Frequently Asked Questions

A Road Safety Audit (RSA is a formal, robust technical assessment of road safety risks associated with road transport projects.

Road Safety Audits:

• Are completed by independent and qualified audit teams
• Are completed by applying the Safe System principles while seeking to ensure that roads will operate as safely as practicable by eliminating fatal and serious injury crash potential.
• Considering the safety of all road users (unless specified within the audit brief)
• Can be conducted on proposed or existing road transport systems.

The objective of a road safety audit is to identify foreseeable hazards for all road users. The road safety audit process provides a reasonable, but not absolute, hazard identification method for all road users with a particular focus on the reduction in fatal and serious injuries.

A road safety audit is not:

• An opportunity to redesign or make changes to a design with no apparent link to a safety issue
• A technical check on the design elements or the application of design guidelines & standards (this should be carried out independently of the road safety audit e.g. as part of the design quality assurance process).

Reference for Managers: Austroads Guide to Road Safety Part 6: Road Safety Audit (2022).
Reference for Practitioners: Transport for NSW, Guidelines for Road Safety Audit Practices (2011)
For other types of Road Safety Assessment methods and deciding which one to use, please visit: https://roadsafety.transport.nsw.gov.au/downloads/road_safety_assessment_methods.pdf

A road safety auditor is defined as a person who is named as a member of the road safety audit team in a road safety audit report. The auditor participated in conducting the road safety audit and signed and dated a formal statement in the finalised road safety audit report indicating they were a member of the road safety audit team.

The Register of Road Safety Auditors lists qualified road safety auditors. It also provides those seeking the services of a road safety auditor an opportunity to examine an auditor’s auditing experience and details of the specific areas in which they have performed audits.

The status of an auditor can be clearly seen when searching their profile. This indicates if their profile is currently being reviewed by administrators and provides an up-to-date and complete picture of the auditor’s profile at any point in time.

SSA is a tool that has been developed to assess the extent to which a proposed infrastructure project aligns with Safe Systems principles and the objective is eliminate fatal and serious injuries. The process allows project options to be compared with a base case (existing conditions) and with different options. If Safe Systems principles are being followed and applied correctly, there should be a trend towards zero in the SSA scores when progressing from existing conditions to the initial design options and, finally, to the adopted design.

The SSA ensures consistent consideration of major crash types, and prompts an assessment of the three components of risk management as they apply to each crash type, namely road user exposure, crash likelihood and crash severity.

Further information can be found at: https://austroads.com.au/publications/road-safety/ap-r509-16

This Register of Road Safety Auditors is for road safety auditors conducting road safety audits within New South Wales, Australia. The accreditation is recognised by Transport for New South Wales and local government road authorities within New South Wales. Other road authorities around Australia may also recognise this accreditation.

Road Safety Auditors from outside New South Wales can register on the NSW Register of Road Safety Auditors by creating an auditor profile.  These profiles are required to meet the TfNSW Auditor eligibility criteria which can be found under the FAQ tab on the register.  Accreditation as a Road Safety Auditor on a register outside New South Wales does not automatically guarantee your accreditation on the NSW Register.

To be eligible for road safety auditor accreditation, an auditor must meet specific criteria that objectively measure experience, road safety auditing qualifications and road safety auditing practice. Auditors must agree to a process confirming their road safety auditing practices.

Auditor (Level 1)

1. Participated as a team member in at least one road safety audit.
2. Successfully completed a recognised road safety audit training program with classification either "Auditor" or "Update"?

Senior Auditor (Level 2)

1. Successfully completed a recognised road safety audit training program with classification either "Auditor" or "Update"?
2. Participated as a team member in at least three road safety audits in the past three years.
3. At least 5 years demonstrated experience and capability in: road design, traffic engineering, traffic/transport management, road safety engineering or other closely related road safety discipline.

Lead Auditor (Level 3)

1. Successfully completed a recognised road safety audit training program with classification "Lead"
2. Has participated as a team member in at least: three pre-construction phase road safety audits in the last 3 years, and three construction/post construction phase road safety audits in the last 3 years.
3. At least 7 years demonstrated experience and capability in: road design, traffic engineering, traffic/transport management, road safety engineering or other closely related road safety discipline.

Definitions

• Road Design

Design is the process of originating and developing a plan for an aesthetic and/or functional object, requiring research, thought, modelling, iterative adjustment and redesign. In road design, the end result of the design process is presented on drawings and in specifications to allow the road to be constructed. The philosophy and principles set out in these documents underpin the creation of a successful design.

• Traffic Engineering

The measurement and study of traffic, the determination of its characteristics, and the application of the knowledge so gained to provide for or improve the safety, convenience and economy of road transport systems.

• Traffic Management

The use of traffic engineering techniques to control the flow of all road users through varying traffic environments. This includes traffic and road planning activities, routine monitoring of the roads, specific responses to incidents and their traffic affects, transport and traffic information dissemination, road network optimisation activities, management of planned incidents, enforcement and other actions directed to the road network.

• Traffic Control / Traffic Guidance Scheme

The planning and implementation of directing traffic through, around or past a works site or temporary hazard with the arrangement of traffic control devices.

• Transport Planning

Planning of the operations and development of transport including the efficient and equitable allocation of resources.

• Road Safety Engineering

A competence and experience in the investigation, identification and analysis of crash locations and/or crash risk and/or the design of effective remedial engineering treatments.

• Road User Behaviour

A competence and experience in the study of the behaviour of road users that forms an important factor in crash causation with the aim of developing effective countermeasures. Road user behaviour involves the understanding of risk taking and risk acceptance along with other behavioural functional and motivational models.

• Traffic

A generic term covering all vehicles, people and animals using a road and road related areas.

Meeting the eligibility criteria listed does not guarantee that you will be assigned to the requested auditor level status. The assessors will determine your suitability based on your professional experience and relevance to road safety auditing. In some instances, they may request further information from you. Please refer to the Austroads Guides mentioned below for further information about the information they may be seeking:

Reference for Managers: Austroads Guide to Road Safety Part 6: Road Safety Audit (2022).
Reference for Practitioners: Transport for NSW, Guidelines for Road Safety Audit Practices (2011)

As long as you continue to meet the eligibility criteria for a level, you will continue be accredited at that level.

When you no longer meet the eligibility criteria for that level you will be assessed against the eligibility criteria for the next level down. Where you do not meet the eligibility criteria for any levels, your accreditation will lapse and your profile will no longer be displayed on the Register for all to see. However, you will still be able to access and update your profile.

Audits conducted within other Australian states or overseas can be listed on the Register. You may be requested to provide a signed copy of the final audit report to verify that the report structure and content meets current Austroads guidelines. Please refer to the Austroads Guides mentioned below for further information:

Reference for Managers: Austroads Guide to Road Safety Part 6: Road Safety Audit (2022).
Reference for Practitioners: Transport for NSW, Guidelines for Road Safety Audit Practices (2011)

Sensitive information may be removed from the report to maintain confidentiality if so desired. All copies of the report will be destroyed after the assessment has been finalised.

When you update your profile with information that may impact your level of accreditation (e.g. additional audits or experience) or your current level of accreditation expires, your profile is assigned to at least 2 Assessors who review the information in your profile and assign an appropriate level of accreditation based on the eligibility criteria for each level in conjunction with the experiences outlined in your CV. A unanimous decision from the Assessors is required before your level of accreditation can be updated. During this assessment process your profile is only available in "read only" format.

At the conclusion of the assessment process you will receive an email advising you of your current level of accreditation and your profile will be available for editing.

Once a new road safety audit has been entered onto the Register, an email is automatically generated to the nominated ‘Client contact person’. The email requests confirmation that the audit took place as stated and confirmation of the members of the audit team.

Road safety audits may themselves be ‘audited’ occasionally. You may be requested to supply additional information relating to the road safety audit. Once this has been verified, your profile is updated to display the road safety audit. If an audit is not verified you are notified. Audits which are not verified do not contribute to your accreditation and are not displayed.

The Register recognises and lists for public viewing only those audits that have been conducted in accordance with practices outlined in Austroads Guides. Please refer to the Austroads Guides mentioned below for further information:

Reference for Managers: Austroads Guide to Road Safety Part 6: Road Safety Audit (2022).
Reference for Practitioners: Transport for NSW, Guidelines for Road Safety Audit Practices (2011)

The Register does not recognise nor list for public viewing:

• Any audits conducted by a single auditor. 
• Thematic audits conducted at strategic, concept or detailed design stages.

These audits also do not contribute towards auditor accreditation.

The recognised training programs are: 

Auditors must complete an auditor level training course before completing the Lead Auditors course. The completion of an auditor level course is a mandatory requirement in order for an auditor's profile to meet the auditor eligibility criteria for all levels. The completion of the Lead Auditors course is a requirement for those auditors applying for level 3 Lead Auditor accreditation.

Training programs not listed in the table above are not currently recognised by the Transport for NSW. If you have completed a course that is not currently recognised by the Transport for NSW, you can request that this course be considered by submitting your request via email to register@roadsafetyregister.com.au. Please provide a copy of your course attendance/completion certificate together with a copy of the course outline for review.

RMS Guidelines: Guidelines for Road Safety Audit Practices

Austroads now provide all publications for free:

Reference for Managers: Austroads Guide to Road Safety Part 6: Road Safety Audit (2022).
Reference for Practitioners: Transport for NSW, Guidelines for Road Safety Audit Practices (2011)