The mandates aims to improve driver visibility and reduce accidents involving pedestrians and vulnerable road users.
The federal government has said, in an announcement, that to provide drivers with the best possible line of sight while reversing, it is mandating reversing technologies for all new vehicles.
The mandate comes after many years of advocacy from organisations such as KidSafe, and parents who have experienced both fatal and non-fatal driveway incidents.
The government says reversing technologies, which include reversing cameras and motion sensors, increase driver awareness of vulnerable road users behind a vehicle.
The hope is that mandating this life-saving technology will reduce the devastating impact of reverse-crash road trauma, particularly for pedestrians – which are Australia’s largest single road user group and have no protection against vehicle impact.
Federal Assistant Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Carol Brown says even if regulations such as this are vital.
“If we save even one child’s life through this mandate, it will be worth it.
“We know that reversing aids will improve visibility for drivers to minimise black spots while reserving. The Australian Government predicts that this change will contribute to a reduction in both fatal and non-fatal driveway incidents.
“This new standard supports our unwavering commitment to achieving Vision Zero: zero deaths and serious injuries on our roads by 2050. It will be particularly impactful towards ensuring zero deaths of children 7 years and under by 2030, one of the key targets on this vision roadmap.
“Our government will continue to work to reduce the number of deaths and serious injuries on Australian roads,” Brown says.
The new standard, called Australian Design Rule 108/00 – Reversing Technologies, will apply to all types of light, medium and heavy vehicles, from everyday cars through to heavy goods trucks.
Reversing technologies that meet the new standard must be installed in all new vehicle models from 1 November 2025.
For new vehicles made from existing models, this life-saving technology must be installed from 1 November 2027.
Melanie Courtney, KidSafe Victoria CEO says the madate are welcome.
“Every week a child is injured in a driveway runover incident, with children under five most at risk.
“These new regulations will help lower the number of injuries and deaths and the devastating long-term effects on families.
“We welcome this as a positive step forward for safety around vehicles. However, it is important to remember that reversing cameras are a driving aid only and cannot be relied on to prevent all incidents.
“All drivers should remember to supervise children around cars, separate children from danger and physically walk around the vehicle to see if any children are present before reversing,” Courtney says.