Australia’s road toll is climbing, but death rate is down

In the opening nine months of 2026, 1001 people have died on Australian roads, representing a 2.9 per cent increase on the January to September period the year prior.

The 1000-fatality marker was crossed after a difficult September, in which 123 road users died – 25.5 per cent more than the same month in 2025, and 17.8 per cent above the month’s average across the previous five years.

This has driven Australia’s rolling 12-month road toll to 1334, the highest it’s been in the past five years, representing a 0.2 per cent increase on September 2024-2025.

If the current trends continue, Australia will eclipse its most recent road toll high of 1353 fatalities, set in 2010. Last year, 1306 road users were killed, marking a significant increase since the five-year low of 2021, when 1129 fatalities occurred, though that data was partially skewed by state-specific lockdowns.

While the raw data shows a noticeable increase in fatalities, the death rate – how many fatalities there are for every 100,000 people in the population – is currently on a downward trajectory.

Per 100,000 people, 4.8 have died in the past 12 months on Australian roads, matching the same period from September 2024-2025. More accurate data shows the fatality rate has actually dropped by 1.3 per cent between the two 12-month periods.

Though it isn’t as low as the 4.6 deaths per 100,000 population from 2021 to 2022, the fatality rate continues to remain under 5.0, which has consistently been the case since 2017.

For context, in 2006 the fatality rate was 7.72, down from 10.76 in 1996, showing it half more than halved in 30 years.

Of the 1334 road fatalities in the past 12 months, drivers continued to make up the largest share with 586 deaths, a drop of 2.0 per cent. Passenger fatalities rose by 0.5 per cent to 206, while motorcycles remained the same at 264 deaths.

Pedestrians – which excludes those on bicycles – made up 198 fatalities to drop 2.5 per cent, however bicycle riders represented the biggest jump by far, with 54 deaths a 35 per cent increase on the previous 12 months.

These statistics were broadly reflected in crash types, which are split across single and multiple-vehicle incidents.

In the 12 months ending in September 2026, single-vehicle crash fatalities rose by 6.3 per cent, compared to a 4.2 per cent decline in multiple-vehicle deaths.

As it stands, no jurisdiction is on track to meet National Road Safety Strategy 2021-30 targets, which are aimed at reducing road deaths throughout the decade to levels half that of 2020.