ITS licence enables introduction of connected and autonomous vehicles to Australia

Austroads, the peak organisation of Australasian road transport and traffic agencies, supported the announcement by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) that the Radiocommunications (Intelligent Transport Systems) Class Licence 2017 had been issued.

The release of the ITS Class Licence marks an important milestone towards enabling the next generation of connected and automated vehicles to be introduced to the Australian market.

“This is an important milestone in Australia’s readiness to support connected and automated vehicles,” said Nick Koukoulas, Austroads Chief Executive. “Austroads has worked closely with the ACMA and collaborated with a range of industry and government stakeholders to achieve this outcome.”

The arrival of connected and automated vehicles has the potential to deliver significant benefits to society. Better road safety, reduced traffic congestion and positive environmental outcomes are just a few possible improvements that are likely to stem from the acceptance of the new generation vehicles. 

“The road safety and mobility benefits that are anticipated from connected and automated vehicles are significant,” said Stuart Ballingall, Austroads Program Director for Connected and Automated Vehicles. “The release of this licence will greatly assist Australia to support the introduction of these emerging vehicle technologies.”

The ITS Class Licence will allow connected vehicles and roadside infrastructure to share data using the 5.9 GHz radio frequency band. These regulations are importantly consistent with the major vehicle markets in the US and EU.

Austroads, working closely with its road agency members and a range of key industry stakeholders, has taken a lead role driving the process to establish the ITS Class Licence with the ACMA.

ACMA acting Chair, James Cameron, stated how the new class license will facilitate “putting Australia on par with other nations adopting ITS”.