The Australian Automobile Association’s recent Benchmarking Report – published in July – reveals that 1,329 people died on the nation’s roads in the 12 months to 30 June – up 3.3 per cent from the previous year’s 1,287 deaths. The toll is now 21.1 per cent higher than when the National Road Safety Strategy (NRSS) was launched in 2021.
The NRSS, agreed to by all levels of government, set ambitious targets: a 50 per cent reduction in road deaths, a 30 per cent cut in serious injuries, and zero fatalities among young children, in city CBDs, and on major highways by 2030. But four years into the decade-long plan, the report finds no state, territory or road user group is on track to meet the goals.
Tasmania recorded the sharpest increase, with 48 deaths in the past year compared to 26 in the year before – an 84.6 per cent rise. Increases were also recorded in New South Wales (up 6.8 per cent to 362), Western Australia (up 5.1 per cent to 185), Victoria (up 3.1 per cent to 296) and Queensland (up slightly to 296). South Australia and the Northern Territory were the only jurisdictions to record fewer deaths, though both remain above their notional NRSS targets.
The human impact is particularly stark among vulnerable road users. Pedestrian deaths rose 15 per cent to 192, making the June quarter the worst for pedestrian fatalities since 2012. Cyclist deaths increased nearly 12 per cent to 38, while 22 children aged seven and under lost their lives on the road – more than double the target level for this stage of the strategy. Motorcyclist deaths, however, fell 5.4 per cent to 264.
Michael Bradley, managing director of the AAA, said the latest results show the strategy is failing to deliver.
“Clearly, the National Road Safety Strategy is not delivering the outcomes Australians were promised,” he said.
“Governments must consider what steps they can take to make it more effective.”
The report highlights another challenge: gaps in the data. Australia still lacks consistent national figures on serious injuries, CBD fatalities, and crashes on highways and high-speed roads – making it impossible to assess progress in several key areas.
On a population basis, Australia’s national fatality rate now sits at 4.9 deaths per 100,000 people, well above the NRSS target of fewer than two by 2030. If all states and territories had matched the safer performance of New South Wales and Victoria, the report estimates 186 lives could have been saved in the past year.
The AAA says the findings should serve as a wake-up call for policymakers. With road deaths climbing and targets slipping further out of reach, experts warn that without urgent intervention, Australia risks another decade of rising trauma on its roads.