Austroads: Transport Research and Trends

Design, traffic management and road safety are critical to achieving safe, efficient and context-responsive transport. Road design, traffic management and road safety practitioners often work towards the same outcomes, but they see things differently. This webinar helps these practitioners contribute to an integrated and unified approach to transport facility planning, design, implementation and operation. The webinar draws on the Austroads Guides to Road Design (AGRD), Traffic Management (AGTM) and Road Safety (AGRS), and a new publication from Austroads (Coordinated Use of Austroads Guides to Support Safe and Efficient Road Networks) to demonstrate their interconnectedness. Most users are familiar with only one or two of these Guides; however, all three are mutually supportive and interdependent. The complementary disciplines should be involved from strategic planning through to operation and renewal, as illustrated by a staged framework. The webinar covers core concepts, including Movement and Place, Level of Service, the Safe System approach, safe mobility, Context-sensitive design and design domains. An understanding of these concepts among practitioners across the three disciplines will support integrated teams in using the 3 Austroads Guides (AGRD, AGTM, AGRS) together, rather than disciplines working in isolation and passing problems from one group to another. This will improve outcomes when designing, operating, and managing the transport system for the various user types and capabilities.

The Austroads Guide to Temporary Traffic Management (https://austroads.gov.au/publications/temporary-traffic-management/agttm-set) (AGTTM) provides nationally consistent guidance for the planning, design, and implementation of safe and efficient temporary traffic management across Australia and New Zealand. Traffic Controllers (TCs) and Traffic Management Implementers (TMIs) play a vital role in the implementation of the temporary traffic management system. They are exposed to significant risks in their work to ensure the safety of road workers and the public. This webinar recording is aimed at TCs, TMIs and those involved in the on-site delivery of temporary traffic management, including team leaders and supervisors who oversee field implementation. The webinar was designed to improve understanding of the principles and requirements of the AGTTM and to summarise relevant recent updates and their application to TC and TMI. Rosie Toohey and Liam Dwyer from Point8 presented the session on behalf of Austroads.

Transport networks across Australia and New Zealand are increasingly experiencing disruption and damage from extreme weather, natural hazards and long-term climate change. While the transport sector’s preparedness for and response to these impacts is improving, organisations continue to face challenges in demonstrating the value of proactive investment in resilience. This webinar presented findings from a new Austroads research report showcasing: a structured 6-step process to support transport agencies in practically measuring resilience to climate- and natural-hazards an accompanying register that provides a set of potential metrics, designed to help users prioritise those that best suit their objectives, context and capability. These resources were developed through a targeted literature review, industry engagement, and pilot testing with selected Austroads members. Attendees learnt how these resources can support consistent measurement of resilience performance. The webinar also outlined their potential applications for resilience planning, performance monitoring and investment prioritisation. This webinar was presented by Kieran Power, Shannon Regan and Aidan McGann.

Climate change is placing increasing pressure on transport infrastructure across Australia and New Zealand, creating growing challenges for asset owners and network managers. This webinar introduced the findings of an Austroads report, Identifying and Prioritising Climate Adaption Actions for Transport Assets , which addresses a key challenge for Austroads members: translating climate risk and resilience objectives into prioritised adaptation initiatives to support investment decision-making. The session showcased the new Adaptation Action Prioritisation Methodology (AAPM), developed to help Austroads member agencies: identify suitable and effective adaptation actions for transport assets assess and compare adaptation options understand trade-offs between cost, risk reduction and broader outcomes prioritise investments and adaptation planning increase consistency in how adaptation measures are assessed and evaluated. Attendees also gained insights into two integrated resources developed to support implementation of the AAPM: the Library of Adaptation Actions, which includes over 60 good practice adaptation measures for road assets a set of parameter values to quantify the impacts related to climate hazards and adaptation measures. Watch the recording to learn how these new tools can help integrate climate resilience into transport planning and investment decisions, build stronger business cases for adaptation, and deliver better value-for-money outcomes in a changing climate. This webinar was presented by Lorena Garcia, Aidan McGann, and Cameron Ades.

Bituminous binders that are used to construct roads are tested prior to use to ensure they will perform satisfactorily during a road’s lifecycle. Standards Australia Committee CH-025 ‘Bitumen and related products for roadmaking’ is responsible for the revision of 4 national specification documents and 26 test methods which are used to characterise bituminous materials used in road construction. Austroads has also published 14 test methods that are used to characterise bituminous materials. This webinar presents the outcomes of Austroads Project APT6256 which provided expert technical input into the revision of 3 national specification documents (AS 2008, AS 2157 and AS 1160) and 1 Austroads test method (ATM 101). The webinar includes a description of the process used to update an Australian Standard and outlines the main changes to the 4 revised documents.

Transport Management Centres operate at the heart of our transport networks, coordinating responses to incidents, managing disruptions and supporting the safe and efficient movement of people and goods. Alongside these responsibilities come unique challenges, including shift work, high workloads, exposure to traumatic events and the need to make critical decisions under pressure. This webinar provided an overview of the key findings from the project, discussed practical approaches for managing fatigue and psychosocial hazards in TMC environments, and explored how agencies can better support the wellbeing, resilience and performance of their operational teams. We encourage TMC leaders, operators, incident response personnel, workplace health and safety practitioners, HR professionals and others involved in safety-critical operations to watch this recording. This webinar was presented by David Yee and Sarah Jones.

The Austroads Guide to Temporary Traffic Management (AGTTM) provides nationally consistent guidance for the planning, design, and implementation of safe and efficient temporary traffic management across Australia and New Zealand. Road Infrastructure Managers (RIMs) play a critical role in setting standards, approving works, maintaining network performance and ensuring safe road user outcomes during construction and maintenance activities. This webinar is designed for professionals working within or for RIMs, especially those responsible for managing TTM access to the road network for works, events, and emergencies. This webinar is suited to any RIM personnel involved in reviewing TTM documentation as part of managing road corridor access or the delivery of infrastructure, as well as persons inspecting/auditing temporary traffic management arrangements on behalf of RIM.

The Austroads Guide to Road Safety Part 7: Road Safety Strategy and Management has been updated to Edition 3.0, published April 2026. AGRS Part 7 supports Australian and New Zealand jurisdictions to reach their national targets of zero road deaths and serious injuries by 2050 (and interim targets by 2030). The Guide outlines international best practice and research on road safety management, providing an integrated framework for coordinated strategic planning across all pillars of the Safe System. Edition 3.0 includes minor editorial amendments throughout to align with national and international best practice. Most significantly, it introduces a new Section 2: Road Safety Management - the focus of this webinar. Section 2 delivers targeted, actionable guidance for the people who most shape road safety outcomes at a systems level: senior government executives, senior road safety leaders, road safety delivery partners, and elected officials. It addresses the leadership, institutional, and management conditions that enable, or constrain, effective road safety performance, providing a practical resource for those responsible for driving change at the highest levels. During this webinar, we explore the key elements of the new Section 2.

Urban freight plays a critical role in supporting cities and regional centres across Australia and New Zealand; however, despite its importance, urban freight is not consistently defined, measured and planned for across jurisdictions. This webinar presents an overview of the Urban Freight Scoping Study. The purpose of the study is to provide a clear, evidence-based foundation to support future policy development and decision-making related to urban freight in Australia and New Zealand. Participants gain an overview of the current state of the urban freight task and understand key challenges faced by industry. Drawing on findings from existing literature, stakeholder engagement with over 30 organisations, and international best practice, the session also discusses ways that governments across Australia and New Zealand can better support urban freight.

This webinar presents the outcomes of Austroads research into intersection sight distance, identifying key gaps, inconsistencies, and opportunities for harmonisation across Australian and New Zealand road design guidance. Drawing on an extensive literature review, international best practice, and stakeholder engagement with jurisdictional experts, the project examined the application of sight distance models at signalised and unsignalised intersections for all road users. The webinar will highlight key findings, including inconsistencies in current design approaches, consideration of different transport modes, and the treatment of signal failure scenarios. It will also outline recommendations for updating Austroads Guide to Road Design Part 4A to improve clarity, consistency, safety outcomes, and practitioner decision-making across the road network.

This webinar provides an overview of the updated Austroads Guide to Road Safety Part 3: Safe Speed Management, with a focus on how the guidance can support safer speed limit setting in practice.Designed for road authorities, transport practitioners and others involved in speed management, the webinar will provide an overview of the Guide’s key concepts, evidence base and practical tools for applying safe speed principles across different road and street environments.Participants learn how the updated Guide supports a move from evidence to strategy, frameworks, implementation planning and delivery.

This project delivered a range of important updates to the AGRD aimed at improving the clarity, consistency and contemporary relevance of road design guidance across Australia and New Zealand. It incorporated findings from the All User Groups and All Stereotypes and Safe System Median Treatments projects, while also addressing identified errors, inconsistencies and opportunities for harmonisation. In this session, we focus on updates to Workstream 1.3 Batter Slopes and Workstream 1.8 Consistent Speed Terminology. Attendees will gain an understanding of the key changes, the rationale behind them, and their practical implications for road design, standards development and project delivery.

This webinar presents the outcomes of Austroads Project APT1975 , which conducted research to develop a new Austroads test method for evaluating the fatigue cracking performance of aged bitumen. The test method was developed for road agencies to select durable binders for constructing sprayed seal surfacings. The development work included an extensive literature review of international fatigue cracking tests to identify suitable dynamic shear rheometer (DSR) tests. The most promising tests identified in the literature review were then conducted on a wide range of binders that were subjected to asphalt fatigue tests. This enabled selection of a reference binder test that showed the best correlation with asphalt fatigue life results. The DSR time-sweep test was identified as a suitable reference binder test and was used to assess the fatigue cracking performance of bitumen samples after they were aged in a laboratory pressure ageing vessel (PAV) for up to 72 hours. The bitumen samples were then subjected to other DSR tests that could be performed in a shorter time than time-sweep tests, in order to identify a simple test that could be used instead of time-sweep tests which are time-consuming and complex. The new Austroads test involves PAV ageing a 1 mm bitumen film for 72 hours and then measuring the complex modulus (G*) of the aged bitumen sample at 15°C using a test frequency of 10 Hz.

The Austroads Guide to Temporary Traffic Management (AGTTM) provides nationally consistent guidance for the planning, design and implementation of safe and efficient temporary traffic management across Australia and New Zealand. Traffic Management Designers (TMDs) play a critical role in the temporary traffic management process. The planning and design phase provides the greatest opportunity to identify hazards, manage risks and develop practical, safe and efficient TTM solutions. As a result, TMDs are central to achieving effective on-road outcomes. This webinar recording is suited to both practising and aspiring TMDs, and professionals working within or alongside the TTM industry who are looking to strengthen their understanding of the AGTTM and apply it more effectively in their day-to-day work. The webinar provided an overview of key topics relating to best-practice TTM design and summarised recent updates to the AGTTM that are specifically relevant to designers.

The Austroads Technical Specifications provide a comprehensive framework for the construction of roads and bridges, defining key requirements for materials, treatments and infrastructure across the industry. They establish a consistent, best-practice approach to the design, specification and delivery of road and bridge works. By standardising requirements across jurisdictions, they support greater efficiency, improved quality outcomes and more streamlined procurement and delivery processes for both industry and government. This webinar provides an overview of the Austroads Technical Specifications, including how they are being developed in collaboration with jurisdictions and industry. It will explore the principles guiding their creation and the role they play in supporting consistent, best-practice road and bridge construction outcomes. Presentations from agencies also outline their approaches to implementation, covering key objectives, delivery strategies and lessons learned. Speakers will share insights into their implementation processes, along with current progress and timelines for adopting the specifications within their organisations.

This webinar presents the development and application of the Minimum Data Requirements for Pedestrian Safety Guideline and its supporting research. Participants will gain an overview of the challenges associated with inconsistent and incomplete pedestrian safety data, and why a nationally consistent approach is critical for monitoring outcomes and targeting investment. The session will explain how the research identified and prioritised pedestrian safety data sets, distinguishing between “ideal” and “minimum” requirements based on cost, effort, and contribution to safety outcomes. It will highlight the recommended minimum data framework, covering exposure and demographics, crashes and injuries, and physical environment data across strategic, tactical and site levels. Attendees also learn practical approaches to data collection, use of proxy measures, current gaps, and emerging opportunities to improve pedestrian safety monitoring and decision-making in transport agencies.

This webinar presents the completed Austroads Charting a Path to Eliminating Road Death and Serious Injury project, including all three streams and newly released knowledge transfer resources. It introduces the Planning for Zero Framework (PfZF)—a practical, system-based approach to achieving Vision Zero by 2050—and demonstrates how it translates into actionable Zero Pathways tailored to jurisdictions. Participants will explore key findings, practical road safety strategy development advice, and a comprehensive suite of artefacts now available through the Knowledge Hub, including briefings, fact sheets, infographics, engagement guidance, and messaging toolkits. The session is designed for road safety leaders and practitioners, and general road and transport professionals, seeking clear, evidence-based guidance to move from road safety ambition to implementation—combining technical planning, change management, and stakeholder engagement to deliver sustained reductions in death and serious injury.

The Austroads Guide to Temporary Traffic Management (AGTTM) provides nationally consistent guidance for the planning, design, and implementation of safe and efficient temporary traffic management across Australia and New Zealand. Recent revisions to AGTTM Parts 1–7, 9 and 10 (Edition 1.2) focus on continuing to align the Guide with contemporary temporary traffic management best practice, improving clarity, and strengthening consistency of terminology. Approximately 30 per cent of content across these Parts has been updated, while deliberately retaining the existing structure of the Guide. These updates represent an incremental and continuous improvement approach, refining guidance where while maintaining consistency for ease of integration with existing TTM documentation. This webinar provides a practical overview of the key changes, their intent, and what they mean for those involved in the planning, approval and delivery of temporary traffic management.

This webinar presented the outcomes of Austroads Project NEG6439 , which examined how fibre optic sensing technologies can be applied to support improved road agency services and functions. While fibre optic networks are widely deployed across Australian and New Zealand transport agencies for communications, their use as a sensing capability remains relatively underutilised. This project explored how technologies such as distributed acoustic sensing (DAS), distributed temperature sensing (DTS) and strain fibre sensing (SFS) can be leveraged across a broad range of operational use cases. The webinar outlines approximately 20 prioritised use cases across four key domains: traffic monitoring, anomaly detection, security and asset management. These include applications such as travel speed and volume monitoring, linear heat detection in tunnels, perimeter security, and structural health monitoring of bridges and tunnels. The session also presented an assessment of technology maturity, highlighting that several use cases are already at established to advanced levels (TRL 5–9), while others remain emerging or nascent and suited to targeted trials. Practical guidance was provided on how these technologies can be integrated into existing transport systems, including key considerations for deployment, operations, and data management, as well as insights into market trends and capability requirements. This webinar recording will be of interest to transport agencies, infrastructure operators, and practitioners involved in intelligent transport systems, asset management and network operations. This webinar was presented by Irene Horvat and Henry Wu with a live Q+A moderated by David Yee.

Unbound granular materials play a crucial role in providing cost-effective road transport infrastructure across Australia and New Zealand. Compared to the thick asphalt and concrete pavements common in urban centres, thin bituminous surfaced unbound granular pavements offer a more economical solution for sealed road networks, albeit with lower load-bearing capacity and in some cases lower performance reliability. The performance of unbound granular materials is primarily influenced by their shear strength, modulus, and resistance to material breakdown under construction and traffic loads. Improved performance tests are required to provide practical pavement design methods and performance-based specifications for their use in construction. This webinar presents research to identify new performance tests recommended for future Austroads research. Performance characterisation methods were reviewed, including repeated load triaxial (RLT) testing and wheel tracker testing. In identifying potential new improved laboratory test methods, particularly in relation to rut-resistance, cognisance was taken of the shear stress reversals due to rolling wheel loads that occur in service.