Australia's transport ministers have formally announced that they will introduce new legislation that will pave the way for the formulation of new national driving laws for autonomous vehicles. As part of a co-ordinated and joint approach from a number of states and territories in the country - a new national law is expected to be drafted into place by 2020.

The Smart Cities Council and Green Building Council of Australia have released a new standard of practice to address issues like enhanced telecommunications connectivity, data insights, digital planning practices and innovation districts.

Australia’s largest smart city project, which plans to establish Darwin as a ”smart, livable, productive and sustainable capital city”.

An Australian city has chosen an innovative Internet of Things platform which will deploy a network of environmental sensors that will relay real-time data on air quality, urban heat and noise. The 'Reekoh IoT' platform has been selected as part of the Technology for Urban Liveability Project (TULIP) which is based in Sydney.

An Australian city has announced it will commence the deployment of sensor gateways as part of its efforts to build infrastructure that will place the region at the forefront of Australian smart cities.

Government representatives at both a national and local level are collaborating with entrepreneurs and the University of Adelaide as part of a collective effort to transform Adelaide into a 'smart city'. The initiative is part of an overall program launched by the new Australian Smart Cities Consortium.

Australian telecommunications incumbent Telstra has joined forces with the New South Wales government and a number of technology partners to launch the first driverless vehicle in the state. The consortium has begun trials on the autonomous car, which covers vehicle-to-pedestrian technology. It is expected that the trial will run over a two-year period at Sydney Olympic Park.

Australian telecommunications incumbent Telstra has announced that it is testing 5G-enabled Wi-Fi hotspots on two streets in Gold Coast in an effort to give users a taste of 5G as it evaluates its next move in relation to next-generation mobile technology.

In New South Wales (NSW), Australia, where it is only legal to use mobile phones hands-free while driving, AI-powered cameras have been installed on the roads to ensure compliance by detecting drivers using a mobile phone behind the wheel.

One of Australia's leading telecommunication companies has announced that it will launch a new IoT lab which has been described as a 'game changer' for the country's IoT ecosystem. Telstra Corporation Limited - is one of Australia's largest and most successful telecommunications and media organizations.

Cubic Transportation Systems’ (CTS) contactless payment system has expanded to Sydney’s train network. Heralded as a “game-changer for transport”, it will give commuters a wider choice to pay for ticketing including credit cards, smart watches, wearables and other electronic devices.

Transport for New South Wales’ plans to roll out the new contactless payment system follows its success on ferries and light rail. In 2017, the Manly Ferry was the first to receive the open payment system in a trial started by the project. As of March this year, more than 235,000 trips have been taken using the contactless payment technology.

“Expanding contactless in Sydney is a game-changer for transport and represents one of the biggest advancements in ticketing technology in years,” said Tom Walker, senior vice president and managing director of CTS, Asia-Pacific.

“We’re very proud that Sydney is helping to lead the way by embracing new technologies to provide the best services possible for passengers.”

The system is based on ticketing technology Cubic pioneered with Transport for London. Following its success in Australia, some of the contactless technology, software and equipment developed for Sydney will also be included in other cities such as New York, Boston and San Francisco in upcoming Cubic projects.

Google have announced they are partnering with bike rental company Lime.

Melbourne is mapping all its trees, vegetation and shrubs within the city in an effort to better understand where its trees are growing and which areas need more attention.

Australian telecom operator Optus has announced a $20 million investment in its mobile network across the Gold Coast ahead of the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games (GC2018). As part of the investment Optus will build new mobile towers to improve coverage at Carrara Stadium (two sites), the Commonwealth Games Village, Currumbin and Main Beach.

The FTTH Council Asia Pacific crowned Singapore as the city with the most advanced Fibre-to-the-Home coverage in the region.

A South Australian water utility firm has said that integrating smart technology into its underground water network system has proactively identified and repaired potential leaks and breaks before they escalated which would ultimately affect thousands of customers and commuters.

Australian telecom operator Optus announced a further $17.5 million commitment to improve 4G mobile coverage in the Australian island state of Tasmania. The investment will deliver improved call quality and faster download speeds for mobile customers in and around the capital Hobart, Launceston, Devonport and Tasmania's east coast.

Parking management technology developer 'Smart Parking' has officially deployed its Internet of Things-based parking solution in the Australian city of Casey. The cutting-edge solution specifically designed to transform your parking experience consists of 904 'Smart Parking vehicle detection sensors which are used in order to monitor space availability and mobility bays.

Vodafone Australia plans to roll out FDD Massive MIMO technology to selected mobile sites during 2018. The company has taken the next steps in the advancement of its mobile network performance by successfully conducting its first field demonstration of Massive Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) using a Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) band.

Vodafone Australia unveiled plans to deliver "much needed simplicity" and service innovation for customers connecting to the nbn ("Australia's new broadband network" replacing parts of the existing phone and internet infrastructure) in a bid to lift the fixed broadband experience in the country.