About Us
The Australian Road Crash Reporting Guidelines are an initiative of The Road Trauma Support Group NSW, produced in collaboration with research agency FiftyFive5, part of Accenture Song and the lived experience of road trauma victims. A consultation on draft Guidelines in 2023 had a significant and generally positive response, and the constructive feedback we received from there, and subsequent conversations with media, policing, legal and road safety professionals, has informed the resulting Guidelines.
The Draft Guidelines were produced with media, legal, road policing, academic and road safety professionals. Many more organisations and individuals have been involved since the draft Guidelines' inception, and we are grateful to everyone - but the Guidelines and associated material were written independently of those individuals and their organisations.
The Guidelines’ ten clauses speak to core journalistic principles of accuracy, fairness, non-discrimination and justice and are intended to supplement existing codes of conduct.
We hope the guidelines will form an “Australian industry standard by consensus” to help facilitate the highest quality reporting in broadcasting, online and print.
The Road Trauma Support Group NSW
Formed in May 2021, The Road Trauma Support Group NSW (RTSG NSW) represents the interests and needs of victims of criminal road deaths. RTSG NSW supports and guides our members suffering road trauma-related challenges to reduce the pain and suffering experienced in dealing with and working through their loss.
RTSG NSW commissioned the expertise of an independent research agency, Fiftyfive5, to conduct a foundational piece of research to illuminate the reality of the experience for victims of criminal road trauma to identify key intervention points to help drive change and action.
This study aimed to understand the consequences of criminal road trauma - its scope, scale and impact on individuals, families and close associates- to design appropriate support services. In addition, the research was designed to identify insights into ways road trauma could be prevented through government and community-level reform. The Australian Road Crash Reporting Guidelines are a result of this initiative.