Safety on our Songlines: Equity in First Nations road safety

This project is a collaboration between Murris on the Move Driving School and Queensland University of Technology, to improve road safety outcomes with First Nations communities. It aims to co-adapt the Pre-Learner Driver Education Program (PrepL) for cultural relevance with the Cherbourg community and co-develop the blueprints of a data sovereignity internal booking system for future development and implementation into other First Nation communities.

The project prioritises community leadership, centres First Nations ways of knowing, being and doing, in addition to aligning with the National Road Safety Strategy.

Participants

• iMOVE Australia
• Murris on the Move (MOTM)
• Queensland University of Technology

Project background

Aim 1: Co-adapt the PrepL to better serve Queensland’s First Peoples in remote communities.

The current format of the PrepL program presents significant barriers to equitable licensing due to its reliance on standard Australian English, text-heavy formatting, the need for internet access, evidence of identity and lack of cultural or contextual relevance for First People learners, particularly those from remote communities.

These inequities contribute to broader road safety inequities by creating structural barriers that prevent First Peoples from completing the test and obtaining a driver licence. This directly aligns with the National Road Safety Action Plan 2023–2025, particularly Priority Action 3.1 and 4.4, which call for addressing licensing inequities and ensuring culturally appropriate solutions.

Driver’s licences are essential for accessing education, employment, and health services, as well as maintaining cultural and family responsibilities and having agency.

As a result, individuals who are unable to pass the PrepL test may drive unlicensed, increasing their risk of legal penalties, criminalisation, and unsafe driving conditions which exacerbates existing disparities in road trauma, justice involvement, and health outcomes for First Peoples.

This project aims addresses Priority Action 1.3 by targeting the structural drivers of road trauma overrepresentation and aligns with Priority Action 5.2 through its community-led, culturally grounded approach that centres Indigenous leadership and lived experience in the design of licensing support systems.

Aim 2: Enhance the Indigenous Data Sovereignty (IDS) of MOTM by co-developing a blueprint of an internal booking system.

Currently, MOTM, does not hold full sovereignty over their client’s information which undermines Indigenous self-determination, perpetuates systemic inequities, and reinforces colonial power dynamics in the road safety space.

The absence of IDS means that culturally specific information is often interpreted, stored, and used through non-Indigenous frameworks, resulting in misrepresentation, erasure of cultural context, and decisions that may not align with community values or priorities.

This directly contradicts Priority Action 5.1 of the National Road Safety Action Plan 2023–2025, which calls for improved data practices that support targeted solutions for priority populations. This absence of data sovereignty has tangible, high-stakes consequences for First Peoples within the road safety context.

In the context of road trauma, First People’s data is often collected and analysed without meaningful community consultation or transparency, leading to interventions that are not culturally relevant and fail to address the root causes of road risk — such as access to licensing, safe infrastructure, or community-led mobility needs — and may rather than empower communities.

This project aligns with Priority Actions 5.2 and 1.3 by embedding Indigenous governance and data sovereignty principles in its design, ensuring that any analysis, program development, or policy advocacy is community-controlled, culturally safe, and driven by First Nations leadership. By reclaiming data governance, MOTM ensures that road safety solutions do not pathologise but instead empower First Peoples through truthful, respectful, and community-driven narratives.

Project objectives

The overall goal of the collaboration is to build a program of research of road safety for Australia’s First Peoples. This project is the first step towards our goal. Through an iterative co-design process, it aims to:

1. Co-adapt the PrepL to better serve Queensland’s First Peoples in the remote community of Cherbourg; and
2. Co-develop blueprints of an internal booking system with First Nations peoples, and end-users, ensuring MOTM data sovereignty for generations to come.

Technologically, the project will drive innovation by co-creating and adapting a blueprint of MOTM digital platforms that are designed with, for and by First Peoples users enabling a unique future market opportunity in the development and delivery of culturally responsive digital tools and services tailored specifically for remote First Peoples and their communities.

Please note …

This page will be a living record of this project. As it matures, hits milestones, etc., we’ll continue to add information, links, images, interviews and more. Watch this space!