Welcome to our monthly Austroads RoadWatch: Roundup for June
RoadWatch: Roundup
June 2024
Welcome to our monthly Austroads RoadWatch: Roundup for June. Discover our latest news, published reports, Guide updates, webinars and events.
Update to skills needed for roads and transport
Austroads has published the first half-year update to the Australia and New Zealand Roads Capability Analysis Update Report March 2024 and related data dashboards.
Last year Austroads published the fifth update to the Austroads' Workforce Capability Analysis. Austroads' Workforce Capability Analysis has been routinely updated and published by Austroads with the support of Oxford Economics for the past 18 years.
Geoff Allan, Austroads Chief Executive said that with rapid changes to the employment market, Austroads decided to provide half-yearly updates to the data rather than waiting for updates every few years.
"The analysis estimates the skills and capabilities required by Australian and New Zealand roads and transport agencies to continue delivering their service objectives. The report identifies potential and emerging workforce capability gaps and provides agencies and related stakeholders with potential solutions to meet these gaps through future development, national training and capability initiatives."
"The insights and solutions contained in the capability analysis provide a clear picture of the realities of the industry, as well as a clear plan on how to address these skills and capability gaps in the workforce."
The data dashboards provide additional functionality, allowing users to focus on specific skills and occupation profiles in New Zealand and each Australian state and territory," Geoff said.
Helping local government prepare for connected and automated vehicles
A recent study by Austroads has highlighted the requirements and interests of local governments as they prepare for the growing presence of connected and automated vehicles (CAVs) on their roads.
The study found that many councils do not feel prepared for the introduction of higher levels of automated vehicles.
Joanne Vanselow, manager of the Austroads Vehicles and Technology Program highlighted the significant role local governments play in managing a substantial part of the road network.
“Local government manages 75% of Australia’s and 88% of the New Zealand road network. This places councils at the forefront of shaping the future of transportation for connected and automated vehicles,” she said. “It is important they are ready to make the changes needed to ensure their roads are ready for increased numbers of vehicles equipped with this kind of technology.”
Download Preparing for Connected and Automated Vehicles: Resources for Local Government and Local Government Readiness for Connected and Automated Vehicles
Join us for a webinar Friday 21 June 2024 at 1 pm AEST with David Yee and Andrew Somers designed to help people working in local government across Australia and New Zealand to navigate the evolving landscape of connected and automated vehicles.
Austroads seeks input on managing overseas licensed heavy vehicle drivers
The heavy vehicle industry and community are invited to share their views on the management of overseas licensed heavy vehicle drivers.
Overseas licensed heavy vehicle drivers are generally welcomed in Australia as they provide valuable skills and help address current industry shortages. However, there have been concerns raised about the road safety risk of these drivers.
While not dismissing these concerns, Michael Nieuwesteeg, Austroads Roads Safety and Design Program Manager said “The available evidence is that there are relatively few heavy vehicle crashes which involve overseas licensed drivers. Despite this, licensing authorities understand that while in Australia, overseas licence holders may face driving conditions, and a road use and safety culture which differs from their country of origin.”
In response to industry concerns and recognising the differences between driving in Australia and overseas, Austroads, on behalf of its eight state and territory member agencies, is seeking to understand whether changes should be made to the management of overseas licensed heavy vehicle drivers.
Austroads is inviting heavy vehicle drivers, heavy vehicle operators, individuals and businesses who rely on heavy vehicles to undertake a short survey to share their insights and experiences.
The survey will take a few minutes to complete, is anonymous and will provide Austroads with valuable information about community and industry views to inform policy review and decision making.
Complete the survey here by the end of Friday 12 July 2024.
Austroads Safety Hardware Training and Accreditation Scheme mandatory 1 July
The Austroads Safety Hardware Training and Accreditation Scheme (ASHTAS), a training and accreditation scheme for installers of roadside barriers, will be mandatory across NSW, Queensland and Victoria from 01 July 2024.
ASHTAS provides a graduated training pathway for installers commencing with entry-level safety and operational awareness and generic installation, and progressing to specific barrier types, including proprietary systems.
The training structure includes an operative course and a series of installer courses.
The operative course is an entry-level course for anyone involved in the installation and maintenance of road safety barrier systems.
Completion of the installer courses enables participants to be accredited to install road safety hardware and include:
- Installer A course: installer theory covers the generic elements and practice of road safety hardware installation.
- Installer B course/s: RSB types and associated specific proprietary systems.
- Proprietary Installer Course/s: additional specific proprietary system training (as applicable).
New report shares strategies to increase walking and cycling in Australia and New Zealand
Austroads has published new research into the ways to increase the number of people walking and cycling.
Prioritising Active Transport focuses on interventions to grow active transport and evaluates the effectiveness of various measures aimed at increasing the walking and cycling mode share.
Australia and New Zealand have relatively low levels of active transport mode share compared to other OECD countries. National, state and local governments have demonstrated a keen interest in the uptake of walking and cycling.
Analysis of transport data identified the substantial challenge in achieving the desired widespread and sustained increases in active transport. “The research shows that while individual initiatives from state and local governments have yielded results, overall walking and cycling mode share has remained stagnant since 2006,” said Joanne Vanselow, Manager of the Environment and Sustainability Program at Austroads.
The report recommends approaches that can be adopted by transport agencies today to increase the active transport mode share and fall within current Austroads guidelines.
“There are many good reasons to adopt measures that would increase active transport mode share. Not only would it lead to reductions in transport costs, less congestion in our urban areas and cleaner air, it would also lead to people living healthier and longer lives.”
Join us for a series of three webinars with Dr Elliot Fishman and Andrew Somers to delve into the findings of the report.
Register for Increasing Active Transport Mode Share on Monday 22 July 2024 at 1 pm AEST
Register for Infrastructure Interventions to Increase Active Transport – Most Effective Approaches on Tuesday 23 July 2024 at 1 pm AEST
Register for Policy and Other Non-Infrastructure Measures to Increase Active Transport Mode Share on Wednesday 24 July 2024 at 1 pm AEST
ABC25 Call for Abstracts now open
Austroads is pleased to announce that the call for abstracts for the 2025 Austroads Bridge Conference is now open. We invite industry experts, bridge practitioners, material scientists and structural engineers to submit a Paper or Poster abstract showcasing their latest work.
Austroads is seeking evidence-based fresh perspectives across bridge design, construction, and maintenance. Submissions are open for an oral presentation on the full paper and/or a poster presentation.
Austroads is dedicated to promoting knowledge sharing and industry collaboration within the transport industry. Austroads Bridge Conference 2025 is an exceptional platform for experts and practitioners to collaborate, share insights and showcase research findings.
Stay tuned for more details on award submission for the 2025 Austroads Bridge Awards, an opportunity to recognise innovation and celebrate bridge industry excellence.
The call for abstracts closes 2 August 2024. For additional submission guidelines and to access the submission portal, please visit the ABC25 Conference website. If you require assistance with your submission, please contact us at abc2025@nectarcc.com.au
There is no charge for our webinars, but registration is essential. If you can’t make the live session, register and we will send you a link to the recording.
Austroads Project Pipeline 2024-25 | Register
Wednesday, 19 June 2024, 1 pm AEST
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 will introduce new projects lined up for the 2024-25 financial year. The session will be most beneficial to consultants who may be interested in tendering for Austroads projects. Participants will hear about Austroads tendering process and meet Austroads program managers. The webinar will be moderated by Paul Davies, Austroads General Manager Programs.
Local Government Readiness for Connected and Automated Vehicles | Register
Friday, 21 June 2024, 1 pm AEST
Join us for a webinar aimed at helping local governments (LGs) across Australia and New Zealand to navigate the evolving landscape of connected and automated vehicles (CAVs). As managers of a large portion of the road network, LGs play a pivotal role in shaping the future of transport. This webinar will provide an overview of an Austroads project that developed guidance to enhance LGs’ preparedness for CAV integration. The webinar will explore ten critical areas essential for LGs seeking to prepare effectively, spanning legal considerations and infrastructure readiness as well as financial impacts and stakeholder engagement. The session will also outline the proposed actions to support current and near-term vehicles with human operators and longer-term, fully automated vehicles.
Austroads Coober Pedy Sprayed Seal Trial – 11-Year Inspection Findings | Register
Tuesday, 25 June 2024, 1 pm AEST
An Austroads sprayed seal trial site was established in Coober Pedy in South Australia during 2011 to evaluate the relative performance of seals constructed with different grades of binders from their placement through to long‑term service. The site was constructed to predominantly compare the performance of different Austroads Technical Specification ATS 3110 polymer modified binder (PMB) grades when they were used in strain alleviating membrane (SAM) applications. The webinar will describe the findings obtained from an inspection of the trial site conducted 11 years after construction. The inspection included detailed visual assessments of the condition of each trial section by an expert team. Seal samples were also obtained from the trial sections so that binders could be extracted for rheological and chemical analysis tests. The test results obtained for the extracted binder samples have been used to gain insights into how the properties of the trial binders have changed over time.
Updating Austroads Guide to Road Safety Parts 2 and 7 | Register
Wednesday, 3 July 2024, 1 pm AEST
The Austroads Guide to Road Safety Part 2: Safe Roads (AGRS Part 2) and Guide to Road Safety Part 7: Road Safety Strategy and Management (AGRS Part 7) have recently been updated. This webinar will outline the key changes to AGRS Part 2 and AGRS Part 7. The content will include examples from both guides that demonstrate how the updated guidance would be practically interpreted by practitioners to deliver treatment outcomes that are more aligned with the Safe System approach.
How to
Design Cities for Women and Girls | Register
Tuesday, 9 July 2024, 1 pm AEST
Safety is often the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about transport and city planning from a gender perspective, but feeling safe should be the baseline, not the benchmark when it comes to inclusive cities. From Barcelona’s Superblocks to women’s cycling rates in Copenhagen, through to building women’s autonomy into the business case, this webinar’s presenter Estelle Grech will share key insights from her Churchill Fellowship where she travelled to 14 cities around the globe to research how to design cities for women in girls.
Gender Sensitive Urban Design Guidelines | Register
Thursday, 11 July 2024, 1 pm AEST
Cities throughout the world are recognising many public spaces are not welcoming or inclusive, particularly for women, girls, gender diverse groups and vulnerable people. This webinar will focus on Canberra's first Gender Sensitive Urban Design Guidelines. The guidelines will help planners, engineers, architects, landscape designers and developers create urban spaces that reflect the needs, interests, and routines of the city’s diverse community, enriching people’s daily lives. Developed following over two years of community and stakeholder engagement, the guidelines will aid with the design and delivery of public urban spaces as well as transport and infrastructure projects, including wayfinding. The guidelines will deliver practical outcomes to the daily lives of women, girls, gender diverse and vulnerable people in Canberra improving their safety, access, mobility, health, and enjoyment in public spaces.
Increasing Active Transport Mode Share | Register
Monday, 22 July 2024, 1 pm AEST
This webinar is part of a three-webinar series to present the outcomes of the Austroads project “Prioritising Active Transport”. A wide range of Australian government agencies have a goal to increase the mode share for walking and cycling. Yet much of the data shows that active transport levels have stagnated over the last 15 years. This webinar presents data on Australian and overseas best-practice measures that can be implemented to grow the contribution of walking and cycling to transport systems across Australasia. Participants will learn about the different categories of interventions that can be used to increase active transport mode share. They will also learn how a prioritisation framework can be used to select interventions that are the most impactful in boosting walking and cycling mode share, while also considering the cost and complexity of different interventions.
Infrastructure Interventions to Increase Active Transport – Most Effective Approaches | Register
Tuesday, 23 July 2024, 1 pm AEST
This is the second session in a three-part webinar series to present the outcomes of the Austroads project “Prioritising Active Transport”. This webinar builds on the first webinar by focusing on the types of infrastructure interventions that can be used to increase active transport mode share. Participants will gain an understanding of the effectiveness of these interventions and their suitability, depending on the geographical context (e.g. inner city, suburban, regional).
Policy and Other Non-Infrastructure Measures to Increase Active Transport Mode Share | Register
Wednesday, 24 July 2024, 1 pm AEST
This is the final webinar in the three-part webinar series to present the outcomes of the Austroads project “Prioritising Active Transport”. The session will focus on various policies and other non-infrastructure interventions that can be used to increase levels of active travel. These interventions include measures such as speed reduction, policies to integrate public transport with walking and cycling, pricing measures for motor vehicle use and parking and shared micromobility programs. The participants will learn how policy and other non-infrastructure interventions perform in terms of their impact on growing active transport mode share, in comparison to the cost and complexity of implementing these initiatives.
Standards Australia – Bitumen and Related Materials for Roads (2022-24) | Register
Tuesday, 20 August 2024, 1 pm AEST
In Australia and New Zealand, bituminous binders used in road construction are tested prior to use to ensure they will perform satisfactorily during road construction and maintenance. Australian Standards Committee CH-025 ‘Bitumen and related products for roadmaking’ is responsible for the revision of 4 national specification documents and 26 associated test methods which are used to characterise bituminous materials used in road construction. The webinar will provide an overview of an Austroads project which provided expert technical input into the revision of three Australian Standard test methods (AS 2341.4, AS 2341.15 and AS 2341.27) and three national specification documents (AS 2008, AS 2157, AS 1160) during the period between September 2022 and August 2024.
Austroads tenders and project opportunities
SAG6409 New Guidelines for Mobile Point-to-Point Enforcement – Trial Development: Task 6 – Trial Communication Guide. Closing 4pm AEST, Wednesday 19 June 2024.
- SAG6409 New Guidelines for Mobile Point-to-Point Enforcement – Trial Development: Task 5 – Trial and Evaluation Framework. Closing 4pm AEST, Wednesday 19 June 2024.
SRL6354 Longitudinal Evaluation of the Changes to National Heavy Vehicle Driver Competency Framework. Closing 4pm AEST, Friday 26 July 2024.
Current vacancies
Austroads and Transport Certification Australia (TCA) employ staff across a range of specialised and technical disciplines. We pay attention to maintaining a safe and welcoming work environment, where all staff have equal access to opportunities. We encourage our staff to participate in external and internal training to make sure their skills and knowledge are continuously improved. We take inclusion and diversity seriously. We embrace difference and diversity of identity, experience and thought, and actively strive for inclusive behaviours across our company and our work.
We currently have open positions for:
Senior Communications Officer – Stakeholder Engagement and Media
Project Coordinator – National Heavy Vehicle Driver Competency Framework
BITRE research
BITRE's monthly bulletin contains current counts and summaries of road crash deaths and fatal road crashes in Australia. Data are sourced from the road traffic or police authorities in each jurisdiction.
You can also view monthly updated road safety statistics and an Australian Road Deaths Database.
Upcoming industry events
T-Tech, Auckland, New Zealand, 25 - 26 June 2024
NZTA Bridge & Geotechnical Conference 2024, Hamilton, 8 - 9 July 2024
