Senate debates

Wednesday, 8 November 2023

Statements by Senators

Road Safety

1:38 pm

Photo of Carol BrownCarol Brown (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Infrastructure and Transport) Share this | | Hansard source

Tomorrow is the national Road Worker Day of Remembrance, which strives to acknowledge road workers who have been killed or seriously injured at work. Road workers play an often unrecognised and pivotal role in delivering and upkeeping the infrastructure our communities rely on so heavily. Far too many road workers are killed or seriously injured on Australian roads each year. Too many workers never return home. I'm proud that the National Road Safety Action Plan 2023-2025 includes mandating the CLOCS-A standard or the ISO 3900, that road traffic safety management systems be applied to construction projects and programs that are funded by the Australian government.

The primary goal of CLOCS-A is to reduce the number of workers killed and serious injuries occurring on or near road construction sites. The standard aims to do this by improving safety around heavy vehicles for pedestrians, cyclists, motorbike riders and other road users. CLOCS-A can streamline the safety requirements across states and project sites. All accredited project sites will have uniform specifications for vehicle safety standards, driver qualification, logistics management, operating systems and auditing procedures.

The Australian government will mandate CLOCS-A as standard—ISO 3900.1 Road safety management systemsfor projects funded by the Australian government by late 2025. This mandate is just one of the many actions the Australian government is undertaking to reach Vision Zero—that is, zero deaths and zero serious injuries on our roads by 2050.