Imagine the first family moving into a new street in Ballarat North. There are boxes in the hallway, a school enrolment to arrange and an internet connection to organise.

Now imagine the family moving into the last house built in that precinct. How different will their working lives be? How will their children learn? What will they expect from a doctor’s appointment, a council service or the small business down the road?

The City of Ballarat recently announced an estimated 5,846 homes for around 13,000 people in the approved core precinct plan. This community will take shape over many years, while the technology used within it continues to change.

That raises two connected responsibilities. We need to establish the digital infrastructure people and organisations already need. We also need to make it possible to adapt that infrastructure as their needs change.

The first responsibility is practical and immediate.

Homes and businesses need reliable internet access. People need mobile coverage as they move through their neighbourhood. Schools, health services and community facilities need connections that can support everyday work, from a video consultation to a classroom full of students.

Those services depend on physical things: cables, ducts, equipment locations and power. Their placement, capacity and accessibility deserve consideration alongside the roads and buildings they will serve. Once streets are finished and occupied, changing what sits beneath them can become much more disruptive.

We should also consider what happens when something fails. Which services need a backup connection or power supply? How does a resident get help during an outage? What can a local organisation continue to do if its usual system is unavailable?

The second responsibility is to leave room for change.

Consider the garage. A household moving in today may need space for two cars. If shared transport or self-driving services become practical, affordable and widely used, a later household might travel differently. Demand for parking, charging and safe pickup areas could change.

That possibility is a reason to consider how spaces might be adapted, while still meeting the transport needs people have today. It would be a poor basis for assuming everyone will give up their car.

Health services offer another example. A resident may currently travel to a clinic for a routine check. If appropriate remote monitoring and home-based care become more widely available, some of that care could happen at home. Reliable connectivity, privacy and a straightforward way to reach a clinician would become part of the household’s care arrangements.

If drone deliveries or inspections become more common, there may be new questions about safe operating areas, noise and privacy. These would need community input and appropriate approvals, rather than an assumption that every new service belongs overhead.

Changing patterns of work and travel could also change how people gather. Could community spaces adapt to accommodate shared work, learning, local groups or simply more time together? Technology may alter the way we use a neighbourhood; we should leave room for its social life to grow too.

None of these scenarios gives us a timetable. They help us test whether today’s choices leave useful options open.

That might mean considering spare capacity and accessible routes for future cabling, equipment that can be upgraded, and clear responsibility for maintaining shared infrastructure. Engineering and commercial assessment should consider the cost of changing something before committing to it.

The same thinking applies to the services using those connections. Can organisations move their information if they change providers? Can new systems connect safely? Can a contract accommodate a better approach without an expensive exit?

People need support through both layers.

A small business owner needs dependable services today and the confidence to assess new tools tomorrow. A school or community organisation needs people who can question suppliers and know where to find help.

Residents will have different incomes, abilities and levels of digital confidence. A connection being available does not mean everyone can afford it or use it easily. Accessible services and a person to speak to when something goes wrong will remain important as technology develops.

This is where local capability matters. Universities, training providers, businesses and community groups can help one another understand what is changing and share what they learn.

For BRAIN, this is an important regional conversation. Alongside the physical development, how do we build the knowledge, relationships and judgement that help a community adapt? How do we keep listening to residents as their needs become clearer?

Ballarat North gives us a chance to consider those questions from the outset. We can provide the foundations people need now and keep reviewing how well they serve the community as it grows.

How do we build for today while leaving room for the way we might live tomorrow?