- State Budget 2026-27 to invest additional $339.9
million in road infrastructure and enforcement
- Funding
to improve road safety from the Road Trauma Trust Account
- Cook Labor Government delivering on its
commitment to improve road safety and protect WA's growing community
The Cook Labor Government
is investing a further $339.9 million to improve road safety across Western
Australia.
Funded through the Road
Trauma Trust Account, the investment will support new and expanded road safety
measures over the 2025-26 to 2029-30 period.
A key focus of the
investment is prevention and education, with $60.7 million to go towards the
expansion of awareness campaigns, community partnerships and school education
programs.
Significant upgrades will
also be delivered to infrastructure, including $8.9 million to support students
riding or walking to school as well as $41.6 million towards the delivery of
Stage 1 upgrades of the Great Northern Highway Fitzroy to Gogo section.
The investment will include funding towards new
and existing road safety initiatives, including:
- $22.2
million for enforcement initiatives, including $13 million for camera
operations and $9.2 million for targeted operations by WA Police;
- $36.1
million for the continuation of the Driving Access and Equity Program;
- $6.7
million to expand the Road Safety Research program;
- $3.7
million for a child car restraints pilot program to increase access to properly
fitted and used child car restraints;
- $1.1
million to plan for a road safety data hub to guide future investment
decisions; and
- $20.6
million to address cost pressures and program variations across existing road
safety initiatives, including $5.7 million for the Metropolitan Intersection
Crash Program.
These measures complement
a range of ongoing road safety initiatives underway across the State, including
a renewed focus on heavy vehicle compliance with a roll-out of compliance
blitzes across regional WA led by Main Roads.
As part of the Cook Labor
Government's commitment to saving lives and changing driver behaviour, new
fixed safety cameras capable of detecting seatbelt, mobile phone and speeding
offences have been installed on the Mitchell Freeway at Vincent Street.
A six-month education and
awareness period for these fixed cameras on the Mitchell Freeway will start 1 June
2026, with drivers receiving caution notices for seatbelt and mobile phone
offences only, before infringements are issued from 1 December2026
Since these safety
cameras on the Kwinana Freeway were rolled out in February 2025, alongside
safety camera trailers operating State-wide the rate of seatbelt and mobile
phone offences has dropped by about 80 per cent.
Today's announcement
builds on the $80 million investment in road safety reforms recently delivered
through the Mid-Year Review.
The Road Trauma Trust Account (RTTA) is a special purpose account that
reinvests all safety camera fines into road safety initiatives across the State.
Over the past decade, more than $1 billion has been invested through the
RTTA to deliver safer roads and reduce road trauma across Western Australia.
Comments attributed to Treasurer and Transport Minister Rita Saffioti:
"This massive investment is all about saving lives on WA roads.
"Our government has a strong track record of delivering safer roads
across Western Australia, upgrading more than 10,000km of regional roads since
2020.
"Every dollar collected through safety camera infringements is invested
into improving road safety, helping reduce road trauma and save lives.
"Investing $41.6 million into Stage 1 of the Great Northern Highway
project will improve safety and reliability on this critical regional route."
Comments attributed to
Road Safety Minister Reece Whitby:
"Road Safety is about
making sure every Western Australian gets home safely, no matter where they are
travelling across the State.
"This is a significant investment that reinforces the Cook Labor
Government's commitment to increasing road safety and saving lives across
Western Australia.
"With $339.9 million being invested from the Road Trauma Trust Account,
we are improving roads, supporting new technology and increasing education -
exactly as the RTTA is intended for use.
"The Cook Labor Government will continue to invest in safer initiatives
that improve driver behaviour and make our roads safer for everyone."
Comments attributed to Minister Assisting the Transport Minister
Jessica Stojkovski:
"It is a priority for the Cook Labor Government to build safe and
inclusive communities and this investment reinforces our commitment to
improving road safety through road upgrades and smarter enforcement.
"Whether it be delivering
targeted action across enforcement, education and infrastructure this $339.9
million, funded through the Road Trauma Trust Account will save lives."
Comments attributed to Education Minister Sabine Winton:
"Every student deserves a safe journey to and from school, whether
they're walking or riding. Through the School Path Connections Program, we're
giving families greater confidence that their children can travel safely to
school each day.
"Teaching road safety from a young age is absolutely critical so by
combining better designed pathways with early education, we're helping students
learn responsible behaviour that will keep them safe near roads."
