To ask the Minister for Infrastructure to outline why her Department's recently updated private streets enforcement guidance does not apply to long-standing developments where road adoption remains outstanding.

The new guidance establishes a threshold for the initiation of enforcement action of 2 years following 80% occupation of houses in a development. It also amends the bond release thresholds to ensure the developer completes more work before any of the bond can be released. These changes significantly reduce the risk of there being insufficient funds available in the bond to complete the works should enforcement be required.

The long-term backlog of developments primarily consists of sites where the cost of works to bring the development to an adoptable standard exceeds the funds held in the bond and the developer is no longer trading.

Unfortunately, for these longer term unadopted developments, the funding from the bond that would allow us to commence enforcement under the new guidance is simply not available and my Department is not funded to bridge any shortfall. Furthermore, there is no legislative requirement for my Department to do so.

My Department has taken significant steps to reduce the risk of new developments entering the unadopted backlog through the introduction of the updated guidance and increased the bond calculation rates.

However, unless an alternative funding source is identified for older sites which bridges the funding gap between the bond value and the cost of works to adopt a site, my department cannot compete the works and adopt the development.