VicRoads is a government

joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acces ...

in the

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

. In the state, it is responsible for driver licensing and

vehicle registration Motor vehicle registration is the registration of a motor vehicle with a government authority, either compulsory or otherwise. The purpose of motor vehicle registration is to establish a link between a vehicle and an owner or user of the vehicle. Th ...

. It is owned and operated through a joint venture between the

Victorian government The Victoria State Government, also referred to as just the Victorian Government, is the state-level authority for Victoria, Australia. Like all state governments, it is formed by three independent branches: the executive, the judicial, and t ...

and a

consortium A consortium (plural: consortia) is an association of two or more individuals, companies, organizations or governments (or any combination of these entities) with the objective of participating in a common activity or pooling their resources ...

made up of Aware Super,

Australian Retirement Trust The Australian Retirement Trust (ART) is an Australian superannuation fund headquartered in Brisbane, Queensland. With $230bn under management and over 2 million members, it is Australia's second-largest superannuation fund. History The Austr ...

and Macquarie Asset Management. Before July 2019, it was the road and traffic authority in Victoria, responsible also for maintenance and construction of the arterial road network, and road safety policy and research. These functions were transferred or delegated to the Department of Transport on 1 July 2019. The main VicRoads administration is located in the

Rialto Towers Rialto (often The Rialto, or Rialto Towers) is a skyscraper located at 525 Collins Street, in the western side of the central business district of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It was the tallest office building in the Southern Hemisphere w ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...

. There is also a regional administration office in

Ballarat Ballarat ( ) is a city in the Central Highlands of Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 Census, Ballarat had a population of 116,201, making it the third largest city in Victoria. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. Within months of Vi ...

, which is now home to the VicRoads call centre. In addition VicRoads operates many offices servicing the public in registration and licensing throughout metropolitan Melbourne and regional Victoria.

Governance

In 1983, the

Country Roads Board The Country Roads Board was a government authority responsible for the construction and maintenance of main roads in the state of Victoria, Australia between 1913 and 1983. History The Country Roads Board (CRB) was formed to take over responsi ...

was replaced by the

Road Construction Authority The Road Construction Authority was a government authority responsible for the construction and maintenance of main roads in the state of Victoria, Australia between 1983 and 1989. History The Road Construction Authority (RCB) was formed to take ...

, under the

Transport Act 1983 The Transport Act 1983 (the Act) was the main statute establishing government transport organisations and regulating land transport activities in the State of Victoria, Australia for 27 years from mid-1983 to mid-2010. The Act was used as the veh ...

. In 1989, the Road Traffic Authority was merged with the Road Construction Authority to form the Roads Corporation, trading under the name VicRoads. VicRoads was re-established on 1 July 2010 under the

Transport Integration Act The Transport Integration Act 2010 (the Act) is a law enacted by the Parliament of the State of Victoria, Australia. The Act is the prime transport statute in Victoria, having replaced major parts of the ''Transport Act 1983'', which was renam ...

, which establishes a framework for an integrated and sustainable transport system in Victoria and empowers the key Victorian Government agencies with responsibility for the State's land and water transport system. The Act provides that VicRoads' primary object is to provide, operate and maintain the road system consistent with the vision statement in the Act and objectives which emphasise transport integration and sustainability. The statute also requires VicRoads to "...manage the road system in a manner which supports a sustainable Victoria by seeking to increase the share of public transport, walking and cycling trips as a proportion of all transport trips in Victoria..." In July 2016, the government announced the creation of

Transport for Victoria Transport for Victoria is a statutory office of the Department of Transport that is responsible for the planning and coordination of all transport systems in Victoria, Australia. It acts as an umbrella agency for Public Transport Victoria (PTV, ...

, a new

statutory authority A statutory body or statutory authority is a body set up by law (statute) that is authorised to implement certain legislation on behalf of the relevant country or state, sometimes by being empowered or delegated to set rules (for example re ...

combining planning functions of

Public Transport Victoria Public Transport Victoria (PTV) is the brand name for public transport in the Australian state of Victoria. It was the trading name of the Go Public Transport Development Authority (PTDA), a now-defunct statutory authority in Victoria, respo ...

and VicRoads as well as functions of other agencies. On 1 July 2018, the Major Road Projects Authority was formed, with the function of administering specified road projects transferred from VicRoads to the new authority. On 1 January 2019, the

Department of Transport The Department for Transport (DfT) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland that have not been devolved. The d ...

and its major project authority, the Major Transport Infrastructure Authority (MTIA) was formed. The Major Road Projects Authority was renamed Major Road Projects Victoria (MRPV) and became part of MTIA. In April 2019, it was announced that VicRoads would cease to exist as an independent entity from 30 June 2019 with its functions merged with those of Public Transport Victoria into a new division of the

. Announcing the reforms, Premier

Daniel Andrews Daniel Michael Andrews (born 6 July 1972) is an Australian politician serving as the 48th and current premier of Victoria since December 2014. He has been the leader of the Victorian branch of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) since December ...

argued that the reform would go "one step beyond" the formation of Transport for Victoria, and said that merging the two agencies would lead to planning of an integrated and mode-agnostic transport network. Although the

Rail, Tram and Bus Union The Australian Rail Tram and Bus Industry Union (RTBU) is an Australian trade union representing rail, tram and bus workers. The RTBU is affiliated with the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) and the Australian Labor Party (ALP). Inter ...

supported the government's decision, the

Australian Services Union The Australian Services Union (registered as the Australian Municipal, Administrative, Clerical and Services Union) is a trade union representing workers in a variety of industries. The ASU is affiliated with the Australian Council of Trad ...

, representing a large number of VicRoads administrative staff, opposed the merger. On 1 July 2019, most of VicRoads functions were absorbed into the Department of Transport, excluding registration and licensing functions and some heavy vehicle functions, which remained under VicRoads.

Operations

From 1 July 2019, VicRoads' remaining functions were registration and licensing, and heavy vehicle compliance, enforcement and investigation functions. On 1 January 2020, all road management functions and responsibilities of VicRoads were transferred to and vested in the Head,

, an office established under section 64A of the ''

Transport Integration Act 2010 The Transport Integration Act 2010 (the Act) is a law enacted by the Parliament of the State of Victoria, Australia. The Act is the prime transport statute in Victoria, having replaced major parts of the ''Transport Act 1983'', which was renam ...

'' and currently held by the Secretary of

. This meant that any reference to VicRoads in road management standards and other technical information must be construed as a reference to Head, Transport for Victoria. In March 2021, the

Victorian Government The Victoria State Government, also referred to as just the Victorian Government, is the state-level authority for Victoria, Australia. Like all state governments, it is formed by three independent branches: the executive, the judicial, and t ...

made an in-principle decision to progress a

model for VicRoads registration, licensing and custom plates. On 30 June 2022 the Roads Corporation ceased to exist through a legislative abolition. On 1 July 2022 partial privatisation formally went into effect for VicRoads through a joint venture model.

References

External links

*
VicRoads Office Locations

Transport Integration Act (Department of Transport - Official Site)VicRoads Official Twitter
{{Authority control Transport in Victoria (Australia) Government agencies of Victoria (Australia) Road authorities Government agencies established in 1989 Government agencies disestablished in 2019 1989 establishments in Australia 2019 disestablishments in Australia State departments of transport of Australia Motor vehicle registration agencies Organisations based in Melbourne

Governance

Operations

See also

References

External links