The department undertakes and supports research to help governments prepare for emerging transport technologies, support national harmonisation, and inform future road safety, planning and infrastructure decisions.
Research projects
Click on each of the thematic areas to view recent research the department has been involved in.
Co-operative intelligent transport systems (C-ITS)
C‑ITS research has focussed on understanding how connected technologies can improve road safety and network performance and support nationally harmonised deployments.
C-ITS pre-deployment research (active)
This multi‑jurisdictional project is deploying C‑ITS at approximately 30 intersections across five key corridors in the Australian Integrated Multimodal Ecosystem (AIMES) testbed in Melbourne, Victoria. It aims to test how C‑ITS can enhance safety and traffic efficiency and inform planning for nationally harmonised, scalable deployments across Australia. The project is expected to complete in mid-2026.
Visit the project webpage.
A comparative assessment of C-ITS technologies (2024)
This report analyses the two competing short‑range technologies for C‑ITS – Dedicated Short‑Range Communications (DSRC) and Cellular Vehicle-to-Everything (C‑V2X). It provides an independent assessment to inform considerations for consistent, nationwide deployment of C-ITS.
Visit the project webpage and download the final report.
Connectivity in C-ITS (2020)
This project assessed the safety and network‑efficiency benefits of C-ITS. It found that C‑ITS technologies could address around 80% of road crashes (based on Victorian data and eight use cases) and could help reduce congestion and increase average travel speeds during peak periods.
Visit the project webpage and download the final report.
Safety benefits of C-ITS and automated driving in Australia and New Zealand (2017)
This study examined the safety impacts of C-ITS and automated driving technologies across Australia and New Zealand. It reported significant potential for these technologies to reduce road crash risks and improve overall safety outcomes.
Visit the project webpage and download the final report.
Connected and automated vehicles (CAVs)
CAV research has examined the impacts, benefits and challenges of CAV technologies, and how they may influence safety, mobility and planning.
Impacts of CAVs on older drivers (active)
This project examines older adults’ perceptions of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and automated vehicles (AVs) and how they interact with currently available technologies. It aimed to improve understanding of how these systems can enhance safety and mobility, and has produced insights that aimed at informing future developments.
Visit the project webpage.
Environmental impacts of CAVs (2024-25)
This two‑stage project examined environmental impacts of the transition to CAVs and assessed policy implications. It also sought to quantify findings through an expert survey consultation.
Visit the project webpage and download the final report.
Promoting community readiness and uptake of CAVs (2022)
This study examined Australians’ attitudes, perceptions and preferences towards CAVs and identified ways governments could support public acceptance. It found low familiarity, mixed levels of trust, and stronger acceptance where clear safety or personal benefits were identified. The findings are intended to help governments design policies, communications and trials that better support public readiness and uptake of CAVs.
Visit the project webpage and download the final report.
Economic impacts of CAVs (2021)
This report estimated a positive net value of $1.4 trillion to the Australian community from 2020 to 2070 under the base‑case uptake scenario, with most benefits occurring later in the period.*
Download the report here.
*Note: The CIE/WSP report, The Economic Impacts of Connected and Automated Vehicles, is a point in time assessment based on the best understanding of the authors. The report precedes the legislated 2050 net zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions target. The electric vehicle (EV) uptake forecasts used in the report may therefore underestimate EV take-up. A faster rate of EV uptake and use of renewable electricity would reduce the fuel and GHG emission reduction benefits of CAVs as calculated in the report. The fuel and emissions reduction costs are also based on the price of fuel per litre at July 2021 (i.e. 133.4 cents per litre) which is lower than current prices. A higher fuel price would increase the value of fuel savings from CAVs.
The estimate of communications infrastructure costs is an order of magnitude estimate only. It assumes all paved roads have mobile coverage and does not include operating costs or consider ways to maximise mobile coverage (e.g. through use of external antennas on vehicles or a single tower covering multiple road sections).
The report focusses on the direct impacts of CAVs on the transport system and does not attempt to quantify broader impacts of CAVs, for example, on employment. The report identifies the potential for large job losses for drivers and the potential need for retraining/reskilling but notes the transition to CAVs is likely to be gradual under all uptake scenarios. However, a gradual transition would not preclude there being shocks for some firms or industries as automation is introduced. The impact of this would ultimately depend on the approach to management of transitional impacts.
Infrastructure readiness and guidance
This research has focussed on work to understand how Australia’s road and digital infrastructure can support CAV technologies.
Austroads guidance on preparing infrastructure for CAVs
The department has worked with Austroads’ Vehicles and Technology Task Force to develop a range of guidance on preparing infrastructure for CAVs. These include:
- Local government readiness for connected and automated vehicles (2024)
- Minimum requirements for Traffic Signs, Traffic Signals and Line Markings (2023)
- Minimum physical infrastructure standard for the operation of automated driving (2022)
- Implications of pavement marking for machine vision (2020)
- Guidance and readability criteria for traffic sign recognition systems reading electronic signs (2020)
- Infrastructure changes to support automated vehicles on rural and metropolitan highways and freeways (2019)
Accessibility, inclusivity and workforce impacts
This research has looked at how emerging transport technologies can better support all Australians, including people with disability, and examines how these technologies may change future workforce needs.
Accessibility guidelines for CAVs in public transport (2025)
This project produced guidelines focusing on the end‑user experience and the challenges people with disability may face at each stage of a trip. They aim to help manufacturers, operators and policy makers ensure CAVs are accessible for people with disability.
Visit the project webpage and download the final report.
Improving the accessibility and inclusivity of public transport through new and emerging transport technologies (2024)
This project explored how emerging technologies can improve public transport accessibility for people with disabilities. Conducted under APEC’s Intermodal and Intelligent Transportation Systems Experts Group (IIEG) policy theme, the findings, shared across Asia-Pacific economies, provide valuable insights for integrating accessibility into transport policy development and foster international collaboration.
Visit the project webpage and download the final report.
Workforce implications of transport digitalisation and automation (2023)
This project assessed future skills gaps, training needs and new job opportunities arising from the automation and digitalisation of transport. It is intended to help develop strategies for reskilling and training to meet new digital workforce requirements.
Visit the project webpage and download the final report.
Trials and pilots
Trials and pilots assess how new transport technologies operate in real‑world conditions and how they may benefit the transport network and its users.
Austroads, the association of the Australian and New Zealand transport agencies, maintains a repository of connected vehicle, automated vehicle and low emission vehicle trial projects across Australia and New Zealand. The repository can be accessed at www.austroads.gov.au/drivers-and-vehicles/vehicles-and-technology/trials.