Activating the Great Central Road

Building long-term social and economic benefits from WA’s third national highway.

The GEDC are working closely with State Government agencies, Traditional Owners and local communities, to maximise positive social and economic outcomes of this transformational infrastructure upgrade.

The Outback Way Upgrade Project is a nationally significant infrastructure project that will create Australia’s third transcontinental highway from Laverton in Western Australia (WA) to Winton in Queensland via Alice Springs. The Great Central Road forms part of this corridor, traversing more than 870 kilometers across Goldfields-Esperance’s northeast, from Laverton to the WA/NT border.

The road is characterised by its remoteness; it is sparsely populated and comprises mining towns, pastoral leases and a desert climate; cutting across vast, unique and culturally significant Aboriginal lands. The Ngaanyatjarra, Wongatha and Yilka people have an enduring relationship with the Great Central Road, shaped by Aboriginal peoples’ labour, movement and cultural practice over thousands of years.

Home to approximately 3,000 people across the Shires of Laverton and Ngaanyatjarraku, the road includes twelve remote Aboriginal communities and the mineral-rich mining town of Laverton, which acts as the gateway to the Great Central Road, connecting the Shire of Ngaanyatjarraku to the Northern Goldfields.

Sealing the Great Central Road in WA, which forms part of the Outback Highway (or Outback Way), is a once-in-a-generation investment that will improve safety, accessibility, and reliability for remote communities that live within the region.

A sealed road will bring significant transformation to the region and introduce new ways of living and working for the remote Aboriginal communities along the road.

Regional change will generate positive social and economic opportunities, though may also present challenges as road conditions change and traffic volumes and visitation increase.

Many changes are expected to arise as a result of the upgrade project that extend beyond the tarmac. There is a need for State Government to plan for and manage these ‘beyond road’ impacts to ensure this national scale infrastructure project leaves a positive, lasting legacy.

The Goldfields-Esperance Development Commission are leading a State Government Outback Way Inter-Agency Working Group, to identify beyond road issues and opportunities and establish a coordinated approach to both managing the risks and maximising the benefits for local communities and the State.

Throughout 2026 the Working Group has led targeted engagements with key State agencies, Traditional Owner groups, Local Government, advocacy bodies, cross-jurisdictional and national organisations, along with on-country Traditional Owner led community engagements.

For more information on the Outback Highway, Australia’s Longest Shortcut, visit the Outback Highway Development Council’s website here.