The Maintaining State Roads report, published by the Victorian Auditor-General’s Office, found that the condition of Victoria’s state roads continues to deteriorate, with the proportion of the road network being in poor or very poor condition going from 39 per cent in 2021, to 48 per cent in 2024.
It also found the gap between the number of defects recorded and the number of defects repaired more than doubled from January 2025 to June 2026.
The report concluded that the government had a “growing road maintenance backlog” resulting in the network “deteriorating faster than the pace of repairs”, and that “funding is insufficient to maintain or improve the condition of state roads”.
Member for Northern Victoria, Wendy Lovell said the inadequate funding meant that maintenance was focused on reactive repairs rather than preventative works to stop potholes and other road pavement defects from emerging.
“(The) Auditor-General’s report confirms what every Victorian can see with their own eyes; under Labor, Victoria’s state arterial roads are crumbling, and potholes and defects are spreading faster than they are being repaired,” Ms Lovell said.
“The report reveals Labor has locked-in further cuts to maintenance funding of up to 54 per cent across the forward estimates if they are re-elected in November’s state election.”
Ms Lovell said she frequently heard from motorists who report seeing a pothole patched one week, only for the low-quality repair to begin falling apart the next week.
She said the report confirmed that the Department of Transport and Planning does not have effective oversight of contractors and cannot be sure that repair work is meeting the department’s defined standards.
The dire condition of state roads particular affects rural and regional Victorians, where 82 per cent of the state road network is located – 37 per cent of state roads are classed as in very poor condition, with less than five years of remaining useful life and must be rehabilitated within one to two years.
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