The Government will secure funding for additional productivity‑enhancing road infrastructure projects by reintroducing indexation of fuel from 1 August 2014. This will secure $2.2 billion over the forward estimates to immediately start investing in Australia's future by building new roads and upgrading existing roads.

Funding constraints at all levels of government have become a significant impediment to the provision of the infrastructure that Australia needs to bolster the productive capacity of the economy and prosperity for the 21^st century.

Accordingly, the Government will move to amend the Excise Act 1901 to ensure that the amount spent on road infrastructure is greater than the net revenue raised by the reintroduction of indexation on fuel excise and excise-equivalent customs duty.

Under difficult Budget circumstances, this is the responsible way to immediately start building the productivity boosting road infrastructure that Australia needs.

The Government is also addressing the immediate infrastructure funding challenge in this Budget by effecting a significant shift of resources from recurrent spending to investment in new infrastructure, and by providing an appropriately generous and targeted incentive to states and territories to unlock capital on their balance sheets.

For the longer term we will also look for opportunities to encourage greater recourse to private sector involvement. For example, through promoting appropriate use of user charging where possible, encouraging an unsolicited bid framework and creating greater certainty around a pipeline of projects through the Government's 15‑year Infrastructure Plan.