The Federal Government has unleashed the Productivity Commission on the task of investigating infrastructure costs, looking for the best way to deliver on their promise for significant improvements.

A key pre-election pledge from the party now in power was for an ambitious infrastructure spend, delivering improvements with major road, rail and transport initiatives.

The Government has now taken the first steps to indentifying where and how billions can be spent, announcing its Terms of Reference and setting the Productivity Commission to work.

The Commission will probe how infrastructure is currently funded and financed and the cost structure of major infrastructure projects, looking for cases where projects became much more expensive than planned.

It will advise on ways to improve decision-making and implementation processes to bring costs down, and it will comment on new non-legislative ideas to ensure timely and cost-effective delivery.

Much of the lead-up to the Government’s impending infrastructure spree is based on looking for ways to deliver as rapidly and inexpensively as possible.

Some reports say it will include the removal of ‘red tape’ and regulation in the construction industry, the reform of which has been a significant concern for many workers.