The Australian Automobile Association says sharp increases in cyclist and pedestrian fatalities led to a 6.9% rise in national road deaths in the 12 months to October 31 and its calling on the Federal Government to take a stronger leadership role in road-safety investigations.
New data from the National Road Safety Data Hub shows 1,361 people died on Australian roads in the past year — 88 more than the previous period. Pedal-cyclist deaths jumped 38.2% to 47, while pedestrian deaths climbed 18.2% to 201.
AAA managing director Michael Bradley says the figures highlight the need for the Commonwealth to conduct broad, no-blame investigations into what is driving the rise in fatalities.
“State police have their hands full investigating the circumstances of individual crashes, but what is required is a broader look at the factors driving road deaths, particularly where they relate to user groups like cyclists, pedestrians, and vulnerable road users,” Bradley says.
“The Commonwealth already conducts no-blame investigations of aviation, maritime and rail safety incidents and should extend this to include road crashes.
“Findings of such investigations could help state and territory authorities save lives by highlighting successful live-saving approaches that could be shared.’’
State-by-state breakdown
Tasmania recorded the biggest increase, up 41.9% year-on-year. Deaths also rose in NSW (15.7%), Western Australia (8.7%), Queensland (6.6%) and Victoria (3.8%).
The Northern Territory, despite a fall in absolute deaths, recorded the highest fatality rate per 100,000 residents at 15.5.
| Jurisdiction | 2024 deaths | 2025 deaths | Change | % change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NSW | 319 | 369 | +50 | 15.7% |
| Victoria | 287 | 298 | +11 | 3.8% |
| Queensland | 290 | 309 | +19 | 6.6% |
| SA | 94 | 92 | -2 | -2.1% |
| WA | 183 | 199 | +16 | 8.7% |
| Tasmania | 31 | 44 | +13 | 41.9% |
| NT | 60 | 41 | -19 | -31.7% |
| ACT | 9 | 9 | 0 | 0% |
| Australia | 1,273 | 1,361 | +88 | 6.9% |
Road-safety targets slipping
All jurisdictions remain well off the targets set in the National Road Safety Strategy, which aims to halve road deaths by 2030. Instead, fatalities have risen 19.2% since the strategy began in 2021.
“The Strategy’s mid-term review should carefully examine why no state or territory is on track to achieve agreed targets,” Bradley says.
He says federal transport minister Catherine King and regional development minister Kristy McBain deserve credit for pushing for more open road-trauma data, but says the next step is turning that information into insight.
“The next logical step is for the Commonwealth to analyse this data through no-blame investigations and use the conclusions to help states and territories save lives on our roads.”
Who is being killed?
- Drivers accounted for 45.4% of all road deaths (618 fatalities), up 10.2%.
- Motorcyclist deaths fell 8.4% to 261.
- Males made up 74.6% of deaths (1,015), but female fatalities increased at a faster rate — up 15.8% compared with a 4.3% rise among males.
Most deadly crashes involved a single vehicle — 686 in the past year, up 8.7%. Multi-vehicle fatal crashes rose 10.3%.
The national fatality rate climbed to 4.9 deaths per 100,000 residents, up from 4.7 a year earlier.
Automobile Magazine-AU
