Australia’s road toll rose in 2025 with approximately 1,314 lives lost on roads across the country. This upward trend in road fatalities is the highest annual toll in the last 15 years and underscores an alarming reversal in national road safety trends.
The Albanese Labor government’s implementation of the National Road Safety Strategy has failed the Australian people. According to the Australian Automobile Association (AAA), since its introduction in 2021, road deaths have increased by 22.2% and pedestrian fatalities have risen almost 50%.
These statistics are devastating and demand urgent and tangible action. In 2025, the number of annual deaths on our roads was almost 200 people more than it was in 2021. This Labor Government cannot hide from the deadly impact its complacency on road safety has caused Australian families and communities.
Shadow Minister for Infrastructure Senator the Hon Bridget McKenzie said: “These statistics are a damning indictment of the Albanese Government’s catastrophic failure to tackle Australia’s road toll.”
“Their negligence and lack of leadership have delivered a disaster of the highest order. Australia deserves a road safety strategy that saves lives, not cuts to funding and empty promises.”
Data from the National Road Safety Data Hub and the AAA show no state or territory is on track to meet NRSS targets, with jurisdictions recording persistent increases across most of 2025.
Shadow Assistant Minister for Infrastructure Senator Matt O’Sullivan said: “There must be an urgent, system-wide overhaul of road safety policy. Half measures and excuses have cost lives.”
“Australia committed to halving road deaths by 2030. Instead, fatalities have surged. This is a national disgrace and a burden the Albanese Government cannot escape.
“It is imperative the current mid-term review of the National Road Safety Strategy provides a blunt assessment of this Government’s gross mismanagement and produces real, evidence-based solutions, not just bureaucracy and hollow rhetoric.”
“Every day this crisis continues unchecked, more Australians die needlessly. Australia cannot afford to let this crisis continue its downward spiral. Every life lost on our roads is a tragedy that demands decisive leadership and immediate action.” He said.
Senator the Hon Bridget McKenzie and Senator Matt O’Sullivan are calling on the Government to act now to reverse this deadly trend and deliver on the promise of safer roads for every Australian. This starts with reinstating funding for critical programs that maintain and upgrade infrastructure, including:
- Restoring Commonwealth funding for regional road projects to 80%, after Labor’s 2023 review slashed contributions to 50%.
- Continuing the Local Roads and Community Infrastructure Program beyond its scheduled end date of 1 July 2026, a program councils and shires have relied on to maintain and upgrade local roads.
- And reinstating key regional road upgrade initiatives, such as the Roads of Strategic Importance program, which have been abolished entirely under Labor.