Austroads: Transport Research and Trends

This project involved the development of a guideline for bridge owners on managing the risk of bridge flooding, scour and resilience due to floods and an update to the Austroads Guide to Bridge Technology Part 8: Hydraulic Design of Waterway Structures (AGBT08) . The guideline provides a framework for managing risks to bridge infrastructure caused by floods, focusing on improving resilience, operational performance safety. It aims to equip engineers, asset managers, and decision-makers with strategies to address flood-related challenges, particularly those associated with scour and structural vulnerability. The guideline highlights proactive measures such as pre-flood inspections, prioritising critical bridges, and real-time monitoring during floods. Post-flood recovery focuses on condition assessments, load testing, and criteria for safe reopening. AGBT08 was updated to incorporate updated design related knowledge and guidance on hydrology and hydraulics in alignment with Australian Rainfall and Runoff 2019.

Extreme weather events including torrential rain, flooding, landslides, heat waves and bushfires, as well as longer term changes such as increasing temperatures and sea level rise, take a dramatic toll on our transport infrastructure and the functioning of our road infrastructure networks. This webinar introduced the findings of the Austroads research project ESC6516 Research Climate Change and Natural Hazards Resilience Needs and Guidance Approaches. The project considered resilience across the full transport system lifecycle – Policy, Strategy and Planning, Business Case & Investment, Design and Construction, Network Operations, Maintenance and Renewals, and Monitoring and Evaluation. Through stakeholder consultation and a global literature review, the report sets out a series of recommendations for the strategic development of Austroads guidance to holistically improve the resilience of the land transport system to climate change and natural hazards (CCNH). The webinar shared the projects recommendations on: the definition of a resilient transport system foundational gaps to achieving transport system resilience the model and roadmap for Austroads’ guidance development to address these gaps. Whether you’re new to CCNH resilience or working to embed it within any part of the transport system lifecycle, this webinar will help you understand how Austroads approach to guidance development will support the development of a resilient transport system.

Austroads Guide to Pavement Technology Part 2: Pavement Structural Design is the primary reference for designing new sealed road pavements in Australia and New Zealand and has recently been updated. Since its last major update in 2017, Austroads has completed several research projects. The latest edition of Part 2 incorporates new research findings and provides a general update.

This Austroads project has investigated methods for engineers to design more efficient and cost-effective road rehabilitation treatments by estimating the remaining fatigue life of existing asphalt. Current design practice assumes existing asphalt layers have no remaining life, even when uncracked. Lower rehabilitation costs will result if design methods are improved to utilise the remaining life of existing uncracked asphalt. In this webinar, the presenters: outline the outcomes of the project, including field and laboratory investigations on the Western Freeway in Victoria discuss the methods tested to estimate the remaining fatigue life of asphalt present the new framework for rehabilitation design to validate with future research. This approach supports more targeted treatments, improved road performance, and long-term savings. The session is relevant for pavement engineers, asset managers, designers, and those involved in planning and delivering road rehabilitation programs.

The Austroads Guide to Pavement Technology provides informative guidance on different pavement types and the optimal conditions they are suited to throughout Australia and New Zealand. In addition, the Guide provides in-depth analysis and technical advice on the construction, maintenance, and performance of road pavement surfaces. A project has been conducted to update the following Guides to achieve consistency with the various other parts of the Guide and other Austroads publications, such as Austroads Test Methods and Work Tips, that have been subject to changes in their most recent editions. These parts provide informative guidance regarding pavement technology, selection of pavement surfacing and an overview of the criteria by which pavement materials are used: Guide to Pavement Technology Part 1: Introduction to Pavement Technology Guide to Pavement Technology Part 3: Pavement Surfacings Guide to Pavement Technology Part 4: Pavement Materials This webinar described the review process and stakeholder consultations undertaken to update the Guides, and discussed the major changes that have been made to the Guides. This update process ensures the Guides are maintained as a relevant and contemporary source of knowledge, which provide quality information and guidance to all those working with pavements across Australia and New Zealand.

The Austroads Guide to Pavement Technology Part 4B: Asphalt provides comprehensive guidance for the selection of constituent materials, mix design, testing, manufacture and placement of commonly used asphalt mix types in Australia and New Zealand. The Guide was first published by Austroads in 2007, followed by a major revision in 2014. The most recent edition presented in this webinar captures the major advancements in asphalt technology over the past decade.  This webinar goes through the major changes to the Guide, including any new content not previously included in Part 4B: Asphalt. It will be especially relevant to anyone involved in the asphalt industry, including designers, road managers, asphalt suppliers and contractors.

How are Australians walking and cycling in 2025? The National Walking and Cycling Participation Survey is Australia’s most comprehensive source of data on how people move through their communities. Conducted every two years since 2011 and commissioned by Cycling and Walking Australia and New Zealand (CWANZ), the 2025 survey was delivered by Painted Dog Research and captures a nationally representative view of walking, cycling, and emerging micromobility behaviours. This year’s study engaged over 12,000 Australians through a dual-mode approach (online and phone) and included several methodological enhancements. It sheds light on how often people walk or cycle, for what purposes, and how this is evolving - including increased use of e-bikes, e-scooters, and other rideables. In this webinar, the Painted Dog team walks through the key findings from the 2025 survey across Australia and each state/territory. Calvin Lim from Painted Dog Research presents the results from the research, alongside representatives from CWANZ. The session also includes a Q&A Panel discussion featuring Michelle Prior, Chair of CWANZ, Kirsty Kelly, CEO of Transport Professionals Association and Dr Ingrid Johnston, CEO of Australasian College of Road Safety.

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 consultation with transport agencies across Australia and New Zealand, and a review of local and international practices. Drawing on operational insights, shared challenges, and real-world examples, the project developed the TMC Response to ITS Outages Framework, which is a practical tool to support structured planning, response, and recovery for ITS disruptions.   This session covers: key themes from agency consultation and operational research real-world case studies highlighting how agencies have responded to ITS outages the Framework and its components, from business continuity to recovery how it supports readiness for both planned (e.g. maintenance) and unplanned (e.g. system failure, cyberattack) outages tools including risk matrices, training approaches, and standards alignment. This webinar is relevant for a range of road/transport agency staff, including TMC managers and operators, ITS and IT managers, along with resilience planners and those involved in responding to ITS outages.  

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 bridges. The Guideline provides assessors and road agencies with a framework to reduce conservatism in the assessment of road bridges for heavy vehicle access, particularly for bridges that do not meet the requirements of AS 5100:2017 or the NZ bridge manual. Where assessments indicate unsatisfactory performance despite in-field evidence to the contrary, the Guideline offers bridge-specific advice for explaining the plausibility check prescribed in ISO 13822:2010 consistent with fundamental engineering principles. In line with its focus on heavy vehicles, the Guideline provides advice and techniques for managing access by these vehicles over bridges. It distinguishes between bridge assessment, which is focused on structural performance, and heavy vehicle access management as related but distinct activities. The webinar outlined the decision making framework as well as provided an overview of the Guideline’s contents.

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 Award winners. Presenters shared insights into the design, delivery and outcomes of their projects and answered audience questions. This session covered: Excellence in Sustainability – Victoria Bridge Refurbishment QLD, submitted by Arup, Brisbane City Council, Nick Stevens Consulting, ACCIONA and Freyssinet Australia Excellence in Innovation – Kangaroo Point Bridge, submitted by BESIX Watpac and Brisbane City Council Excellence in Asset Management and Maintenance – Manganuku Bridge Strengthening, submitted by Beca, NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi, Contech, Optimech International Ltd and Eastbridge Ltd.

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 Abilities Facility Selection tool, and discuss practical approaches to road space reallocation, intersection design, and micromobility integration. Whether you're working in planning, design, or delivery, this webinar will help you navigate the tools and apply them confidently to uplift cycling outcomes across your network.

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 of Austroads Technical Specifications and Test Methods. Drawing from lessons learned from preparing the report, presenters explored the research that examined Austroads Technical Specifications to identify specific opportunities for improvement and how to addresses barriers that hinder progress.

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 updated and more unified Movement and Place content across the Austroads Guide to Traffic Management and related resources.   Through extensive stakeholder consultation and a review of leading national and international frameworks, the project identified gaps in current Austroads guidance. It also revealed the varied maturity levels of implementation across transport agencies in Australia and New Zealand, highlighting a critical opportunity to strengthen consistency, collaboration and innovation. The report sets out a series of recommendations designed to update and streamline Movement and Place guidance, focusing on: Consistency: A shared language and core concepts across Austroads publications. Best Practice: Identification of proven tools and frameworks already in use. Clarity: Practical direction through case studies and real-world examples. Whether you’re new to Movement and Place or working to embed it within policy, planning or project delivery, this webinar will help you understand how updated guidance can support more balanced, people-focused transport networks across the region.

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 safety stakeholders and healthcare providers.

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 barrier design details, guidance on retrofitting existing bridge barriers, bridge approach barriers and overpass bridge support protection. To address this, Austroads commissioned a review of the Austroads Standardised Bridge Barrier Design Report AP-R445-13 1 based on current research, guidance, and standards. The project also aimed to verify compliance of bridge barrier designs and guidelines against the relevant Australian Standards that have been recently updated, and the American Association of Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH). To achieve this a comprehensive literature review was undertaken, full scale crash testing was conducted and Finite Element Modelling created and calibrated. This webinar covered: The project and updated Austroads Standardised Bridge Barrier Design Guideline The crash testing including Finite Element Modelling and full-scale crash test.

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 momentum to improve how we live and work, and how our cities function and evolve. As a result, the capabilities needed to manage and operate transport networks are also changing quickly. The changes within the sector can be grouped into five key areas: network safety technological advancements environmental sustainability and climate change shifting network demands evolving customer and stakeholder expectations In response, Austroads has commissioned the Road Manager Operations Capability Framework, supported by a research report. Together, these outline how road managers can effectively respond to emerging trends in transport operations. The framework identifies four core capabilities: communication, stakeholder engagement, leadership and change management. It also outlines four operational capabilities: network management, incident and event management, system management, and data and insights. Each capability is supported by a set of skills mapped against a proficiency matrix. The webinar, presented by Richard Boggon and Thomas D’Arcy, explores the trends shaping the future of road network operations. It also provides a detailed overview of the capability framework, the skills and proficiencies it defines, and how it can be applied and adopted within the sector.

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 Sodium (HPS) lighting, and there is a growing opportunity to replace or retrofit these with more efficient light emitting diode (LED) equivalents. While LED luminaires generally boasts higher efficacy than fluorescent and HPS equivalents, lighting upgrade projects can present major technical and cost challenges. Drawing on stakeholder consultations and a literature review, this webinar discussed current practices, common challenges, and practical considerations for planning and delivering lighting upgrades. Presenters used local case studies and project experiences to provide recommendations to support informed decision-making throughout the project lifecycle for future projects and also answered attendee questions at the end of the seminar.

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 in the National Telematics Framework schemes. It offers invaluable insights into vehicle movements, road usage, and infrastructure performance, enabling local agencies to optimise their strategies and operations. This webinar focused on the benefits of using telematics data for local asset management and transport planning – particularly with regard to restricted access heavy vehicles. Presenters spoke about how local transport managers harness data from TAP to drive improvements in infrastructure management, land use and urban planning, road safety, and transport efficiency. What was covered: What data is included, and what the data represents How local road managers are using TAP to enhance road safety, optimise decision-making, and improve road network performance Key benefits of integrating telematics data into local transport planning and asset management

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 vehicles and personal devices like smartphones and smartwatches, Australia and New Zealand face challenges in its adoption. As part of the project, a research report was developed, which provides a summary of the ACN services emerging in Australia and New Zealand, including their operation, benefits, market uptake, and high-level costs to implement. Approaches taken in other countries are also identified, to assess the applicability and potential implications of these approaches to Australia and New Zealand. In this webinar, the presenters outlined project aims, methodology, key findings from the report and next steps. Drawing from lessons learned from preparing the report, international deployments and local stakeholder feedback, this webinar explored how ACN can be effectively implemented to maximise safety and economic benefits, and highlight key decisions around technology standardisation, investment in emergency response systems, and ensuring equitable access to the technology. Presenters also answered Q&A at the close of the session.  

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 process with presentations from Austroads program managers: Ross Guppy, Program Manager Transport Infrastructure Michael Nieuwesteeg, Program Manager Road Safety and Design Amy Naulls, Program Manager Transport Network Operations Joanne Vanselow, Program Manager Vehicles and Technology, and Environment and Sustainability This webinar was moderated by Paul Davies, General Manager Research, Guidance and Practice.