Australia's national road toll has now risen for 37 straight months, the longest stretch on record, at the same time as camera enforcement and fine revenue hit new highs in NSW, Victoria and Queensland. The peak road safety body says the current approach isn't working and wants the data to prove what does. Here's what the numbers actually show.
Check your fine in minutes →Free case-strength check first. If your grounds are weak, we'll tell you · one flat price, $10 parking & toll, $15 everything elseAustralia recorded 1,325 road deaths in the 12 months to 30 June 2026, according to the Australian Automobile Association's latest benchmarking report on the National Road Safety Strategy. That's only a fraction higher than the 1,323 recorded the year before, but it's still an increase, and it means the national toll has now risen for 37 consecutive months, the longest such run on record. The national fatality rate has climbed to 4.8 deaths per 100,000 people, up from 4.3 in the 12 months to December 2020, which means the road toll is growing faster than the population.
The strategy behind Australia's road safety effort, the National Road Safety Strategy 2021 to 2030, set out to halve road deaths by the end of the decade. Instead, deaths are now 20.8% higher than when the strategy began. AAA managing director Michael Bradley put it bluntly: "Australia's roads are becoming more dangerous, not less, and we are still failing to measure the effectiveness of the various ways states and territories try to stop people speeding, or driving under the influence of alcohol, drugs, fatigue or distraction."
None of this is for lack of enforcement. Nationally, more than 3.3 million speeding fines were issued in the most recent full year of reported data, with automated cameras responsible for 83.6% of them. Mobile-phone and seatbelt fines followed a similar pattern, both close to 87% camera-issued. Individual states are setting records of their own: Victoria's road safety camera program issued more than 1.7 million fines in a single recent financial year, the most in its history. NSW speed cameras generated a record $283 million in fines in the most recent year reported, with the network still expanding by roughly ten new sites a year. Queensland's Camera Detected Offence Program brought in $466.5 million in the 2024 to 2025 financial year.
In other words, cameras are catching more drivers than ever, and collecting more revenue than ever. Despite that, the road toll isn't falling, it's still rising, for the 37th month in a row.
The national figure hides some real differences. Comparing the 12 months to June 2025 against the 12 months to June 2026:
| State or territory | Deaths, to June 2025 | Deaths, to June 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| NSW | 348 | 350 | +0.6% |
| Victoria | 296 | 269 | -9.1% |
| Queensland | 292 | 323 | +10.6% |
| South Australia | 84 | 107 | +27.4% |
| Western Australia | 199 | 193 | -3.0% |
| Tasmania | 46 | 36 | -21.7% |
| Northern Territory | 50 | 32 | -36.0% |
| ACT | 8 | 15 | +87.5% |
Victoria, WA, Tasmania and the NT all recorded fewer deaths than the year before. Queensland, South Australia and the ACT recorded sharp increases (the ACT's jump looks dramatic in percentage terms, but it's off a small base). NSW, the biggest state, was essentially flat. There's no simple national story here: enforcement is up almost everywhere, but outcomes are mixed and don't line up neatly with which state issues the most fines.
The AAA's complaint isn't that enforcement is too heavy or too light. It's that nobody can prove which parts of it are working. Of the National Road Safety Strategy's 23 performance indicators, the AAA says only four can currently be tracked beyond 2024. The Commonwealth committed in November 2024 to link road funding to better state and territory safety data reporting, but the AAA says that, 20 months on, no national analysis has been released on what's actually causing crashes or which countermeasures work.
"We need to get dangerous drivers off the road, and to do that, we need to know which rules and enforcement regimes work best, and which do not." Michael Bradley, AAA
A federal mid-term review of the strategy was announced nine months ago; the AAA is calling for it to be released, along with a clear plan for what changes in response to a toll that keeps climbing.
This article isn't an argument against enforcement, and it isn't a reason to assume a fine you receive is wrong. Speeding, distraction and not wearing a seatbelt are real risks, and plenty of camera fines are entirely valid. But it is a reminder that the system issuing your fine is bigger, faster and more automated than it's ever been, and that scale comes with a documented error rate: see our reporting on why AI camera fines get it wrong and how often fine reviews actually succeed by state. Whatever the enforcement numbers look like nationally, it's still worth checking that the fine in front of you is accurate before you pay it.
Rising. Australia recorded 1,325 road deaths in the 12 months to 30 June 2026, up from 1,323 the previous year. That is the 37th consecutive month the national toll has increased, and deaths are up 20.8% since the National Road Safety Strategy 2021 to 30 began, against a target of halving deaths by 2030.
Yes, in several states. Victoria's road safety camera program issued more than 1.7 million fines in a single recent financial year, the most in its history. NSW speed cameras generated a record $283 million in fines in the most recent year reported. Queensland's Camera Detected Offence Program brought in $466.5 million in 2024 to 25.
Not necessarily. Camera-detected fines can still be wrong, and reported false-positive and withdrawal rates vary by state and camera type. It is always worth checking the evidence on your own fine before paying, regardless of how enforcement volumes look nationally.
One flat price per letter: $10 for parking and unpaid-toll fines, $15 for all other fine types. No percentage of your fine. There is a free case-strength check before you pay, so if your grounds are weak we tell you first.
Fight My Fine is a self-help tool, not a law firm, and this article is general information, not legal advice. Figures above are drawn from the government sources and news reporting listed and reflect the periods stated. They are historical data, not a prediction of any individual outcome or of future road toll trends. For serious matters, speak with a qualified lawyer or a free legal service.