Road Deaths at 15-Year High Amid Delayed Safety Review

Australia records 1,340 fatalities in 12 months, with pedestrian fatalities up nearly 50 percent since 2021.

A file image of a road accident in the city of Melbourne. On average, three people die on Australian roads every day. David Caird-Pool/Getty Images

Australia’s road toll has climbed to its highest level in 15 years, with 1,340 people killed in the 12 months to July 31—a 2.9 percent increase on the previous year.

The national toll included 205 pedestrians, up by 44 deaths, or 27 percent, compared with the year before. The 1,340 fatalities marked the worst outcome since 2010, when 1,395 people were killed on Australian roads.

The findings come from a report compiled by the Australian Automobile Association (AAA), drawing on statistics from the Bureau of Infrastructure and Transport Research Economics.

The figures underscore the failure of the National Road Safety Strategy, which aimed to halve road deaths by 2030.

Instead, since the strategy began in 2021, total fatalities have risen by 22 percent, while pedestrian deaths have soared by 50 percent.

AAA Managing Director Michael Bradley said the results showed governments must urgently re-examine their approach.

“The National Road Safety Strategy is falling well short of its targets,” Bradley said.

Tasmania Leads Rise

The sharpest increases were recorded in Tasmania, where deaths jumped 42 percent, followed by the ACT and Western Australia, both up 13 percent.

By contrast, fatalities fell in the Northern Territory by 31 percent and in South Australia by 9 percent.

Despite recording fewer deaths, the Northern Territory still had the nation’s highest rate of fatalities per capita, at 16.8 per 100,000 residents. Tasmania followed at 7.6, and Western Australia at 6.8.

The surge in pedestrian deaths was particularly stark in Western Australia, where fatalities more than doubled from 14 to 31, and in Queensland, where they rose from 23 to 37.

Men continued to account for the majority of road deaths, with 993 male fatalities in the past year, a 1.6 percent decline from 2024. However, female fatalities rose sharply, up 19 percent to 346.

Governments Face Pressure to Act

The alarming trends come despite the adoption of a 10-year National Road Safety Strategy in 2021, which identified nine priority areas for reform: infrastructure planning and investment, vehicle safety, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander road users, regional and remote safety, heavy vehicles, vulnerable road users, workplace road safety, and tackling risky behaviour.

In 2023, the Australian government launched a Safe Systems review of the Australian Road Rules, which is yet to conclude.

According to the National Transport Commission, consultations with experts have been completed, and the review will open for public consultation in late 2025, with a second round scheduled for mid-2026.

The process is expected to examine potential changes, such as improved child restraint requirements and other evidence-based options to enhance road safety.

Final recommendations will be presented to ministers in the second half of 2026.