Understanding the Road Management Act and Road Management Plans (RMP)
The Road Management Act 2004 (Vic) establishes a coordinated framework for managing public roads, clarifying responsibilities between authorities and setting out principles for inspection, maintenance, and repair. A key feature of the Act is the ability for councils to adopt a Road Management Plan, which outlines:
- councils may adopt a road management plan;
- a RMP may outline inspection regimes, standards for maintenance and response times for related issues; and
- implementing a RMP is voluntary but provides protection against litigation claims when implemented properly and consistently.
Recent updates to RMPs
Victorian councils play a critical role in maintaining safe public roads and footpaths. With recent updates to RMPs across municipalities, now is the time to revisit how these changes impact liability in personal injury claims, particularly slip and trip incidents.
Councils across Victoria have recently completed their mandatory four-year reviews of RMPs, as required under the Road Management (General) Regulations 2016. These updates reflect:
- Improved service standards for inspections and maintenance.
- Adjusted intervention thresholds, often lowering the tolerance for defects such as raised pavers or uneven surfaces.
- Extended or clarified response times to align with resource constraints and new consent protocols for works within road reserves.
- Enhanced documentation and compliance measures, informed by legal and risk management advice.
For example, some councils have doubled inspection frequencies for high-use footpaths, introduced night safety checks, and refined criteria for when repairs must occur.
Implications for personal injury claims
- Updated RMPs can significantly strengthen defence against findings of liability in instances of personal injury.
- They may provide clearer benchmarks for constitutes 'reasonable maintenance'.
- Provides clarification around intervention levels for hazards.
- Documentation of evidence of compliance with inspection and repair obligations.
- Risk of lower intervention thresholds, and incongruity between RMP commitments and actual practice may increase exposure to liability.
Final thoughts for councils
MinterEllison's local government team may advise councils on:
- Compliance audits: reviewing whether current practices align with the updated RMP and identifying gaps in inspection or repair processes.
- Documentation: ensuring inspection records, maintenance logs, and intervention decisions are properly documented and retrievable for litigation purposes.
- Policies: what is considered a 'policy' for the purpose of the RMA, and what is binding on a council.
- Risk assessment for footpaths and shared footpaths, prioritising high risk falls areas.
- Claims management, risk mitigation and defence, advising on statutory notice requirements and strategies for responding to claims.
- Training and policy development, and helping staff understand legal obligations.
