The Outback Way covers 2,720 kilometres from Laverton in Western Australia to Winton in Queensland, via Alice Springs and the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park in the Northern Territory. The route varies in condition and standard, with sections of two-lane sealed, single lane sealed, gravel, and unformed roads. The Outback Way Upgrade would aim to seal the remaining sections of unsealed road between Laverton and Winton.
The WA section of the Outback Way Upgrade is 872 kilometres in length, of which 736 kilometres remains unsealed. The NT section of Outback Way contains 367 kilometres of unsealed road, which equates to 29 per cent of the NT’s 1,246-kilometre section. The Queensland section of Outback Way comprises 51 kilometres of unsealed road.
Between 2013 and 2019, the Federal Government made four separate funding commitments for various sections of the Outback Way, totalling $330 million.
Key Dates
| 2013 | Project Announcement |
| 2030 | Expected Construction Completion |
Funding contributions
| Federal Government | |
| Queensland Government | |
| WA Government | |
| NT Government |
PROJECT HISTORY
| 2013 | The Federal Government allocated $42 million toward the project, including $20 million to the NT and $11 million to WA and Queensland. The NT Government contributed $20 million while the WA Government contributed $11 million and the Queensland Government $2.8 million. |
| 2013 | The Federal Government, through the Northern Australia Roads Program allocated a further $28 million to the NT section of the project, with the NT Government committing $7 million. |
| 2016 | The Federal Government announced $100 million in funding for the project, including $42 million for the NT, $37 million for WA and $21 million for Queensland. The WA Government committed $19 million, the NT Government committed $13 million and the Queensland Government committed $9 million. |
| 2018 | The Federal Government committed a further $160 million to the project, including $77 million to WA, $50 million to the NT, and $33 million to Queensland. The WA Government committed $9 million, the NT Government $10 million, and the Queensland Government $5 million. |
| Mar 2019 | The Federal Government released an Investment Strategy to guide the governments investments in the Outback Way Upgrade. |
| Feb 2022 | The Federal Government allocated a further $678 million toward the Outback Way Upgrade to seal 1,000 kilometres of the road. $400 million was allocated to WA, $154 million to Queensland, and $124 million to the NT. The WA Government committed $100 million, with this $500 million in funding expected to seal the remaining 589 kilometres of road over the next seven years. |
| Mar 2022 | The 2022-23 Federal Budget confirmed the Government's February allocation of $678 million. |
| May 2022 | The 2022-23 NT Budget allocated $74 million over the next four years to its section of the project. |
| May 2022 | The 2022-23 WA Budget allocated $290 million over the next four years to its section of the project. |
