State of Australian Cities (SOAC) Reports

Question

1. When did Minister O'Neil first receive a copy of the draft 2024 State of Australian Cities (SOAC) report? 2. Why did the Minister not release the 2024 SOAC report? (prior to Senator Mcgrath's OPD and FOI). 3. Why did the Department advise the Minister not to release the 2024 SOAC report? 4. What was the cost of producing the 2024 SOAC report? 5. Provide a list of all stakeholders consulted as part of the 2024 SOAC report. 6. Department communications note that the SOAC is an outstanding 2022 election commitment. Why did it take two-and-a-half years for the Department to complete its first SOAC report? 7. Has Minister O'Neil requested the Cities and Suburbs Unit produce any further SOAC reports? 8. Is the Cities and Suburbs Unit currently working on a SOAC report? a. If so, what year does the report encapsulate? b. If so, how many staff are working on it? c. If so, when will it be complete? 9. When will the next SOAC report be released? 10. How many meetings has the Cities and Suburbs Unit had with Minister O'Neil and/or her office relating to SOAC reports since her appointment as Cities Minister? 11. Provide records of all meetings/communications between the Department and Minister O'Neil and/or her office relating to SOAC reports, including times, dates, attendees, meeting notes, agendas, emails and digital communications. 12. Has the Prime Minister's decision to move the Cities and Suburbs Unit from Infrastructure into Treasury impacted the Unit's ability to deliver on Labor's promise to publish annual SOAC reports? 13. Have any local or state governments, or industry stakeholders, raised concerns with the Minister or department or made inquiries about the Government failure to meet its election commitment to release annual SOAC reports? 14. Provide records of all meetings/communications between Minister O'Neil, state and local governments and industry stakeholders relating to SOAC reports, including times, dates, attendees, meeting notes, agendas, emails and digital communications. 15. Please provide all briefing notes, ministerial submissions and recommendations relating to publication or non-publication of the 2024 State of Australian Cities Report. 16. Did any briefing material identify political, communications or strategic considerations relating to publication of the report? 17. Did any briefing material refer to alignment with the Government's housing agenda as a factor in publication decisions? 18. Did any briefing material recommend publication of the report? a. If yes, provide details. 19. Who made the final decision not to publish the report? a. Minister O'Neil; b. another Minister; c. Cabinet; or d. officials. 20. On what date was the decision made not to publish the report? 21. Was the Prime Minister's Office consulted regarding publication of the report? 22. Was Cabinet consulted regarding publication of the report? 23. Has Treasury commissioned or commenced work on a replacement report using updated data sources? 24. Has Treasury prepared a project plan for future State of Australian Cities reports? a. If yes, provide a copy. 25. What annual funding is allocated to the production of future State of Australian Cities reports? 26. How many FTE staff are currently assigned to State of Australian Cities work? 27. Has the government formally changed its election commitment to publish regular or annual State of Australian Cities reports? a. If yes, when was that decision taken? 28. Is the Government's current position on SOAC reports: a. annual reports; b. periodic reports; or c. reports as determined by Government?

Answer

See attached response.

Documents

• Question with answer (PDF) (opens in a new tab)
• SQ26-000277 State of Australian Cities (SOAC) Reports.pdf (opens in a new tab)