Amendments to the Australian Road Rules

This webpage provides information about the new edition of the Australian Road Rules

The National Transport Commission's 8th Package of Amendments to the Australian Road Rules

The National Transport Commission's 8th package of amendments to the Australian Road Rules is currently being developed.  It includes a clarification to Rule 300, which covers the use of mobile phones while driving.

Public comment on the draft proposal is welcomed by the National Transport Commission during the period 3 June 2008 to 4 July 2008. You can download the report here.

The National Transport Commission's 7th Package of Amendments to the Australian Road Rules

The National Transport Commission's 7th package of amendments to the Australian Road Rules will amend the seatbelt laws so that: children from nought to less than 6 months old must be restrained in a rearward facing child restraint; children at least 6 months old but less than 4 years old must use either a rearward facing or forward facing child restraint; and children at least 4 years old but less than 7 years old must use either a forward facing child restraint or a booster seat.

The package also includes Australian Road Rule amendments clarifying the give-way rules and the rules for pedestrian safety at level crossings.

This 7th package of amendments to the Australian Road Rules has been approved by the Australian Transport Council but has not yet been implemented in the ACT.

The National Transport Commission's 6th Package of Amendments to the Australian Road Rules

The National Transport Commission's 6th package of amendments to the Australian Road Rules covers four shortcomings in the Australian Road Rules:

1) The lack of any reference to Bicycle Storage Areas (designated spaces on the road at traffic lights to allow cyclists to leave intersections before the motor vehicles). Bicycle Storage Areas are common in Melbourne, but there are none in the ACT at present.

2) The lack of clarity in Rule 138 about driving across a painted island.

3) The absence of a hand-held stop sign of a type used in Western Australia.

4) A formatting error in rules 56(1) and 56(2) Stopping for a red traffic light or arrow.

View the National Transport Commission's media release..

This 6th package of amendments to the Australian Road Rules has been approved by the Australian Transport Council but has not yet been implemented in the ACT.

The National Transport Commission's 5th Package of Amendments to the Australian Road Rules

The National Transport Commission's 5th package of amendments to the Australian Road Rules includes several proposed amendments to the seatbelt laws in the Australian Road Rules (Rules 264 to 268). This package has been approved by the Australian Transport Council, but has not yet been implemented in the ACT.

If you have any questions about this proposed 5th package of amendments to the Australian Road Rules, please phone Road Transport Branch on (02) 6207 6192.

The National Transport Commission's 4th Package of Amendments to the Australian Road Rules

The National Transport Commission's 4th package of amendments to the Australian Road Rules was introduced in the ACT on Monday 19 July 2004. The previous version of the Australian Road Rules had operated in the ACT since 1 March 2000.

To ensure that the Australian Road Rules remain up-to-date, a national advisory group, consisting of representatives from all States and Territories, has developed a number of amendments to the rules. This 4th package of amendments to the Australian Road Rules was approved by the Australian Transport Council on 30 June 2003.

The main purpose of these amendments is to clarify the intent of several individual rules, remove anomalies and insert new rules where gaps have been identified. The removal of ambiguities clarifies the road rules for road users and facilitates the enforcement and administration of the traffic laws. The impact of the changes to the Australian Road Rules on road users is not significant.

The amendments that impact on road users are:

• Drivers turning left using a slip lane must give way to pedestrians and cyclists on the slip lane [Rule 69(2A)].

• Drivers must not enter a pedestrian crossing, children's crossing or marked foot crossing when the road beyond the crossing is blocked [Rule 128A].

• Drivers are permitted to make a U-turn where the dividing line on the road is a broken line to the left of a continuous line [Rule 134(2)(b)].

• Drivers may not stop in a slip lane to drop off, or pick up, passengers or goods unless parking control signs allow it [Rule 203A].

• Where permissive parking signs apply to a length of road or an area, vehicles will not be permitted to re-park to another position on that length of road or in that area when the time limit is reached. They must leave that length of road or area [Rule 205(2)].

• Scooters, skateboards, rollerblades, rollerskates and wheeled toys may not be ridden on a road with a dividing line or median strip, a road with a speed limit greater than 60km/h or a one-way road with more than one marked lane [Rule 240(1)]. They may not be used on an on-road bicycle lane, but they can be used on shared paths (known as 'bicycle paths' in the ACT) and footpaths.

• Existing Rule 268(2) says that a person must not travel in the load area of a vehicle if it is not enclosed, eg in the back of a utility. New Rule 268(4B) says that it is an offence for a driver to allow passengers under the age of 16 years to travel in the load area of a vehicle if it is not enclosed, eg in the back of a utility.

• The 50km/h default urban speed limit now applies in all Australian States and the ACT [Rule 25(2)].

A copy of the new edition Australian Road Rules can be downloaded from the National Transport Commission’s website (www.ntc.gov.au)

A printed copy of the new edition Australian Road Rules can be purchased from CM Solutions Fast Forms on telephone (02) 9743 8777.

For enquiries about the introduction of the new edition Australian Road Rules in the ACT, please phone (02) 6207 6192.