AssetFuture’s Future of Asset Management in Education event brought together leaders from across the sector in Australia and New Zealand – universities, TAFEs, state and territory government, and independent schools – gathered to explore how asset management can better support education outcomes. Across jurisdictions and institutions, it’s clear we’re all navigating similar challenges: ageing infrastructure, constrained budgets, rising community expectations, and a need for greater transparency and accountability.
We touched on the three pillars of asset management – cost, risk, and performance – but it was the conversations around policy, strategy and leadership that struck the deepest chord. Our CEO, Domenic Fonte, suggests, “The journey in asset management starts with a strategic vision.” Rather than rewrite the rules in isolation, we heard a call to learn from one another, benchmark across jurisdictions, and lean into asset management frameworks as enablers of consistency and progress. Breaking down silos, establishing feedback loops, and enabling a clear line of sight between funding and impact – these are the building blocks of a more resilient, future-ready sector.
The state of the nation across education
A snapshot of the current landscape reveals significant underutilisation of assets across the sector. Most institutions are challenged by ageing infrastructure and deferred maintenance.
$265B+ asset replacement value.
17% maintenance gap, equating to over $40B in liability.
Space utilisation challenges vary by region and facility type, with some facilities consistently over- or underutilised due to demographic shifts.
Policy is driving more rigorous asset management practices. Compliance requirements emphasise the need for accurate and current data to support defensible Treasury funding submissions.
Higher asset management maturity directly correlates with increased financial returns. The ROI of good practice asset management: 5% return from improved reactive maintenance, 20% proactive, and 40% when asset management is viewed as value-oriented.
In light of these statistics, what does shifting to a more proactive, strategic approach look like? And who’s doing it well?
Case study: A shift from reactive to predictive
Our keynote speaker shared how they, as one of Australia’s largest asset holders, embarked on a multi-decade transformation from reactive maintenance to predictive, data-driven asset management.
By 2012, they had moved to a predicted liability model. However, without a predictive methodology or review loop, key gaps remained: inconsistent practices across schools, underutilised data, no scenario planning confidence, and no feedback on maintenance effectiveness.
Partnering with AssetFuture marked a turning point. Utilising AssetFuture’s systems to the maximum, they ran a bold 100-year simulation based on 100% funding to explore what’s possible with complete planning.
Highlights from their journey include:
1) Data-Driven Decision Making and Forecasting
By leveraging and analysing historical data, they enabled more accurate forecasting – predictive models now align with actual maintenance outcomes with 98% accuracy.
Lack of feedback loops reduces prediction accuracy, leading to perception bias. But using data to classify assets reduces the bias.
Shift from reactive to proactive maintenance while using reactive data as a baseline.
2) Lifecycle Cost Optimisation
They demonstrated the impact of underfunding – deferred maintenance increases long-term costs and risk (for every dollar deferred, costs increased by $1 to $3).
For efficient spending, they looked at data variance: it highlights cost fluctuations, helping identify inefficiencies and best practices. While this may reflect increased initial cost, improved durability allows and overall lifetime cost reductions.
Procurement optimisation helps reduce costs and supports long-term planning goals (for example, buying equipment in bulk).
3) Asset Condition and Liability Management
Focus on condition, not just dollars. Communities care about the appearance and conditions of their schools – measuring facility condition directly impacts students' experiences. They use a weighted condition index to assess facilities conditions rather than solely measuring liability.
Interestingly, they discovered that a reasonable level of liability can be efficient – rushing to eliminate all liability can lead to inefficiencies.
4) Advanced Technology
They leveraged AssetFuture’s Asset Investment Planning solution enabling Asset Lifecycle Modelling to accurately forecast cost, risk and condition, enabling line-of-sight across the organisation.
3D imaging adoption jumped from 0% to 98% in nine months, drastically improving planning and maintenance assessments. 3D imagery is very beneficial especially when having upfront conversations.
This transformation has turned asset data into a strategic tool – enabling them to forecast, scenario plan, and advocate for investment with confidence.
The power of narrative: Driving the conversation with strategy
Data alone isn’t enough – communication and human connection are essential to getting buy-in. We need to get the right balance through narrative, conversation, and data to help inform where to deploy funds and how we justify change.
So, how do we elevate the conversation when there’s still a lack of understanding of strategic asset management (SAM)? Many see it as just maintenance, overlooking its strategic role. However, SAM is about aligning long-term investment with education outcomes.
That’s why we must strike the right balance – between narrative, data and dialogue. A data-driven strategy enables long- and short-term planning, giving decision-makers – from Treasury to CFOs – a clear line of sight between funding and outcomes. However, we must also take a pulse check and understand what stakeholders value. Their perception matters just as much as operational reality.
Technology and data allow us to demonstrate the consequential impact of funding (or lack thereof). They provide the evidence needed to justify sustained investment in long-term maintenance – especially as we deal with ageing infrastructure (30 to 100 years old). Nothing hurts the headlines more than “We closed three schools this week because the roofs are leaking.”
From both operational and perception standpoints, framing the right data helps make the case for action more compelling. One useful model discussed during the event was the ‘diamond’. Start top-down with the investment. Then, bottom-up with the dataset. Left and right are the day-to-day impacts – operational disruption on one side and perception on the other. It’s a reminder that not all data belongs in one basket – strategic messaging is key.
Ultimately, it’s not about the building. It’s about the children and their educational outcomes.
Technology accelerators: Tools shaping the future
As the stakes grow, so does the need for smarter decision-making. Technology and data are no longer support tools – they’re central to planning, prioritising, and protecting what matters most. We’re entering a new era of asset intelligence. Here are the tech accelerators to consider:
Digital twin implementation (creating virtual replicas of physical assets, processes, or systems for predictive maintenance) is transforming how we plan and manage new builds. Our data shows a 30% reduction in inspection costs.
AI-driven predictive modelling improves scenario planning, reduces perception bias, and achieves a 45% improvement in maintenance efficiency.
AI-human collaboration (agentic AI) is opening new doors in decision-making and policy planning, empowering asset managers with real-time insights with a 62% reduction in administrative time.
What’s possible is no longer a question – it’s about amplifying the impact.
A shared responsibility and opportunity
Government policy has become a powerful catalyst for change – and that change is already having an impact, not just in education but across sectors like health. The NSW Department of Education is a clear example: when the NSW government committed to clearing the maintenance backlog in 2019, it required a robust, data-backed investment case. Asset strategy evolved to meet the moment.
As strategies mature, collaboration across jurisdictions becomes even more important. Shared learnings can strengthen policy advocacy and drive consistency in how we manage and fund assets.
For non-government sectors, there’s an opportunity to influence leadership to adopt similar approaches. Asset management should have a seat at the table.
A fitting perspective comes from Legacy, a book by James Kerr about the New Zealand All Blacks. Their mantra is: “Leave the jersey in a better place.” Our goal should be the same – to leave the portfolios we manage in a better place than we found them.