In the 12 months to March 31, 1326 people died in crashes across the country, 39 more than the previous corresponding period, according to data from the Australian Automobile Association (AAA)
Pedestrian deaths also surged by 16.4 per cent while cyclist deaths rose by 4.4 per cent.
This is the 34th consecutive month that Australia's 12-month deaths total rose, marking a 20.9 per cent rise since the federal government's 2021 road safety strategy was agreed to with the aim of eliminating all deaths and serious injuries by 2050.
In response, Australia's peak motoring body has urged the federal government to fund a pilot study of no-blame investigations of transport fatalities and probe the factors fuelling the nation's road toll.
"Many observers have different theories about why road deaths are rising nationally and why they are worse in some states than others," Australian Automobile Association managing director Michael Bradley said.
"We don't know who is right and we need more than guesswork to curb this growing crisis."
Australia already has bodies like the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, and the Australian Maritime Safety Authority, which investigate aviation and sea-related incidents.
But in its pre-budget submission, the AAA says extending the government's powers to probe other transport incidents would be a key starting point to understanding vehicle fatalities and create change.
The Northern Territory recorded the nation's highest rate of crash fatalities per 100,000 residents, even though the number of road deaths declined.
Tasmania had the second highest fatality rate, followed by WA, Queensland, South Australia, NSW, Victoria and the ACT.
Deaths involving heavy vehicles, pedestrians or e-mobility devices could be key areas of focus in this study.
Some academics have theorised the rising death toll could be caused by the increasing size of cars.
Four in five new cars sold in Australia are SUVs or utes, more than double the share 20 years ago, and bigger cars cause greater impacts in collisions, according to University of Melbourne associate engineering professor Milad Haghani.
The National Road Safety Strategy is also examining the impact of infrastructure planning, speed limits, heavy vehicles and risky road use.
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