Austroads: Transport Research and Trends

As transport systems grow more complex and interconnected, the ability to manage both planned and unplanned Intelligent Transport System (ITS) outages is essential to keeping people and goods moving safely. This webinar presents findings from an Austroads project focused on strengthening the resilience of Transport Management Centres (TMCs) in the face of ITS disruptions. The research involved con...

Austroads' Bridge Assessment Guideline: Heavy Vehicles emphasises risk-informed decision-making for the asset management of road bridges and the management of heavy vehicle access. The emphasis on decision-making, rather than focussing only on the calculation of rating factors or assessment ratios, reflects the multitude of considerations faced by road agencies when making decisions concerning bri...

The Austroads Bridge Awards celebrate outstanding achievement in bridge design, management and delivery across Australia and New Zealand. Recognising innovation, technical excellence and collaboration, the Awards highlight projects that address complex engineering challenges while contributing to safer, stronger and more connected communities. This was the first of two webinars showcasing the 2025...

This practical webinar unpacks the new cycling and micromobility planning tools from Austroads' recent report ‘ Improving Austroads Guidance for Cycling and Micromobility Planning ’ (AP-R724-25). This session is designed for transport practitioners looking to apply best practice principles in real-world projects. Presenters explore the updated Cycling Level of Service (CLoS) tool, the All Ages and...

Governments around the world have set sustainability targets in areas such as greenhouse gas emissions , climate resilience and the circular economy. Meeting these sustainability targets will challenge Austroads member agencies and the infrastructure sector to identify and adopt new and changed approaches. This webinar presented the findings of the Austroads research report,  Sustainability Review...

Movement and Place is a cross-cutting planning principle that that recognises streets and roads as both transport corridors and public spaces; supporting the flow of people and goods while also shaping the activity, built form and identity of places.   This webinar introduces the findings of the Austroads research project NEG6384 Movement and Place Guidance, which provides the foundation for updat...

In this webinar, Sjaan Koppel, winner of the Austroads-sponsored Women in Road Safety Award 2024, presents findings from an Australian study on the importance of correct seatbelt use during pregnancy for maternal and fetal safety in car crashes. Sjaan discusses practical strategies to improve public health messaging, healthcare guidance, and vehicle design, providing valuable insights for road saf...

Inconsistency in the design of traffic barriers for bridges has been identified as a major issue in current practice throughout Australia and New Zealand. The need for standardised solutions has been recognised by road jurisdictions, consultants, and contractors. Key concerns include the determination of appropriate barrier performance levels, structural design criteria, the lack of standard barri...

The transport sector, particularly in road network operations and management, is experiencing a period of significant and rapid change globally. This disruption is directly affecting how people and industry access, navigate and use transport and road networks. Expectations around transport, travel needs and user behaviour are shifting. More broadly, these changes are contributing to the growing mo...

This webinar provided an overview of the Austroads Report, ‘LED Lighting in Road Tunnels – Best Practice Approaches’ which summarises the process undertaken to explore tunnel lighting upgrades to LED, and provides best practice guidance for tunnel owners and operators considering the transition to more efficient lighting systems. Many existing tunnels currently use fluorescent or High Pressure Sod...

As jurisdictions across Australia and New Zealand increasingly rely on data to improve road safety, transport efficiency, and sustainability, Austroads’ Telematics Analytics Platform (TAP) is at the forefront, providing road agencies data to make better-informed decisions. Managed by Austroads, TAP provides secure, online access to aggregated and anonymised telematics data from vehicles enrolled i...

Automatic Crash Notification (ACN) systems, such as eCall, automatically notifies emergency services in the event of a crash, transmitting key data such as the location, time and severity of the incident. The primary purpose of ACN is to aid faster response time to crashes, increasing the likelihood of occupants surviving a crash. While ACN technology is becoming increasingly common in new vehicle...

Are you looking for an opportunity to work with Austroads to help Australian and New Zealand transport agencies deliver efficient, reliable, and safe mobility to their customers? This webinar introduced new projects lined up for the 2025-26 financial year. Consultants interested in tendering for Austroads projects will find this session beneficial. The session covered the Austroads tendering proce...

In this webinar, MACA Chief Executive Helen Lindner and Professor Julie Brown discuss an Austroads project for Australia and New Zealand investigating specialty harnesses and vests. These products are sometimes used by children and young people with disabilities and medical conditions when travelling in motor vehicles. The project aimed to improve knowledge and understanding of why these products...

Polymer modified binders (PMBs) are used in road construction to provide better performance than unmodified bitumen. As these materials consist of multiple components (i.e. bitumen, polymer and performance additives) the different components in a PMB can separate out, or segregate, when PMBs are stored hot before use in road construction. The Australian PMB specification (Austroads ATS 3110) curre...

Pedestrian safety is a critical concern worldwide, and some countries have been particularly successful. Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands, and Denmark have achieved 40-60 per cent reductions in pedestrian deaths over the last 20 years. Australia and New Zealand, however, lag and pedestrian safety is only marginally improving. Achieving Australia and New Zealand’s vision for road safety, where no on...

The purpose of the update to Guide to Road Design Part 1: Objectives of Road Design is to outline a proposed recommendation of amendments to the design domain and design exception process sections. The need for updating these sections is consistent with increasing industry challenges in designing and constructing road infrastructure in constrained environments or other various contexts, which make...

The National Training Framework for Temporary Traffic Management has been operational since January 2024 and has been implemented by South Australia, Victoria, Northern Territory and Tasmania. The Austroads Guide to Temporary Traffic Management (AGTTM) provides comprehensive guidance for the planning, design, and implementation of safe and efficient temporary traffic management practices in Austra...

This webinar introduced the new Austroads Guidance for Cycling and Micromobility Planning, a resource for professionals seeking to deliver safer outcomes for all road users. The project aimed to deliver a consolidated and nationally consistent approach to cycling and micromobility planning and includes recommended changes to the  Austroads Guide to Traffic Management . The webinar shared the key t...

Australia’s freight industry is at a turning point. The transition to low and zero-emission heavy vehicles (ZEHVs) is critical to achieving net zero targets, but it presents significant challenges for road infrastructure. As these vehicles are often heavier than their diesel counterparts, they place additional strain on pavements and bridges—potentially increasing maintenance costs and acceleratin...

Sprayed seals are a widely used, critical component of the road system in Australia and New Zealand, being the predominant type of sealed road surfacing in both countries. Traditional sprayed sealing practice sees a heavy reliance on non-renewable, virgin materials for the two major components, the bituminous binder, which is refined from crude oil, and aggregate, which is extracted from a quarry....

Road infrastructure investments are currently planned and prioritised under what could be considered a ‘top-down’ process. Road agencies are typically funded through budgetary processes whereby road funding needs are mostly weighed against other budget priorities. However, when a road is a lifeline route – where there are limited transportation alternatives –the external impacts and costs imposed...

Climate change is causing irreversible damage to communities, the economy and the environment, and it is imperative that strong and sustained action is taken to limit its future impacts. Extreme weather events are projected to become more frequent and intense, increasing the vulnerability of transport network assets and the communities they serve. Climate change impacts the ability of transport ne...

Are you looking for an opportunity to work with Austroads to help Australian and New Zealand transport agencies deliver efficient, reliable, and safe mobility to their customers? This webinar recording introduces new projects lined up for the 2024-25 financial year. Consultants interested in tendering for Austroads projects will find this session beneficial. The session covers the Austroads tender...

Following extensive engagement with industry, representative specialist groups and transport agency stakeholders across Australia and New Zealand, Austroads has developed a guide to digital engineering. The purpose of the guide is to assist transport agencies in Australia and New Zealand to deliver and operate their assets more effectively through obtaining better value and consistency in the appl...