Canberra, Jul 24 (IANS): Road deaths in Australia continue to rise, marking a failure to improve road safety, a new report revealed on Monday.

According to the new Benchmarking of the National Road Safety Strategy report, which was published by the Australian Automobile Association (AAA), 1,205 people died on Australian roads in the 12 months to the end of June, reports Xinhua news agency.

It marked an increase of 3.2 per cent from the previous year.

The new report shows that Australia is far from on course to meet the strategy's targets of halving road deaths by 2030 and reducing serious injuries by 30 per cent over that period.

Michael Bradley, Managing Director of the AAA, criticised the federal government, calling for data that track serious injuries, urban road deaths and national highway deaths per annum to be made available.

"You can't improve what you don't measure, and when it comes to road trauma, the Australian government is measuring very little," he said in a statement.

He said a new approach is needed, starting with national statistics to guide law enforcement, road investment, and policy change.