The National Transport Commission (NTC) has released a new video about Autonomous Vehicles in Australia, the first since May 2024. The video highlight that Autonomous Vehicles are coming to Australia soon.
Automakers, particularly from companies like Tesla, continue to place pressure on regulators to keep pace, as they deliver autonomous solutions internationally and are keen to bring them down under.
The NTC has been working (very slowly) with regulators across Australia, with the goal of creating a national approach to automated vehicles (AVs) laws in Australia. The video serves as a public-facing explainer on the complex legislative changes required before AVs can become a common sight on our roads.
Those who regularly read techAU, will know we’ve been covering this for years and calling for faster action. It seems we finally may be getting some traction.
Back in 2022, we covered the announcement that a regulatory framework for AVs, was being established, but a target of 2026 was far too late – I was right.
More recently, we’ve covered the US-developments of Tesla’s robotaxi deployments in Austin, TX and even today, they expanded the service into San Francisco, CA albiet with a safety driver while they wait for regulatory approval there.
In Sept 2024, I reached out directly to the NTC and asked about progress on AV legislation and again was told they were still reviewing submissions from AVSL Consultation, many months later.
So here we are in July 2025 and the NTC are finally promoting that AVs are coming to Australian roads and personally I hope it’s more than just Tesla who offer solutions here. So far, there are no signs of solutions from Waymo, WeRide and others internationally of expanding into Australia, even ADAS systems like GM Cruise and many of the Chinese automaker offerings are not available in Australia.
Here in lies the uniqueness in Tesla’s approach. Their ability to scale to new locations i.e. Australia is far greater, as they don’t need to create the infrastructure to retrofit hardware to vehicles leaving the production line, nor do they need to invest in mapping locations before offering services. Computer vision is used in multiple AV solutions, but only as part of the solution, for Tesla, it’s the whole solution.
It is important to remember that delays in regulatory approval, when the technology is ready and provable safer than human drivers, could be costing lives by holding it back. Sure, be diligent, make sure it’s safe, but if a company walks into your office, with millions of miles (or kilometers) or data, then get out of their way, let them cook and let them save lives while expanding the way we think about transport.
The NTC’s new video explains that current Australian road laws are designed for human drivers and are not equipped to manage the safety and operation of automated driving systems. To address this, a new national safety law is being developed in collaboration with all state and territory governments.
The goal is to create a single, consistent framework for AVs, ensuring they can operate legally and safely no matter where you are in the country. This harmonisation is critical for a seamless transition as AVs will inevitably cross state borders.
The video highlights several key areas where laws and regulations will need to be updated.
Driving laws
Current road rules assume a human driver is in control. New laws will need to define the legal responsibilities of an automated driving system.
Insurance schemes
Existing Compulsory Third Party (CTP) insurance schemes are built around driver fault. A new model will be needed to handle incidents involving a vehicle controlled by software.
Vehicle roadworthiness
Rules that ensure cars are safe and roadworthy will need to be adapted to include the complex software and hardware that comprise an automated system.
While it’s great to see new content from the NTC, a public push to explain the process, the urgency remains a key concern. While the video presents a clear, logical path forward, it doesn’t offer a revised, faster timeline for implementation.
The video ends on an optimistic note, with an NTC spokesperson looking forward to a future with automated transport.
“I’m looking forward to my first trip to the shops in an automated shuttle bus. They’re already on roads around the world. With our new laws, they’ll be here soon.”
NTC Spokesperson
For more information, head to www.ntc.gov.au
Tesla has no autonomous vehicles. They only have supervised “FSD”. They haven’t even applied for permits for autonomous vehicles in Texas or California.
There are no regulatory constraints at all in Australia for autonomous vehicles. The author has not done any homework. It is just state based regulation at the moment not national…that is the only issue.
Tesla has released no data on their safety. That’s why they have drivers in their robotaxis. They don’t work yet. That’s what Tesla themselves believe.
A child carrying a beach ball runs out onto a road. They do not fall into the size/mass parameters of a human, so the automated car does not brake. So called AI will always struggle with such problems because they only recognise patterns, they don’t understand the underlying concepts like “ball” or “child”.
Now, who is legally responsible for the child’s injuries? It is still legal to walk on the road, so are the passengers of the automated car going to be charged? The engineers of the car? The huckster who sold the car as being “automated”?