A review has recommended changes to the way police manage pursuits, including giving senior officers travelling as passengers in a patrol car the authority to call off a chase.
The policy review is the fourth in six years and comes as police grapple with a spate of pursuit-related deaths, including nine since January.
The national manager of road policing, Superintendent Paula Rose, says most of the recommended changes will simply make current rules more explicit.
However, a senior officer in a pursuit car will now be allowed to call off a chase if he or she believes the risk is sufficiently high, rather than waiting for the communications controller to do so.
Chases must also cease if police know who the alleged offender is, or if police lose sight of the fleeing car.
Police say the question of pursuits is complex because it must balance law enforcement with public safety.
