Project Number: SAG6509
Road safety audit is a specialised field of expertise, applying road safety knowledge to road projects throughout their lifecycle. Road safety audits provide greater confidence to road authorities that potential and actual road safety risks are identified and can be mitigated.
Despite the Austroads Guide to Road Safety (AGRS) Part 6: Road Safety Audit, there remains considerable variance in how road safety auditors are currently managed individually by jurisdictions, which has led to variability in the training, accreditation, registration, and continuing professional development requirements across Australia and New Zealand.
To address this issue, Austroads members have agreed to implement a National Road Safety Audit Framework to manage road safety auditors and road safety audit training providers.
The implementation of a National Road Safety Audit Framework comprises seven interconnected workstreams with key deliverables as follows:
1. Training framework for road safety auditors
- nationally harmonised training framework for road safety auditors drafted as amendments to AGRS Part 6 with the aim of improving quality and consistency in the delivery of road safety audits.
- national training skill set and syllabus and associated local content for both road safety auditor and senior road safety auditor training.
- national road safety audit training syllabus for non-road safety auditors.
2. Approval and oversight framework for road safety audit training providers
- a nationally harmonised training provider framework for the provision of road safety auditor training which will allow for consistent approval, oversight, audit and delivery of training by approved training providers.
3. Registration framework for road safety auditors
- national policy and processes for road safety auditor registration (i.e. post successful training), quality review, audit and revocation with the aim of improving the oversight of road safety auditors.
- national policy and associated materials for continuing professional development of road safety auditors.
- national road safety auditor code of conduct.
4. Road safety audit national IT registry system
- the requirements of a system that will provide for the operational management of individuals and organisations participating in the National Road Safety Audit Framework.
5. Governance and legal
- governance arrangements of a new Austroads member body to oversight the National Road Safety Audit Framework and Austroads’ operational functions.
- legal / contractual agreement templates for participants.
6. Benefits and realisation assessment
- benefit-cost analysis, providing a qualitative and quantitative articulation of the benefits and associated costs of the National Road Safety Audit Framework providing for nationally harmonised road safety audit practices.
- a framework designed with regions in mind, to facilitate opportunities to develop road safety audit capacity and capability in regional and more remote areas.
- a funding model.
7. Jurisdictional and national entity adoption and transition plans
- supporting each participating jurisdiction to develop its adoption and transition plan (it is acknowledged that the future adoption and transitional arrangements concerning a National Road Safety Audit Framework will be subject to individual Austroads member decisions and timing).
- Supporting industry in its transition to the National Road Safety Audit Framework.
An Industry Project Reference Group (IPRG) has been established to provide industry advice and guidance to the Austroads project team. Members of the IPRG include:
Peter Bilton Director, Principal Traffic Engineer Point 8
Tim Judd Director PJA
Ryan Miller Senior Principal Engineer WSP
Thuan Nguyen Traffic Lead Safe System Solutions
Laura Procter Team Leader, Transport Planning & Advisory SMEC
Kevin Toomey Civil Director Bonacci Infrastructure
Proposed outputs: An implemented national road safety audit framework ready for operationalisation.
Consultants: Chris Koniditsiotis, Skillset Holdings Pty Ltd
Program: Road Safety & Design [Road Safety]
Status: Active