Background
Automated Vehicles (AVs) have the potential to improve road safety, productivity, mobility and environmental outcomes. To achieve these benefits, industry and governments must test AVs in the real world. This helps everyone to understand and improve how AVs interact with other road users and unique environmental conditions.
Currently, vehicles can’t legally operate in highly or fully automated driving mode on public roads. To set up a trial, you’ll need permission and exemptions from local road transport agencies conduct trials.
Automated vehicle trial guidelines
Purpose of the guidelines
When you apply for permission to trial AV technology on Australian roads, you must meet these guidelines. You must also meet any relevant requirements in the state or territory you plan to do the trial.
The guidelines:
- support nationally consistent conditions for automated vehicle trials in Australia
- provide certainty and clarity to industry regarding expectations when trialling in Australia
- help road transport agencies manage trials in their own state or territory as well as across state borders
- establish minimum standards of safety
- help assure the public that roads are being used safely
- help raise awareness and acceptance of automated vehicles in the community.
Getting started
You’ll work with relevant state or territory road transport agencies to get approval for your trial. Applications can be made for:
- trials of any type of automated vehicle technology
- trials of any size
- trials of a commercial or non-commercial nature
- trials across jurisdictional borders.
Vehicles can’t legally operate in highly or fully automated driving mode on public roads in Australia without a permit or exemption. All states and territories have helped facilitate automated vehicle trials with overseas organisations in recent years.
Local contact information
Follow these links to contact the relevant local agency:
AV trial applications
Meet the trial guidelines
Your application must provide information responding to the Guidelines for Trials of Automated Vehicles in Australia. These guidelines provide nationally consistent criteria in the following areas:
- management of trials
- insurance
- safety management plans
- data collection and information sharing.
Trials will differ in technology, scale and risk. So, some criteria may not be relevant to some trials. Trialling organisations must:
- set out how they have addressed relevant criteria
- if necessary, explain which criteria are not relevant and why.
Austroads have published the Guidelines for the Evaluation and Reporting of Automated Vehicle Trials. It sets out key information that you should refer to when evaluating and reporting on the outcomes of your automated vehicle trial. The information in the Evaluation Guidelines is a helpful resource to inform the content of your end-of-trial report.
Austroads have also published a repository of trials conducted in Australia and New Zealand. To add your automated vehicle trial to the repository, please contact the Austroads team.
The import process
The Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts website explains more about imports.
- To import a vehicle for trailing in Australia, you will need to refer to this webpage.
If you have questions about the trial guidelines, contact the NTC via automatedvehicles@ntc.gov.au.
