Tesla pushes Australia to fast-track driverless car laws by two years

Tesla has asked the Senate Select Committee on Productivity to pull the proposed Automated Vehicle Safety Law forward by two years, arguing Australia is falling behind the rest of the world on driverless cars. The company noted the national framework was first floated by the National Transport Commission back in 2016 and says progress has stayed fragmented with shifting timelines ever since. Its submission wants the law in place by 2027 rather than 2029.

The EV maker claims the two-year acceleration would unlock over $10 billion in safety, productivity, environmental and economic gains, while preventing thousands of injuries and saving hundreds of lives. It points to federal government research suggesting autonomous vehicles could save up to 800 lives a year once widely adopted — more than two a day. Backing its own case, Tesla says Australian Full Self-Driving (Supervised) data shows a 40 per cent drop in collisions versus Teslas driven without it, with harsh braking down 90 per cent and harsh acceleration down 86 per cent. Those figures have not been independently verified.

FSD is still classified as a Level 2 driver-assistance system locally, meaning drivers must stay alert and in control at all times. Since it launched in Australia in September 2025, Tesla vehicles have covered more than 160 million kilometres on Australian and New Zealand roads with the system on. In the US, Tesla's Cybercab drops the steering wheel and pedals entirely, leaving two seats and a central touchscreen — but without legal changes, Tesla has no pathway to run a commercial driverless service in Australia.

Tesla isn't alone in being stalled. Earlier this year it emerged Waymo had lodged a "high-level proposal" with Transport for NSW to trial robotaxis on Sydney streets, with the state government reportedly meeting Waymo executives and the company setting up an Australian branch and talking partnerships with carmakers. No start date is clear, and questions have been raised about Waymo wanting to test left-hand-drive vehicles.

Transport unions have pushed back, warning broad robotaxi adoption could put thousands of industry jobs at risk. A Transport for NSW spokesperson confirmed no decisions had been made on a local automated passenger service, saying any deployment would need a rigorous trial period covering passenger and motorist safety and compliance with NSW Point to Point laws. The agency said it meets periodically with international automated passenger providers to track how the technology and community impacts are developing elsewhere.

The rollout date has slipped repeatedly: earlier targets of 2020 and 2026 gave way to a conditional launch in selected locations from 2027, and there is still no publicly confirmed date for a fully operational national framework. A spokesperson for Federal Transport Minister Catherine King said the Commonwealth is continuing to work with states, territories and the National Transport Commission on rules for a safe rollout, and is finalising the Automated Vehicle Safety Law in consultation with stakeholders.