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Black Spot Program

The Black Spot Program is an annual infrastructure investment program that:

  • aims to improve road safety and significantly reduce road crashes and trauma
  • directly targets improvements on high-risk roads or roads with proven crash history.

The program is very effective in reducing the risk of crashes and enhancing road safety. It does this by implementing affordable, high-impact projects. These projects aim to prevent fatalities and injury crashes within the community.

The Australian Government funds the Black Spot Program. Funding is subject to the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development's approval.

Everyone is encouraged to nominate a black spot to the Department for Infrastructure and Transport. This includes:

  • local road authorities
  • community groups
  • associations
  • road user groups
  • industry
  • individuals.

Update on 2025–2026 program

The 2025–2026 program was approved in November 2025. See the list of approved projects.

Nominations for 2026–2027 program

The Black Spot Program aims to significantly reduce serious road casualties on South Australian roads.

Nominations for the 2026–2027 program have closed and are being assessed.

Nominating a Black Spot

Everyone is encouraged to submit a nomination. You can nominate either:

  • directly using the nomination form and guidelines on this page
  • through the relevant road authority:
    • For arterial roads and highways, email the Department for Infrastructure and Transport at DIT.SABlackspots@sa.gov.au.
    • For local roads, contact the relevant council. Find the appropriate council with the Location SA Viewer.

What to consider before nominating

  • Identify the road safety issue you believe is associated with the site.
  • Contact and consult with the local road authority.
  • Determine the casualty crash rate at the site within the last 5 years (2020–2024).

Black Spot Program projects do not include:

  • red light or speed cameras
  • vegetation control
  • maintenance concerns.

Determining the casualty crash rate

A casualty crash is defined as either a fatal or an injury crash. It excludes crashes with only vehicle or property damage.

In urban areas over the last 5 years, check if there's been either:

  • 3 or more casualty crashes at an intersection or length less than 3 km
  • 0.2 crashes per km per year for a length longer than 3 km.

In rural areas over the last 5 years, check if there's been either:

  • 2 or more casualty crashes at an intersection or length less than 3 km
  • 0.13 crashes per km per year for a length longer than 3 km.

For crash rate calculations, refer to the urban and rural boundary map (PDF, 838.1 KB). This map was last updated in July 2024.

How to apply for funding

Step 1: Read criteria and guidelines
Step 2: Review additional information for nominations

The crash data is confidential. The data belongs to SA Police and is for analysing crashes only. Crash data is often preliminary and may change as investigations are undertaken.

You must not share the data, username or password.

To request access, email DIT.SABlackspots@sa.gov.au with your full name, position and email address.

Step 3: Complete and submit nomination forms

You must use these templates, forms and supporting information to prepare nominations.

Incomplete or late nominations will not be considered.

Email completed nomination forms with supporting information to DIT.SABlackspots@sa.gov.au.

Nomination form

Supporting information

For reactive projects, you must provide the benefit-cost ratio (BCR) based on crash history with your nomination.

You can use one of these methods to calculate the BCR to determine the highest benefit:

  • Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics (BITRE) method
  • Austroads crash type method.

You must use the latest BCR spreadsheet. It adopts BITRE's crash cost methods and Austroads' updated crash type costs methods. This makes the BCR method consistent with those used in other road safety programs.

Please enable the macros before using these spreadsheets.

Step 4: Assessment and approval

The South Australian Consultative Black Spot Panel assesses and endorses recommended nominations for the program. The Australian Government will then consider and approve these nominations.

Panel members include:

  • Representative for the South Australian Minister for Road Safety
  • Representatives from the Local Government Association
  • Royal Automobile Association of South Australia
  • Bicycle SA
  • South Australian Freight Council
  • South Australian Road Transport Association
  • Traffic Management Association of Australia
  • Australian Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications
  • South Australian Department for Infrastructure and Transport.

Nominations for level crossing-related projects are reviewed separately from road nominations. This is due to the specific risks at level crossings.

Program administration

The Department for Infrastructure and Transport will assess and recommend projects. The Australian Government will provide final approval.

Councils that receive Black Spot Program funding must enter into a funding deed with the Department.

Administration forms

Once projects are approved and underway, please use the following administration forms.

Step 5: Provide additional information for physically completed projects

Once the project is physically completed, you must provide the following before funds can be released.

For projects that are fully funded by the Australian Government, refer to their Building Australia signage guidelines (PDF, 18.9 MB).

Provide other reporting to the Department for Infrastructure and Transport's contact. When you do this, make sure you follow the funding deed or other requirements. This includes the physical and financial status of the project.

Approved programs for South Australia

For Road Safety Audits and Restricted Access Vehicle Routes Assessments, find the list of prequalified auditors and assessors on the Department's website.

Contact

For information about the Black Spot Program and project nominations, contact:

Department for Infrastructure and Transport
GPO Box 1533, Adelaide SA 5001
Email: DIT.SABlackspots@sa.gov.au