Waymo plans to test self-driving cars in Australia this year, documents reveal

Waymo has told the federal government that it wants to start trialling self-driving cars in Australia this year, internal documents show.

Staff from Google’s autonomous vehicle company have repeatedly met with high-level public servants and have even held a “confidential briefing” about its plans to launch in 2026 with the office of federal transport minister Catherine King.

These documents are the first official acknowledgement from Waymo’s side about its Australian ambitions, and show that the company is already working through how to import and trial its self-driving cars.

“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,” Waymo spokesperson Ethan Teicher said. 

I first reported last year that Transport for NSW had begun very early level talks with Waymo, which has already rolled out a functional robotaxi service in a number of US cities and is testing in international cities like London and Tokyo. 

Now, emails from the federal department of transport that I obtained through a freedom of information request (uploaded below) show that Waymo was working with the government for most of 2025. 

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