Traffic Management Plans & TGS — done right, first time.
Accredited TMP design, council and TfNSW approvals, AS 1742.3:2019 compliant drawings. Lodged fast, revised faster, delivered on site by the same team that drew them.
What is a TMP?
A Traffic Management Plan (TMP) is the approved document that sets out how a work site on or near a NSW road will be managed for every user of that road — drivers, riders, heavy vehicles, pedestrians, cyclists and emergency services. It describes the works, the risks, the staging, the controls, the contingency and the stakeholders. It is the plan the regulator reads before they let you shut a lane.
Under NSW regulations, a TMP is required whenever works occupy, narrow, divert or otherwise affect a road reserve. That catches almost every construction, utility and maintenance job — and a big share of events. The approving authority depends on the road: local roads are approved by the council road authority, while classified and state roads are approved by Transport for NSW, often with NSW Police input on intersection closures.
A compliant TMP contains the scope and duration of work, a staging plan, the TGS drawings, speed-zone changes, pedestrian and cyclist provisions, incident response, stakeholder communications, and the qualifications of the designer and implementer. It is signed by a designer with the Prepare a Work Zone Traffic Management Plan (PWZ) unit of competency and references the current AS 1742.3:2019 and TCAWS manual.
What is a TGS?
A Traffic Guidance Scheme (TGS) is the working drawing used on site to actually set up and run the job. It is derived from the TMP — the TMP tells you what and why, the TGS shows the crew where every cone, sign, barrier and controller goes. Without a current TGS in the hand of the implementer, the job should not start.
The TGS is a scaled plan view of the work zone with all controls labelled: advance warning signs, approach tapers, lateral buffer, longitudinal buffer, work area, termination taper, lighting, delineation, pedestrian detour and controller positions. On bigger jobs the TGS is a drawing set — one per stage, plus details for swept paths, bus bypasses, night lighting and incident rollback.
Every TGS is drawn to AS 1742.3:2019 and the current TCAWS Issue 6.1. Taper lengths, buffer distances, sign spacing and cone spacing all flex with posted speed and road type. A TGS that ignores those numbers will fail the first site audit, so we design to the standard on day one rather than chasing redlines on day fifteen.
If in doubt, you probably need one.
These are the most common NSW scenarios that trigger a TMP, a TGS or both.
- Any lane closure on a classified or arterial road — council or TfNSW jurisdiction.
- Crane lift or concrete pour on a residential street that blocks a traffic lane or footpath.
- Utility works (water, gas, power, telco) requiring a road occupancy or footpath occupancy.
- Special events with more than 50 pedestrians crossing or disrupting a public road.
- Any road occupancy requiring a Road Occupancy Licence (ROL) via TfNSW OPLINC.
- Night works, weekend works or shutdowns with staged lane reductions.
- Bus-route diversions, school-zone disruption or changes to signalised intersection operation.
- Any work zone on a road with posted speeds of 80 km/h or above.
- Heavy-vehicle deliveries requiring oversize, over-mass or swept-path management.
- Temporary pedestrian/cycle detours on shared paths, bridges or footpaths.
From brief to boots-on-ground.
One team, five steps — designed to land approval on the first submission.
Brief
Share the scope, road, staging and dates. We scope the right plan type in a 20-minute call — no guessing, no inflated fees.
Design
Our TfNSW-accredited PWZ designer drafts the TMP and TGS set against AS 1742.3:2019 and TCAWS 6.1.
Stakeholder review
Circulate to council, TfNSW, NSW Police, bus operators and emergency services. We manage comments and revisions end-to-end.
Approval
Written approval in hand. If the job is on a classified road, we finalise the ROL via TfNSW OPLINC in parallel.
Delivery on site
ITCP-ticketed implementer sets up to the drawing. Same team on the phone if anything needs to flex on the day.
What we design against.
Every TMP and TGS we issue cites and conforms to the current NSW regulatory framework. Nothing goes out the door signed off against a superseded standard.
- AS 1742.3:2019Manual of uniform traffic control devices — Traffic control for works on roads.
- TCAWS Issue 6.1Traffic Control at Work Sites — TfNSW technical manual for plan preparation and on-site control.
- OPLINC / ROLRoad Occupancy Licence via TfNSW OPLINC portal for any occupancy of classified roads.
- PWZ ticketPrepare a Work Zone Traffic Management Plan — unit of competency required for designers.
- ITCP ticketImplement Traffic Control Plans — unit of competency required for the on-site implementer.
Common TMP mistakes we fix.
Most rejected plans fall over in the same five places. We design past all of them.
Using a generic template on a TfNSW road
Classified and state roads need a plan designed for that corridor — speed, volume, sight distance and approach geometry all change the control measures. A drag-and-drop TMP will get bounced back from the Centre for Road Safety review team.
Missing swept-path analysis on heavy-vehicle jobs
Crane lifts, tilt-slab deliveries and oversize loads need a swept-path overlay on the TGS. Without it you cannot prove the plan is safe and the TMP will not close out.
Ignoring buffer, taper and longitudinal lengths
AS 1742.3:2019 sets minimum taper, buffer and longitudinal buffer distances by posted speed. Getting these wrong is the single most common reason a TGS fails a site audit.
Forgetting pedestrian and cyclist controls
A plan that only handles cars is only half a plan. Pedestrians, cyclists and mobility users need their own compliant detour — including tactile, lit and stepped-grade compliant routes.
No contingency for weather or incident
Every TMP needs a documented rollback: what happens if wind grounds the crane, or if a crash on the corridor forces an early removal. Reviewers look for this first on complex jobs.
How to get a TMP approved in NSW.
Five steps from brief to boots-on-ground, mapped to the HowTo structured data on this page.
- Step 01
Scope the works
Confirm road classification, posted speed, staging, duration, hours of work, and any special loads or plant. This drives which authority approves and what the TGS has to cover.
- Step 02
Design the TMP and TGS
A TfNSW-accredited designer (PWZ ticketed) drafts the TMP narrative and the TGS drawing set against AS 1742.3:2019 and TCAWS Issue 6.1.
- Step 03
Stakeholder review
Circulate to council, TfNSW, NSW Police, bus operators, emergency services or Sydney Coordination Office as required. Respond to comments, revise and resubmit.
- Step 04
Approval and ROL
Receive written approval. For classified-road works, finalise the Road Occupancy Licence (ROL) via TfNSW OPLINC before setup.
- Step 05
Implement and close out
Deliver the TGS on site with an ITCP-ticketed implementer, monitor, adjust and record. Lodge close-out documentation once works are complete.
The questions we get most.
Answers for project managers, superintendents and event organisers working NSW roads.
Frequently asked questions
Need a TMP or TGS? We'll have it in review by the end of the week.
Tell us the road, the scope and the date — you'll have a fixed-fee quote back today.