timeframes for projects”. This reflects what our members have been saying for years.

The votes will be counted – but it’s collaboration, not campaign slogans, that will count most in the years to come.