This page provides answers to frequently asked questions about the Australian Road Assessment Program (AusRAP).
AusRAP is the Australian Road Assessment Program. It is used to identify, manage and improve the safety of road infrastructure and roadside features to systematically and proactively reduce road trauma. AusRAP rates the risks and safety performance of Australia’s roads and is based on the globally recognised International Road Assessment Programme (iRAP).
The program is coordinated nationally by Austroads, the association of Australian and New Zealand road transport authorities. AusRAP assessments are conducted by state, territory and some local governments. They collect data about a road’s attributes and usage to calculate a road safety star rating. The higher the rating, the safer the road, with 5 stars being the safest.
Road Assessment Programs (RAPs) operate in about 130 countries, and all programs around the world come under the umbrella of iRAP. Australia’s program, AusRAP, is conducted according to iRAP principles so it is consistent with the assessments conducted in other countries.
AusRAP ratings identify where the risk of fatal or serious injury is greatest. Prioritising the highest risk roads for treatment will maximise the return on investment, with each additional star in the star rating representing a halving of the risk. In addition to reducing impacts of road trauma on individual families, safer roads will reduce the number of hospital bed days that result from serious crashes.
Star ratings are an objective measure of the level of safety ‘built-in’ to the road. Combining star ratings with crash risk maps, showing collective and individual risk of fatal and serious injuries, can be used to inform infrastructure treatment plans that prioritise locations and measures that will reduce the risk of crashes occurring or mitigate the seriousness of crashes that do occur.
The star rating represents the risk of death and serious injury for an individual road user. Ratings take into account a broad range of risk factors and information, including travel speeds, traffic volume, road surface condition, and the presence and type of barriers and roadside hazards as well as crash data. The higher the star rating, the safer the road, with 5 stars being the safest.
For each improvement in star rating, the risk of fatal or serious injury is halved. Improving a road from 2-star to 3-star, for example, halves the number of serious crashes likely to occur.
AusRAP assessments prioritise national highways and the highest volume or high speed (80kmh or above) major arterial routes. These are the roads where not just the risk of fatal or serious injury is greatest, but also the numbers exposed to those risks are greatest and so where reducing the risk is most likely to prevent the largest number of fatal and serious injuries.
AusRAP assessments are undertaken on the highest travel volume and key high-speed roads, rather than determined by distance or a percentage of the total network. This is because there are close relationships between traffic volume and the frequency of crashes and with travel speed and the severity of crashes.
Usually about every 5 years, but state or territory road authorities may conduct AusRAP assessments as required. Some authorities operate a rolling program, assessing 20% of their network each year, so all roads in their jurisdiction are re-assessed at least every 5 years. Specific roads may be re-assessed following major safety works or upgrades.
Five-star rated roads are the gold standard for road safety. It is important to balance the cost of road improvements with prioritising the number of fatal and serious injuries that can be prevented. The greatest benefit, in terms of the number of lives saved and serious injuries avoided per dollar invested, will most often be achieved by upgrading low star roads to at least 3-star safety standard, rather than bringing 4-star rated roads up to 5 stars.
The impact of specific treatment measures is calculated using crash modification factors, which indicate the proportion of crashes that are expected after implementing a measure. Examples of common treatment measures include increasing the width of sealed road shoulders, installing audio-tactile lane markings, installing a median or roadside barrier, installing a roundabout or traffic signals and reducing speed limits. AusRAP uses tools to produce results that can inform decisions on road safety infrastructure spending.
AusRAP focuses on major arterial roads where the potential numbers of serious crashes are the greatest and infrastructure investment has the likelihood of preventing the most fatalities and serious injuries. AusRAP assessments do not currently include minor or local roads. Decisions on which roads to fix or upgrade balance the cost of the work with factors such as the value of the potential improvement, including preventing further maintenance costs, improving traffic flows and reducing road trauma. Roads are monitored for condition and safety performance by the controlling road authority and may be improved through various investment programs such as the Australian Government’s National Black Spot and Safer Roads Programs.
A safer road, as reflected by higher star ratings or lower crash risk, does not necessarily mean less traffic or congestion. Our focus is making progress towards reducing fatal and serious injuries on Australian roads.
Please download the document showing the examples of road safety ratings based on road attributes.
