We asked our experts what questions are shaping client conversations right now.
Housing
In housing, attention is focused on the levers available to local, state and federal governments to improve affordability. Questions continue to be raised about the role of investor tax settings in today’s housing market and about how much influence they have on supply and prices. Demographic shifts are also reshaping demand. An ageing population, more lone-person households and more older households point to a growing need for smaller dwellings, but how this plays out in regional areas remains unclear. High interest rates and escalating construction costs add further pressure, prompting difficult questions about how councils can encourage genuinely affordable housing while still enabling development to proceed.
Infrastructure
Infrastructure decisions are increasingly being made in a constrained financial environment. This raises hard questions about how investment is prioritised, and what trade-offs are acceptable when funding is limited. There is also growing interest in partnership models that can improve how infrastructure is delivered and managed over time. Beyond delivery, attention is turning to how infrastructure serves communities, and how planning, funding and delivery can be better integrated with land-use planning from the outset.
Wellbeing
As wellbeing frameworks gain traction, the focus is shifting from measurement to action. How do we embed wellbeing into real decisions about policy, planning and investment, rather than treating it as a separate lens? There are also questions about who defines what a wellbeing economy means, and how that shapes the indicators used to track progress. Underpinning this is an ongoing conversation about the respective roles of government, markets and the third sector in delivering wellbeing outcomes.
Climate risk
Climate risk continues to present complex local challenges. How do communities balance adaptation, mitigation and affordability, particularly where resources are already stretched? While the benefits of action are clear, the costs can be significant, driving interest in the innovative approaches being used elsewhere to fund and deliver climate responses. At the same time, many are asking what practical steps can be taken now to better prepare places for climate risk.
Workforce
Workforce pressures are increasingly shaping growth and service delivery. A key issue is where shortages are most likely to bite, particularly in sectors that support essential services. There is also a growing focus on which skills and capabilities need to be built to respond to economic and demographic change. Housing affordability adds another layer of complexity. If essential workers can’t afford to live near the communities they serve, what does that mean for access to services, productivity and the long-term resilience of places?
These aren’t questions with simple answers or ones that can be addressed in isolation. They require economics, planning, data and lived experience to be considered together. That’s how we’ll continue to approach our work in 2026.
