Rush hour traffic gridlock on busy Sydney main road.
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Sweeping changes will be made across the country on July 1, affecting everything from the National Minimum Wage, to superannuation and paid parental leave.

New road rules will come into effect around Australia, most of them specific to individual states.

Here’s everything you need to know about the changes coming into effect on Tuesday.

Rush hour traffic gridlock on busy Sydney main road.
Sweeping changes will be made across the country on July 1, affecting drivers around Australia. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

In NSW, all penalties, fees and charges will increase by 3.2 per cent on July 1 in line with the Consumer Price Index.

For example, the fine for illegal use of a mobile phone while driving will jump from $410 to $423.

Existing mobile phone detection cameras will be also used to catch drivers who fail to wear a seatbelt from July 1.

NSW will also switch on average speed cameras for some light vehicles – specifically cars and motorbikes – and eliminate ticketless fines.

Toll increases on some of Sydney’s motorways, including the M7, M2, M5 South West, NorthConnex, Lane Cove Tunnel, Eastern Distributor and the Cross City Tunnel, will also take effect on July 1.

Queensland will reduce speed limits from 50km/h to 40km/h in some busy areas and increase fines and car registration by 3.4 per cent on July 1.

For example, the illegal mobile phone use fine which currently sits at $1209 will rise to $1250.

Mid adult man putting the seat in the car
Mid adult man putting the seat in the car (Getty)

As part of the expansion of Road Rule 79A, drivers in Victoria will be required to slow down to 40kmph while passing some roadside vehicles from July 1 or face fines up to $961.

That includes assistance vehicles, tow trucks, and emergency incident response vehicles that are flashing lights or sounding their alarm on any roads.

Motorists in SA are required to slow down to 25kmph while passing stationary roadside, emergency, or breakdown vehicles flashing their lights on multi-lane roads.

Failure to comply may incur fines of up to $1895 and up to nine demerit points.

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Hundreds of roads across WA will have their speed limits reduced, with some dropping from 60kmph to 50kmph and others in high pedestrian areas going as low as 40kmph.

Harsher penalties will also apply for illegal mobile phone use and extreme speeding, with fines up to $700 for the former and $1600 for the latter.

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