44 Bowen Street
Private Bag 6995
Wellington 6141
New Zealand
T 64 4 894 5400
F 64 4 894 6100
www.nzta.govt.nz
17 January 2024
Shayne Plummer
[FYI request #24907 email]
REF: OIA-14168
Dear Shayne
Request made under the Official Information Act 1982
Thank you for your email
of 28 November 2023 requesting the fol owing information under the Official
Information Act 1982 (the Act):
A published online link or copy of NZTA internal policy documentation affirming NZTA's
statutory responsibility to ensure that Austroads road design standards are fol owed by Road
Control ing Authorities, namely Councils, for all public road construction projects in New
Zealand.
Confirmation that NZTA's "Business case requirements" explicitly include the obligation to
adhere to or meet Austroads road design guidelines for best practice.
Published online link or copy of NZTA internal policy documentation confirming that road
safety audits, concept audits, and design audits must align with 'Austroads road design'
guidelines for best practice, referencing NZTA's published Austroad guidelines.
Furthermore, I request information regarding NZTA's practice of reviewing business case
requirements and any associated "exceptions" or "exception reports" before granting approval
for funding release. If available, please provide a published online link or a copy of relevant
NZTA internal policy documentation.
I have addressed each part of your request in turn below.
A published online link or copy of NZTA internal policy documentation affirming NZTA's
statutory responsibility to ensure that Austroads road design standards are fol owed by Road
Control ing Authorities, namely Councils, for all public road construction projects in New
Zealand.
There is no statutory responsibility for NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) to use Austroads
road design standards in its investment decisions, nor is there a condition on funding that Road
Control ing Authorities (RCAs) must use NZTA approved standards.
As NZTA has no statutory responsibility to ensure adherence to the Austroads road design standards,
this part of your request is refused under section 18(e) as the document alleged to contain the
information does not exist.
With that said, NZTA is an active member of Austroads and as such, contributes to and utilises,
wherever possible and practical, the practices of this organisation. NZTA uses the Austroads guide to
road design as the primary reference guideline for our road network.
You can view the Austroads guides and supplementary guidance on the NZTA website
here. Confirmation that NZTA's "Business case requirements" explicitly include the obligation to
adhere to or meet Austroads road design guidelines for best practice.
As advised in the response to the above question, there is no statutory obligation that NZTA must
ensure adherence to Austroads design standards.
The approach NZTA takes to standards within its business case approach is available on its website
here. This page lists the technical requirements that NZTA projects must follow, set out by the
Business Case Approach (BCA) phase. NZTA suppliers are required to comply with these except
when varied within the scope of a contract.
Unless specified elsewhere, there is no expectation that these requirements wil be fol owed by
approved organisations (i.e., local road controlling authorities). However, approved organisations can
follow the references and standards listed on the page linked above if they choose, or they may use a
local equivalent where available.
Published online link or copy of NZTA internal policy documentation confirming that road
safety audits, concept audits, and design audits must align with 'Austroads road design'
guidelines for best practice, referencing NZTA's published Austroad guidelines.
NZTA uses the Safe System audit, previously known as a road safety audit, to understand the safety
risks of a project. This audit is not a design check against standards. Rather, it is a formal, robust
technical assessment of transport safety risks associated with transport improvement and renewal
projects that:
• Are completed by independent and qualified audit teams,
• Consider the safety of al people,
• Are completed by applying Safe System principles while seeking to ensure that the transport
network wil operate as safely as practicable by eliminating fatal and serious injury crash
potential.
The objective of the Safe System audit is to identify opportunities for improved safety for al people.
This audit process provides a method for better managing safety with the aim to ultimately eliminate
fatal and serious injuries. Safe System audits are applicable to al types of transport projects and on al
types of roads and streets. Projects can be as smal as a pedestrian crossing, a set of raised safety
platforms, or as large as an expressway.
NZTA requires that these audit procedures be applied to any improvement or renewal project or
activity that involves funding assistance from the National Land Transport Fund (NLTF).
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More information about the Safe System audit is available online at the fol owing links:
•
Safe System audit
•
Safe System audit guidelines for transport projects
Further, Austroads has also published road safety audit procedures which continue to serve as
additional guidance for New Zealand. At present, the published Austroads procedures do not include
the Safe System Assessment Framework and are therefore not reflective of the desired New Zealand
practice at the current time. However, Austroads provide extensive technical practice notes on the
area of Safe System Assessment Framework and reference to these documents is stil recommended.
This part of your request is refused under section 18(e) of the Act as NZTA does not have any
documentation stating audits must align with Austroads road design.
Furthermore, I request information regarding NZTA's practice of reviewing business case
requirements and any associated "exceptions" or "exception reports" before granting approval
for funding release. If available, please provide a published online link or a copy of relevant
NZTA internal policy documentation.
As an Investor, NZTA requires that every Business Case wil have an Investment Quality Assurance
(IQA) undertaken on it to provide assurance that the Business Case approach has been followed. The
IQA forms part of the funding request, and wil highlight key considerations, conditions, risks and
actions required for decision makers to be aware of prior to granting approval for funding release.
The IQA is carried out as part of completing the Request for VOS Decision form, which is required as
part of the Value, Outcomes and Scope (VOS) approach necessary for any project funded by the
National Land Transport Fund (NLTF). The VOS Decision form is then submitted to the VOS
Committee for consideration.
A copy of the VOS Decision form is provided in the fol owing attachment:
• VOS Decision Form.pdf
The IQA section can be found on page 8 of this form.
Further, copies of internal guidance about the VOS approach are also provided in the following
attachments:
• VOS approach.pdf
• High level overview of the VOS process.pdf
• Request for VOS Decision Guide.pdf
As a road control ing authority, NZTA requires its own activities to conform to the relevant standards
and guidelines set out on our website and our contracts. Any deviation or non-conformance to
specified standards is required to utilise the relevant departures process as part of the design
development. These departures are sought independently of the investment decision making
requirements.
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Under section 28 of the Act, you have the right to ask the Ombudsman to review my decision to refuse
part of your request. The contact details for the Ombudsman can be located at
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz.
As noted in our acknowledgement email of 28 November 2023, the information requested contains
names of NZTA staff. As we have not received a response as to whether the inclusion of names is
required, we have deemed these to be out of scope of your request.
If you would like to discuss this reply with NZTA, please contact Ministerial Services by email at
[NZTA request email]. Yours sincerely
Vanessa Browne
National Manager Programme and Standards
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