The recently released AfPA (Australian Flexible Pavement Association) white paper ‘A Case for Periodic Road Resealing’ has found that restoring Australia’s reseal program to a minimum of 7 per cent of the network annually is the most cost-effective infrastructure investment available to government.
Australia’s road network supports a transport sector that generates $137.2 billion annually and carries 260 billion vehicle kilometres each year. Yet the national maintenance backlog now stands at approximately $13.6 billion, and across multiple jurisdictions, periodic resealing rates have declined below the level required to maintain network condition.
The consequences are measurable: accelerating pavement deterioration, expanding reactive repair costs, and a growing backlog of avoidable reconstruction.
The white paper sets out the case for restoring periodic resealing programs to industry benchmark; a minimum of 7 per cent of the sealed network resealed each year, supported by a consistent body of Australian and international research.
The benchmark measures network proportion, not budget ratio. A jurisdiction can spend heavily on reactive repairs while still resealing too little of its network to keep pace with surface ageing. The +7 per cent metric measures the one variable that determines whether the network’s surface age profile remains sustainable.
Importantly, AfPA believes that the +7 per cent commitment is fundable, deliverable, and measurable.
AfPA presents this paper as an invitation to partnership. Its member organisations possess deep technical expertise in pavement management, treatment selection, and specification development, and AfPA offers that expertise as a constructive, evidence-based partner to government.
Download a copy of the white paper at: https://afpa.asn.au/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/AfPA-A-National-Case-for-Periodic-Road-Resealing.pdf
