Road deaths rose across Australia in the past 12 months, with the Northern Territory the only jurisdiction where they fell.
The new data, released by the Australian Automobile Association (AAA), found a 5.9% annual increase in national road deaths in the 12 months to March 2023.
New South Wales had the highest number of road deaths (289).
The number of road deaths in Australia over the past two years:
| State/ territory | Deaths from April 2021 to March 2022 | Deaths from April 2022 to March 2023 | % change |
| NSW | 289 | 289 | 0 |
| Victoria | 236 | 259 | 9.7 |
| Queensland | 276 | 281 | 1.8 |
| South Australia | 85 | 93 | 9.4 |
| Western Australia | 154 | 180 | 16.9 |
| Tasmania | 44 | 48 | 9.1 |
| Northern Territory | 43 | 37 | -14 |
| ACT | 10 | 17 | 70 |
National targets for Australian road deaths
The latest report found almost every state and territory was falling behind road death targets set out in Australia’s 10-year road safety strategy.
The strategy came into effect in 2021 and targeted reducing fatalities on Australian roads by 50% by 2030.
NSW was the only state or territory that met its proportional road death target. It was the area with the fewest road deaths per 100,000 people (3.53). The NT had the highest proportion of road deaths (14.76).
COVID-19:
The report also found road deaths had increased on pre-pandemic levels.
Annual road death data from April 2018 to March 2020 were both lower than what was recorded in the most recent 12-month period.
