Government funding commitments to make the Bruce Highway safer followed a long-running advocacy campaign.
Fixing the dangerous Bruce Highway has been on RACQ’s advocacy agenda for more than a decade.
It’s a national highway, yet it is substandard and dangerous with an average of 35 people killed in crashes on the Bruce each year and more than 400 seriously injured.
Making matters worse, at the beginning of 2024, the Federal Government wound back its commitment to fund 80% of new regional infrastructure to just 50%, potentially delaying critical upgrades. This sparked RACQ’s ‘Fix the Bruce’ campaign.
To kickstart the Club’s advocacy, members were surveyed to determine their top transport priorities and 85% agreed that fixing the Bruce Highway topped the list.
RACQ’s campaign to ‘Fix the Bruce’ was supported by leading organisations including the Qld Farmers Federation, Qld Trucking Association, Local Government Association of Qld, Royal Australasian College of Surgeons Qld, and Qld Tourism Industry Council.
RACQ Managing Director and Group CEO David Carter said these organisations, united in a common purpose, called on the Federal Government to commit to a long-term funding plan and pay for 80% of future upgrades on the Bruce.
“Our advocacy team held countless meetings with politicians, hosted media events and undertook extensive research to build a case for change,” Mr Carter said.
“We made sure our campaign was strong, and evidence-based.
“In January 2025, the Federal Government answered Queensland’s calls to Fix the Bruce, committing to fund 80% of future upgrades to ensure all sections of the Bruce achieve a minimum of three out of five stars for safety. The State Government committed to funding 20% of the total package worth $9 billion.
“When New South Wales and Victoria had their major national highways fixed, the Federal Government covered at least 80% of the funding needed; now it’s the Bruce’s turn for serious funding. This is a big win for Queenslanders.
“I’d like to personally thank the hard work of our Advocacy team, led by General Manager Joshua Cooney, as well as all the highly respected Queensland organisations that joined our calls for a safer Bruce Highway.
“We acknowledge that many members of local communities in regional Queensland were also vocal about the need for investment. That just reinforced to us how important fixing the Bruce is to Queensland.”
To understand what upgrading the highway to three stars for safety means, you have to understand the AusRAP Star Rating system.
The system produces a star safety rating for each road section by assessing more than 60 different road attributes, including lane and shoulder widths, road surface, sign and line-marking condition and quality, speed limits, traffic volumes, overtaking lanes and the safety of roadsides and intersections.
RACQ’s Traffic and Safety Engineering Manager Gregory Miszkowycz said depending on the design and quality, these attributes could increase or decrease the chances of a crash occurring on a road, and a crash’s severity.
“Under the AusRAP system, significant lengths of the Bruce Highway are rated at just two out of five stars for road infrastructure safety,” Mr Miszkowycz said.
The system produces a star safety rating for each road section by assessing more than 60 different road attributes, including lane and shoulder widths, road surface, sign and line-marking condition and quality, speed limits, traffic volumes, overtaking lanes and the safety of roadsides and intersections.
RACQ’s Traffic and Safety Engineering Manager Gregory Miszkowycz said depending on the design and quality, these attributes could increase or decrease the chances of a crash occurring on a road, and a crash’s severity.
“Under the AusRAP system, significant lengths of the Bruce Highway are rated at just two out of five stars for road infrastructure safety,” Mr Miszkowycz said.
“Many of these sections featured narrow lanes and bridges, high speed limits, poor road surfaces, dangerous roadsides and little to no overtaking lanes, increasing the chances of a crash and its severity.”
Mr Miszkowycz said RACQ would now continue its work on the Bruce Highway Advisory Council to ensure upgrades are prioritised along the highest risk areas.
“Upgrading these roads to three stars or above could mean the widening of lanes and shoulders, removing roadside hazards, installing safety barriers or widening centre lines to separate oncoming traffic, and adding overtaking lanes,” he said.
“As a general rule of thumb, for every increase in star rating, it is estimated that the cost of fatal and serious injury crashes will be reduced by approximately 50%.”
Mr Carter thanked RACQ members for their support.
“It’s through your membership that we are able to advocate on issues that are important to Queenslanders, and this is a great example of that work,” Mr Carter said.
“We also acknowledge the former and current State Governments’ commitment and efforts to fight for increased funding for the Bruce and detailed project planning done to date.
For more information about RACQ’s advocacy campaign visit FixTheBruce.com.
It’s through your membership that we are able to advocate on issues that are important to Queenslanders, and this is a great example of that work,
