What is an Asset Management Plan?

An Asset Management Plan is a practical document that explains how an organisation will manage its assets to support its wider objectives.

It brings together information about your assets, the services they support, expected future demand, available funding and the work required over time. It can then be used to guide asset management activities in a planned and auditable way.

A useful Asset Management Plan should be more than a document produced for compliance. It should reflect how your organisation makes decisions and how its people, processes, data and systems work together.

Why develop an Asset Management Plan?

Without a documented plan, asset decisions can become disconnected from organisational priorities and available budgets.

An Asset Management Plan provides a common reference point for asset managers, senior management and other stakeholders. It can help explain what assets the organisation is responsible for, what issues need attention and how proposed investment supports service delivery.

Developing the plan also encourages your organisation to work through the reasoning behind its asset management approach. This can help expose gaps in information, unclear responsibilities or areas where further planning is required.

What is included in the Asset Management Plan Template?

The template follows a structured asset management planning process. You can add your organisation’s information to each section and remove any areas that are not relevant.

Asset management context and objectives

Begin by documenting why your organisation is implementing asset management and how the plan aligns with the wider business.

This section prompts you to consider:

  • The history of managing your property assets
  • Known asset issues facing the organisation
  • Alignment with your asset management framework
  • Expected benefits
  • Connections with business strategies and other plans

These topics are included in the template’s introductory asset management section.

Asset information

Effective asset management depends on knowing what you own or manage.

The template helps you record an asset summary, property descriptions and critical components. It also provides space to document the condition, functionality and utilisation of buildings, along with any strategic land holdings.

Future demand

Your asset management plan should consider how demand may change and what that means for your portfolio.

Use this section to document expected demand, the factors influencing it and the asset or non-asset responses available to your organisation.

Levels of service

Levels of service help connect asset management decisions with the outcomes your organisation is expected to provide.

The template includes sections for strategic objectives, statutory requirements, service measures, targets and identified shortfalls. This allows you to show what is required from your assets and where current performance may need to improve.

Asset management options and priorities

Once you understand your assets and future requirements, you can assess the options available.

The template provides space to document programmes, supporting projects, prioritisation methods, disposal plans and annual operational budgets. This helps turn asset management objectives into practical actions.

Financial planning

Asset management planning needs to reflect the funding that is realistically available.

Use the financial section to record budgeted expenditure, capital requirements, operational and maintenance budgets, funding strategies and expected outcomes.

The template also includes prompts for statutory compliance, acquisitions, improvements, replacements, renewals and key financial assumptions.

Asset management practices and systems

The template helps you document the practices and systems that support your asset management approach.

This includes information management, roles and responsibilities, risk assessment, asset valuations, capital projects, maintenance contracts and lifecycle strategies. It also prompts you to record the systems used for operations, planning, analysis and reporting.

Asset management improvement plan

Asset management capability develops over time. The final section helps you identify areas for improvement and document the actions required.

You can record proposed improvements across processes, data, systems and people, then establish how progress will be reviewed and measured.

Who is the template for?

The Asset Management Plan Template is suitable for organisations responsible for buildings, property portfolios and other physical assets.

It can support asset managers, property teams, facilities managers and senior leaders who need to establish a new asset management plan or review an existing approach.

The template is particularly useful when an organisation needs to bring asset information, service requirements, future investment and improvement priorities into one structured document.

Create an Asset Management Plan suited to your organisation

Every organisation has different assets, responsibilities and service requirements.

This template gives you a starting structure rather than prescribing a single asset management approach. Add the information relevant to your organisation and remove any sections that do not apply.

The result should be an asset management plan that reflects your operating environment and can be used to support real decisions.