Get ready for Waymo's autonomous cars on Australian roads – report

Waymo is looking to test its autonomous vehicles on public roads in Australia later this year, with reports suggesting it’s in discussions with the federal government to begin trials.

According to The Sizzle, Waymo – owned by Alphabet, the parent company of Google – has held meetings with federal government officials to discuss trials of its autonomous cars on public roads as soon as this year.

The company has reportedly held a private, preliminary briefing with federal Transport Minister Catherine King as part of the process.

There’s no word on exactly where or when Waymo may roll out on local roads, with the service already testing outside its US base in cities including London and Tokyo.

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“While we are eager to bring the Waymo Driver to more people in more places, we do not have specific plans or a timeline to share regarding Waymo’s future in Australia at this time,” a Waymo spokesperson said, according to The Sizzle.

It follows confirmation in 2025 from Transport for NSW that it had scheduled talks with Waymo to discuss its future in Australia.

Based in Silicon Valley in California, Waymo was formed in 2009 as the Google Self-Driving Car Project before being rebranded as Waymo in 2016.

Waymo has been involved in a series of widely reported incidents, which has included its vehicles driving passengers into a police standoff, driving the wrong way down a street, performing an illegal U-turn in front of police, and blocking a cul-de-sac. Waymo robotaxis have also been blamed for hitting a dog, running over a cat, and striking a cyclist.

Despite this, it’s fared better than General Motors’ autonomous vehicle division, Cruise, which had its licence to operate suspended by the US state of California in 2023 before GM shut down the project entirely the following year, costing it billions.

Research conducted by iSelect in September 2025 found nearly half of the 500 respondents surveyed in Australia were opposed to the idea of fully driverless cars operating in their local area.

The Australian Government is scheduled to announce a new Automated Vehicle Safety Law (AVSL) in 2027, intended to provide a national framework for autonomous vehicles. MORE: Watch how a Tesla with Full Self-Driving handles being run off the road