START 2026 - NZ Delegation Report

+ Inside South Australia's Roadworks Portal

In March 2026, TTM-ISG led a delegation of 14 New Zealand representatives to the Traffic Management Association of Australia's (TMAA's) inaugural START Conference in Adelaide. The two-day event brought together industry leaders, innovators, and suppliers from across Australia, with a programme focused on emerging technologies, best-practice traffic management strategies, and the evolving standards shaping safer, smarter roadworks.

High calibre of presentations ranged from innovation trials such as TMR's End of Queue safety project from TMR  (YouTube clip) to Austroads updates on the National Harmonisation of TM Practice, to safety and injury management strategies backed by data analysis.

Past Chair of TTM-ISG Dave Tilton (Parallaxx) presented the work he has been involved in reviewing TM maturity in global jurisdictions.
This work continues in the PIARC online workshop series for Workzone Safety and Management

The TMAA Excellence Awards were also a highlight, recognising leadership by people and organisations across Australia, with the full range of categories allowing organisations large and small to be recognised for excellence and innovation. TTM-ISG committee member Betty Mitrova of Downer had contributed as part of the judging panel, again demonstrating the strengthening trans-Tasman relationship.    

Alongside the conference, the ISG arranged networking for delegates and a very informative site visit to the South Australian Traffic Operations Centre, where the delegation received an in-depth presentation on the Roadworks Portal developed for the Department of Infrastructure and Transport (DIT).

The portal is a mature, rules-driven system managing all temporary traffic management access to the state highway network, processing over 44,000 applications annually.

Simon has prepared a summary report of the DIT meeting, capturing key learnings relevant to New Zealand's own TTM transition. The full report is available to download below.

Download the full report below.