Australian Fleet Managers are balancing safety, operating costs and rising service expectations, according to new research from Geotab.
The Geotab Report 2026: Connected Fleets in Australia surveyed 517 Australian Fleet Managers, executives and mobile-business professionals about the technologies they use, the challenges they face and the outcomes they have achieved.
Across the survey, driver fatigue and safety emerged as the leading challenge, nominated by 67% of respondents. Meeting customer demands and expectations followed at 64%, while fuel costs were identified by 60%.
Inefficiencies in scheduling and dispatching and labour costs were each nominated by 59% of respondents.
The results reinforce how broad the modern Fleet Manager role has become. Fleet teams are no longer focused only on acquiring vehicles, organising servicing and controlling fuel expenditure. They are increasingly involved in workplace safety, service delivery, compliance, workforce productivity and technology.
Geotab Senior Vice President, Global Markets Sean Killen said the role of fleet technology had changed alongside these responsibilities.
“Today, that paradigm has shifted entirely. The modern Australian fleet is no longer just a collection of vehicles; it is a high-speed data ecosystem.”
Different fleets, different pressures
The challenges also change according to fleet size.
Among small businesses with between one and 29 vehicles, 68% of respondents nominated driver fatigue and safety as a daily challenge.
The increasing complexity of service offerings was identified by 66%, while 61% pointed to inefficiencies in scheduling and dispatching.
Fuel remained significant, with 56% of small fleet respondents identifying it as a challenge. Compliance and increased regulatory requirements were each nominated by 54%.
For enterprise fleets with 150 or more vehicles, customer expectations moved to the top of the list.
Meeting customer demands and expectations was nominated by 72% of enterprise respondents, followed by driver fatigue and safety and fuel, both at 66%.
Labour costs were identified by 62%, while 60% nominated compliance.
Enterprise fleets were also dealing with issues that become more significant as fleet scale increases. Some 58% identified inaccurate tax credit claims as a challenge, while 52% nominated a shortage of quality drivers or technicians.
Fleet management becoming an operational function
The results suggest that the measures used to assess Fleet Managers are continuing to expand.
Vehicle availability and cost remain important, but the fleet function can also influence whether employees arrive safely, customers receive services on time and an organisation can demonstrate compliance.
For Fleet Managers, the important point is that the major pressures are interconnected.
Poor scheduling can increase kilometres travelled and fuel consumption. Driver shortages can increase pressure on existing employees. Rising customer expectations can encourage tighter delivery windows. Safety controls can affect insurance and incident costs.
Technology can provide more information about these issues, but the data alone does not resolve them. Fleet Managers still need policies, operating procedures and engagement with drivers and other stakeholders to turn information into measurable improvements.
The Geotab survey provides a useful benchmark for Fleet Managers reviewing their priorities: safety may remain the leading concern, but it increasingly sits alongside customer service, productivity and financial performance as part of the same fleet management conversation.
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