Austroads Updates Roadside Design Guidance for Safety Barriers

Austroads has published the 2026 fifth edition of its Guide to Road Design Part 6: Roadside Design, Safety and Barriers, updating guidance used in Australia and New Zealand for roadside risk assessment, barrier selection and placement.

The updated edition clarifies the treatment of narrow medians and adds information on lower-deflection W-beam and Thrie-beam systems. It also revises working-width information for concrete barriers, provides further detail on barrier locations and spacing in narrow medians, and expands discussion of impacts from oncoming vehicles. Austroads also corrected one equation.

Why the update matters

Barrier selection is not determined by the product name alone. Available roadside space, working width, barrier location and the conditions of the specific project all affect whether a system is suitable. For project teams and suppliers, the update is a reminder to check the complete system configuration and its documented performance against the project design requirements.

Suppliers preparing a quotation should clearly identify the proposed barrier system, its configuration, working-width and deflection information, and installation details so the design team can assess them against the applicable project criteria.

Scope note: This Austroads guide is intended for use in the Australian and New Zealand road-design context. It is not a universal standard and does not replace the requirements of other jurisdictions.

Source: Austroads, Guide to Road Design Part 6, Edition 5.0 (published 26 June 2026).