New Austroads vehicle classification scheme to reflect the evolving mix of vehicles on Australian and New Zealand roads

Wednesday, 25 October 2023

Austroads has developed an extended vehicle classification scheme to improve understanding and monitoring of the changing vehicles on Australian and New Zealand roads. Founded on the 1994 Austroads vehicle classification scheme – Austroads-94, the new, updated classification system known as Austroads-23 presents guidance on how to record active travellers, allows for more granularity of vehicle types, and explains potential additional pathways to classification using new technologies as they become feasible and available.

“Transport of people and goods is essential to our economy and community. As a society, we make substantial investments in our road networks to facilitate this. For road managers to optimize their investment, understanding who is using their networks, where, and when is critical.” said Amy Naulls, Austroads’ Transport Network Operations Program Manager.

The project came about because the Austroads Network Task Force were concerned that the previous Austroads-94 vehicle classification scheme, which is now nearly 30 years old, was no longer a good fit for the vehicles operating on Australian and New Zealand road networks.

“The vehicles we see on our road networks have evolved significantly since 1994. The new Austroads-23 scheme covers a wider range of road users and provides greater detail for existing categories. Importantly, Austroads-23 is also backwards compatible, which means road managers can compare present-day counts with historic data.”

Through stakeholder consultation, the project team reviewed Austroads-94, completed a strength, weakness, opportunity and threat (SWOT) analysis and examined other classification systems in Australia and internationally. In addition to the need to expand and future-proof the classification system, the team also identified the need for backwards compatibility with the Austroads-94.

Building on Austroads-94, Austroads-23 includes sub-categories for greater granularity to help stakeholders better manage transport demand within and between modes and plan more responsively. Coupled with advances in sensor technology, this could enable greater optimisation of regulatory restrictions and support the implementation of further automation in transport management. Austroads-23 also includes new categories for active transport, vulnerable road users and non-road users.

“There are many business applications for Austroads-23, including pavement design, transport infrastructure, planning for climate change reduction, road reserves, footpaths, workplaces, education facilities, shopping districts and transport interchanges.”

“The new classification system will allow us to develop a more accurate and inclusive picture of who is using our roads, and facilitate more informed decisions around transport planning and infrastructure development to better support all road users.”

Download the Background to the Extended Austroads Vehicle Classification Scheme for Traffic and Transport Surveys

Download the Austroads Extended Vehicle Classification Scheme for Traffic and Transport Surveys