Three experts consider the following hypothetical: how to shockproof our core systems against future threats.
Susan Kreemer Pickford FIEAust CPEng EngExec
Looking to the future, at the evolution of infrastructure delivery, I think engineers will increasingly bring critical thinking and creativity to the forefront. The traditional approach of designing with the end in mind has already shifted to designing with redeployment in mind. This will continue to be a trend.
Every stage of infrastructure delivery – planning, design, execution and redeployment – must be built around life recycling, rather than the finite life cycle of infrastructure.
We will be guided by tailored design solutions, shaped by geographical conditions, environmental and resource constraints, and real-time data. Technology will be the key to building these assets, but also to maintenance. Robotic systems and electronic surveillance will help us manage and install replacement parts, keeping infrastructure operational with minimal disruption.
And, as engineers, we will be front and centre solving new and increasingly complex challenges. Australia must move to more circular practices to achieve sustainable infrastructure delivery. This can be achieved through devising and implementing systemised circular principles. Technological integration will be core to optimising design specifications, material use and advanced construction methods – to minimise waste and maximise resource recovery and reuse.
We also need to manufacture component parts locally, eliminating the need for lengthy shutdowns caused by supply-chain issues. Most of all, we need to overcome the resistance to entrenched change and outdated operational models that hamper progress. Engineers will lead this change. We are skilled in adaptation, drawing from testbeds of global innovation, enduring curiosity and a drive to do better.
Susan Kreemer Pickford FIEAust CPEng EngExec is Principal Engineer at Engineers Australia.
Professor Cheryl Desha FIEAust CPEng EngExec
For Australia’s systems and infrastructure to serve us well into the future, we need to embed nature in how we reduce risk, build resilience and adapt to escalating disruption.
Nature positive disaster risk reduction solutions offer a clear path forward, blending ecological restoration with disaster mitigation to create systems that not only withstand shocks, but regenerate through them.
Rather than rely solely on grey infrastructure, we must integrate blue and green solutions – such as mangrove restoration, green firebreaks and floodplain rewilding – into urban and regional planning. These nature-based approaches have proven benefits, from reducing storm surge and bushfire intensity to boosting biodiversity, carbon sequestration and community wellbeing.
We must reorient public and private investment. Recognising disaster risk reduction in nature markets, green bonds and adaptation funding would incentivise long-term outcomes. Projects such as irrigated green firebreaks or wetland restoration in flood-prone regions can demonstrate efficacy and inform scale-up. Partnering with First Nations peoples is also essential: landcare practices have safeguarded Country for millennia and should be central to national strategy.
Australia needs to value not just the upfront cost, but the compound returns of ecological resilience, risk reduction and community benefit. We’ve seen these principles in action in the Netherlands, China and the US. Now it’s our turn to lead with an Australian model that protects both people and the planet.
Professor Cheryl Desha FIEAust CPEng EngExec is Science and Innovation Director at Natural Hazards Research Australia.
Todd Battley
The biggest opportunity for Australia to future-proof our core systems and infrastructure is to solve our productivity problem.
We currently rank 16th out of 24 OECD countries for productivity, with construction trailing behind. Our vast geography and small population increase the strain of sluggish productivity while core systems require ongoing development.
We face an imperfect storm of building generational infrastructure within a highly-regulated, resource- and budget-constrained environment, slow to adopt innovation at scale. True resilience demands considered investments with a systems-based approach – acknowledging interdependencies and prioritising mission-critical assets early.
Investing in resilience upfront helps reduce disruptions, lower costs and strengthen long-term social, economic and environmental outcomes.
Sometimes disruption sparks innovation. COVID did, and now the Brisbane 2032 Games gives Queensland a catalyst to reconsider approval and delivery systems. We certainly need collaboration and early engagement. Aurecon’s partnerships in the water sector demonstrate this, achieving better community outcomes and stronger water resilience. Our work with QIC, using the UNDRR Scorecard, establishes asset resilience baselines to help prioritise improvements.
The profession faces a question: Can the burning platform of lifting productivity provide the external catalyst to approach problems differently?
Engineers possess the curiosity and problem-solving skills to design complex systems. Now is the time for collaborative, digitally-enabled, scalable, cost-effective and fit-for-purpose engineering. And it may require breaking a few of the rules of physics, leaning into speed, and embracing risk.
We’re trusted advisors. We should leverage this privilege to be bolder in our decision-making, and advocate more proactively for change.
Todd Battley is Chief Executive, Australia, at Aurecon.
This story was originally published in the August 2025 edition of create.
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