The City of Ballarat is updating its Road Management Plan (RMP) and we want your feedback.

Under the Road Management Act 2004 and the Road Management (General) Regulations 2016, City of Ballarat has reviewed its RMP and is proposing several amendments to improve how we manage roads and footpaths across Ballarat.

The draft RMP has been reviewed by the Road Management Plan Committee, Councillors, and the Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV) Insurance to ensure it reflects best practice and is consistent with other similar regional Councils. Your feedback will be considered alongside Councillor recommendations before the plan is finalised and adopted.

  • Inspection and Maintenance Standards

    We’re proposing updated inspection frequencies and response times for road and footpath defects. Help us confirm if these timeframes feel reasonable and achievable.

  • Community Expectations and Priorities

    The review considered safety, efficiency, and what matters most to our community. Do the proposed changes align with your expectations and experiences?

  • Road and Footpath Categories

    Check the proposed standards for the different road and footpath types across the municipality. Let us know if they reflect the needs in your area.

Your views will help confirm the reasonableness of the proposed changes — especially how we set intervention levels and response timeframes for different types of roads and footpaths.


Feedback from the community will be considered alongside expert and councillor input before the amended plan is adopted.

This consultation is about the standards and timeframes for managing roads and footpaths across the municipality — not individual issues or locations. There are some things that can’t be changed as part of this process:

  • Legal definitions and obligations:

The Road Management Plan is governed by the Road Management Act 2004. We must follow this legislation, and we can’t change the legal definitions or the structure of the Act.

  • Road ownership or classification:

Council is only responsible for local roads and footpaths within the Ballarat municipality. We can’t change which roads we manage or how road classifications (like arterial or state roads) are assigned.

  • Reporting individual issues:

This engagement is not for reporting potholes, damaged paths, or other specific local concerns. These should be reported directly to Council’s Customer Service team or via Snap Send Solve.

Tell us what you think!

Road Management Act 2004

Proposed Amendment of Road Management Plan

In accordance with section 54(6) of the Road Management Act 2004 (the Act), and regulation 10(1) of the Road Management (General) Regulations 2016, The City of Ballarat (Council) gives notice that it proposes to amend its Road Management Plan (RMP).

The amendments will ensure that the standards and priorities to be given to the construction, inspection, maintenance and repair of the roads to which Council’s RMP applies are safe and efficient. These amendments have taken into account the needs, priorities and expectations of the community, relevant policies and available funding and resources.

The amendments apply to all of the roads and classes of roads in the Municipality for which Council is the responsible road authority under the Act.

The purpose of the proposed amendments is to incorporate into the RMP suggested improvements identified following the adoption of the Municipal Association of Victoria's Road Management Plan Template, Councilor review and community consultation against the City of Ballarat’s current RMP (Verson 7.1) adopted on 13 December 2021.

This includes:

Changes to standards for inspection, maintenance and repair, including inspection frequencies, and response times.

The goal of community consultation is to confirm the reasonableness of the plan and consult with the community as to their thoughts on the set intervention levels and rectification timeframes for our road and footpath categories. This will be considered along with Councilor recommendations prior to adoption of the RMP. The RMP has been reviewed by both the Road Management Plan Committee, Councillor's and the MAV Insurance to ensure best practice and consistency across other similar regional Councils.

Any definitions, legislation pieces or references to the Road Management Act 2004 cannot be changed but consideration will be given to defect types, inspection requirements and rectification requirements noted within the RMP.

A copy of the proposed amended RMP and the review report may be obtained or inspected at Council Offices, 25 Armstrong Street South, Ballarat.

Any person who is aggrieved by the proposed amendments may make a submission on the proposed amendments to Council by close of business on Monday, 30 June 2025.

Submissions must be in writing, marked as “Proposed Amendment to Road Management Plan” and be addressed to: Risk and Insurance, City of Ballarat, PO Box 655 Ballarat 3353; or by email to info@ballarat.vic.gov.au