Overview
- New South Wales confirmed 355 road deaths in 2025, the highest since 2017, with speeding cited in 134 fatalities and a large share occurring in rural and regional areas.
- Australia recorded 1,332 deaths in the 12 months to November 2025, the worst national level since 2010, with final year-end tallies still being updated after the holiday period.
- State trends diverged: Queensland reached at least 302 deaths before Christmas with police reporting additional holiday fatalities, Victoria ended on 288, and Tasmania rose to 44, while Western Australia fell to 181, South Australia to 87, the Northern Territory to 38, and the ACT to nine.
- Authorities are escalating responses, including AI-enabled cameras that detected more than 380,000 offences in WA, double-demerit operations, expanded speed camera trials, stricter motorcycle rules, and a five-year Road Safety Action Plan.
- Ireland reported 190 deaths from 179 fatal collisions in 2025, with increases among pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists and roughly three-quarters of fatalities being male.