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 acce ...

in the

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. In the state, it is responsible for

driver licensing A driver's license, driving licence, or driving permit is a legal authorization, or the official document confirming such an authorization, for a specific individual to operate one or more types of motorized vehicles—such as motorcycles, car ...

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. ...

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

Victorian government The Victoria State Government, also referred to as the Victorian Government, is the executive government of the Australian state of Victoria. As a parliamentary constitutional monarchy, the State Government was first formed in 1851 when Vic ...

and a

consortium A consortium () 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 for achieving a ...

made up of

Aware Super Aware Super is an Australian industry superannuation fund headquartered in Sydney, New South Wales. With $176.9 billion under management and 1.15 million members, it is Australia's third-largest superannuation fund. History It was initially es ...

Australian Retirement Trust The Australian Retirement Trust (ART) is an Australian superannuation fund headquartered in Brisbane, Queensland. It has over A$300 billion in retirement savings under management and 2.4 million members, making it Australia's second-largest su ...

and

Macquarie Asset Management Macquarie Group Limited (), more commonly known as Macquarie Bank, is an Australian multinational investment banking and financial services group headquartered in Sydney and listed on the ASX (). Macquarie's investment banking division is Au ...

. 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, Melbourne, Collins Street, in the western side of the Melbourne central business district, Victoria, Australia. It was the tallest office building in the ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

. 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 111,973, making it the third-largest urban inland city in Australia and the third-largest city in Victoria. Within mo ...

, 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 respon ...

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 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 vehicle for ...

. 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 Victoria, Parliament of the State of Victoria, Australia. The Act is the prime transport statute in Victoria (Australia), Victoria, having replaced major parts ...

, 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 and Planning that is responsible for the planning and coordination of all transport systems in Victoria, Australia. It acts as an umbrella agency for Public Transport V ...

, 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 reg ...

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 previously the trading name of the Public Transport Development Authority (PTDA), a now-defunct statutory authority in Victo ...

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 A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government a ...

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 former politician who served as the 48th premier of Victoria from 2014 to 2023. He held office as the leader of the Victorian branch of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 2010 and ...

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). Interna ...

supported the government's decision, the

Australian Services Union The Australian Services Union (formally 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 ...

, 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 ren ...

'' 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 the Victorian Government, is the executive government of the Australian state of Victoria. As a parliamentary constitutional monarchy, the State Government was first formed in 1851 when Vic ...

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 with

and

. In early 2025, VicRoads became one of the first government agencies worldwide to implement passkeys on a large scale. This initiative allows nearly 5 million Victorians to securely access their myVicRoads accounts using biometric authentication methods such as Face ID, Touch ID, or Windows Hello, eliminating the need for traditional passwords.

References

External links

*
VicRoads Office Locations

Transport Integration Act (Department of Transport - Official Site)VicRoads Official Twitter
{{Authority control Transport in Victoria (state) Government agencies of Victoria (state) 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