Australia Updates Road Rules for Semi-Autonomous Vehicles

Tesla released the latest version of its semi-autonomous driving software in Australia on Friday. The system, called Full Self-Driving (Supervised), can navigate city streets, stop at traffic lights, and enter car parks without human input, though the company states drivers must remain ready to take control at any time.

The release highlighted gaps in existing road rules. Victoria's peak motoring group warned that outdated laws could prevent safety gains or allow unsafe systems on public roads.

Victoria's road rules require drivers to maintain "proper control" of their vehicle. The rules do not define what this means when a vehicle steers, changes lanes, stops, and accelerates on its own. A police spokesperson said no existing legislation allows a motorist to transfer driving responsibility to a vehicle.

Victoria Police declined to state whether drivers must keep their hands on the wheel while using semi-autonomous systems.

The motoring group's head of policy said laws should require hands on the wheel up to level 3 automation but not for level 4 and above. The group also called for national automated-vehicle safety laws and for driver education on automation levels to be added to licence tests.

A federal Transport Department spokesperson said the government is working with states, territories, and the National Transport Commission on a framework that would allow conditional deployment of automated vehicles in select locations by 2027.