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G'day, Welcome to Wazeopedia Australia!

This vital resource serves to explain the unique editing rules that apply to all editors working on the Australian maps.

Are you a brand new editor to Waze? Take a look at the Waze Australia onboard process.

About Waze

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What The Australian Community Expects From You

This para serves as a guideline for all Wazers, willing to contribute to the Australian map.

Basically we follow general practices, and as an English speaking country we don't need translation of general content. Nevertheless we here in Australia decided to state, how we would like to see the work done.

• Every Wazer, regardless of their rank or origin, is encouraged and welcome to contribute to the Australian map. Nonetheless everyone is required to act in the here-stated manner and to follow the rules as stated in the Australian Wiki. Any rules/guidelines not covered herein will be available in the global Wiki.

• Contributers to the Australian map are also welcome to add the graphic to their (forum) signature to show their affiliation to the Australian Waze Community.

  

• We expect all map editors to regularly visit the Australian forum. Though we would appreciate a post from you too, you're not required to participate in the forum, but to keep in touch with the thoughts and various projects running in our community (i.e Servos, that's what we call a Petrol/Gas station here)

• Always keep in mind, that everyone of us is voluntarily giving their time to Waze. No-one is a Waze employee, so please respect that everybody has a private life too and consider this when expecting an answer - be it in the Forum or PM.

• Work together and not against one another. Always look at the time stamp, when considering to change existing elements. If it has been edited recently, it might still be under construction by the last editor. If you think, something has to be done immediately please get in contact with the last editor via PM.

• Don't leave "loose ends". The last editor of a segment is responsible for it. So if you choose to create a new segment or edit an existing make sure that you make it ready by adding street- and city name, proper label, turn restrictions. We don't expect you to do all at once - sometimes you will have to look for additional information or a feedback from the editor before you, but ensure to make all necessary adjustments at least within a month. Just performing slight geometry changes to snap off some points and edits is not our style here.
  • Special note: In accordance with the implementation of Google search and to get a working road grid as soon as possible, guest editors, wide area managers and country managers may choose to use the "no name" option when naming a street (or lower) to make them routable. To prevent smudged cities the city names are to be applied all times. Local editors are encouraged to add the proper street names as they see able to.

• We expect that all activities concerning Waze in Australia are carried out in a spirit of mutual respect and we want you to show it. So keep the wording nice and friendly - and don't be shy using the "thank you"-button if you get an answer to a question or help with a problem.

Waze Editing Philosophy

It's important to understand the purpose of Waze. Waze is NOT a general-purpose mapping application. It is designed specifically to assist drivers of motor vehicles to navigate to their objectives and to avoid traffic. In other words, it is a NAVIGATION app. The Waze map is not a topographic map; it is a specialised diagram providing navigation information. Edits to the map that do not support these goals in some way are strongly discouraged. Edits that detract from these goals, even unintentionally, do not belong at all. (See Misunderstanding Waze's purpose).

This is hinted at in the first two goals of Waze map editing - usability and simplicity. The map has to work for navigation, and it has to be no more complex than is needed to achieve that. Every extra road segment carries with it a number of costs:

• extra clutter on the map as seen in the app
• extra processing in the mobile device to determine which of many segments best matches the current position estimate, and to display the segments, resulting in extra heat and shorter battery life
• extra bandwidth needed to transfer the data to the app
• the big one: extra complexity for the routing server, potentially causing it to be unable to find a route in the time available
  

The cost for a single extra segment may not be significant, but when there is a high proportion of unnecessary segments, the cumulative cost becomes a concern.

There are a number of guidelines that have been developed to meet these goals:

• We do not represent roads as parallel one-way sections unless it's really needed. See Dual Carriageways
• We do not split roads into a Y-shape where they meet a roundabout. See Roundabouts
• We do not map every lane of a parking lot. See Parking Lot Roads
• We do not map turn lanes unless they are really needed. See Should the connector be mapped
• Most hiking and bicycling paths should not be on the map at all. See Pedestrian Paths
• In general, there is no reason to have multiple rail lines mapped. See Railroads
• We don't map small loops at the end of dead-end segments. See Cul-de-sacs
• we don't map short driveways. See Driveways

A good rule to bear in mind is: will the map generate the right instructions without the change I'm thinking of? If you are uncertain, ask for advice in the Australia forums.

New editors are often keen to add as much as possible to the map. The reality is that the established metro areas have been pretty comprehensively mapped, and you're unlikely to find much that needs doing. Focus on new housing developments, where the Waze map hasn't caught up. Oh, and remember that you mustn't copy information from other maps, only from what you can see in the editor or in real life. See External Sources and Map Editor - External Sources.

Topic List

Roads and Cities

• City Names
  • Duplicate Cities
• Abbreviations and Acronyms
• Road Names
• Cameras

Places

• Places Style Guide

Update Requests (URs)

• UR Management Etiquette
• Example UR Responses

New Editor Induction Material

• New Editor Onboarding Wizard

Scripts

• Australian Scripts

Update Request (URs)

As it turns out to be a matter on constant annoyance:

Pay particular attention to the etiquette of adding to the conversation, closing a UR that another editor is working on, and so on.

In the past, there have been a rash of editors giving long winded responses to URs. The average person is not going to read beyond the 3rd or 4th line. In this example:

"Many drivers think a report shows their destination and route information, it doesn't. It doesn't even tell us who filed the report. We volunteer map editors only see where you are when you start your report and short pieces of the recommended and driven routes. We need more information to fix your problem. Thank you for the report and all the WAZE you help. If you respond to my query and I do not acknowledge within 1 day, please e-mail me at xxxxxxxxx@waze.com with a repeat of the information. This report will be closed as 'not identified' if there is no response within 7 days."

and this example:

"Please provide more details so we can investigate the "General error" you reported. Volunteer map editors only fix map problem. We don't see what you see on your screen. We only see where you were located when you started your report and a short segment of the WAZE recommended route and a short segment of the route taken. To test the routing, we need to know the approximate start and end points of your route. Your routing options are important. Do you Avoid toll roads? Avoid major highways? Dirt roads allow/don't allow/avoid long ones? Have you selected 'fastest route' or 'shortest route'? Thank you for the report and all the WAZE you help. If no response within 7 days, this report will be closed as 'Not identified'."

the user will most likely either not get beyond the "We need more information to fix your problem" or they will skim through it and not pay attention to what is being asked of them. Please keep responses to URs at a minimum. Asking someone to explain more information about their issue does not require a novel, it should read like the box score to a game in the newspaper.

A shorter, more to the point response should suffice. An example:

"You reported a general error at ______________________ and ______________________ but left no info as to what's wrong. Can you please elaborate, so we may look into and resolve the issue? Thank you."

or

"You reported a missing road, but didn't tell us the name of the road. Could you please give us the name, so we may add it to the map? Thank you."

These are short, simple, to the point, and don't bother the driver with useless information about satellites, sun spots, the curvature of Earth's horizon in relation to Mars' gravitational pull, or other weird explanations from editors which have popped up on URs.

Average Speed Cameras, Fixed Speed and Red-Light Cameras

General Camera Advice

Camera standard lock level: The usual lock level for confirmed cameras of all types should be Level 3. A higher level may be set if necessary to prevent repeated vandalism or incorrect edits.

Level 4+ editors: are reminded that the map editor currently defaults to "Auto" lock level, which sets the lock to the level of the editor - that is, too high. Please check all cameras you see and adjust them to Level 3 so they can be managed by L3 editors, unless protected due to repeated vandalism or incorrect edits.

Only fixed cameras are mapped in Waze, with the exception on average speed cameras for heavy vehicles noted below. Users are encouraged to report mobile speed cameras via the Waze app as "police speed traps".

For global information, please see the global cameras page.

Dual Red-light/Speed Cameras

Cameras that check for speed and red light offences, sometimes called Safety Cameras, require a specific configuration from editors as follows:

Setting	Value
Camera Type	Red light camera
Excess Speed	0

Do not add additional cameras in an attempt to produce the speed alert, as a second camera within approx. 400 metres will not generate an alert on the app. Therefore, intersections with both speed and red light camera configurations should be simplified to the above camera setup with excess cameras removed.

The resulting user experience is that the camera provides a consistent red-light warning in the Waze app. This convention will be revised if/when the app is changed to provide both warnings for a dual-function camera per forum discussion.

Speed cameras

Required configuration:

Setting	Value
Camera Type	Speed camera
Excess Speed	Speed Limit in km/hr e.g. 60

Red-light only Cameras

Required configuration:

Setting	Value	Note
Camera Type	Red light camera
Excess Speed	0	See dual red-light/speed cameras if it also detects speed.

Average Speed Zones for Heavy Vehicles

SA and NSW have a joint network for monitoring the average speed of heavy vehicles over long distances - the Safe-T-Cam network. NSW also has average speed cameras which monitor the average speed zones for heavy vehicles only. Neither of these are included on the Waze map as they don't apply to the intended Waze user - the daily commuter. In any case, we have no way of indicating that the speed zone applies to heavy vehicles, nor do we have a way for the user to indicate that he/she is driving a heavy vehicle.

To discourage future editors from adding these Average Speed Zones back in, please add a map comment at the beginning (at least) of the zone:

ASZ for Heavy Vehicles only

This is the start (or end) of an Average Speed Zone for heavy vehicles only. We do not map these, or their associated speed cameras, in Waze. Further information at https://wazeopedia.waze.com/wiki/Australia/Main_Page and the forum - https://www.waze.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=56&t=254566

Below is a possible response editors can use in response to URs:

Thanks for your camera report! This camera only monitors the average speed of heavy vehicles and, therefore, are not mapped in Waze Australia per our editing standards. For more information, please see https://wazeopedia.waze.com/wiki/Australia/Main_Page and the forum - https://www.waze.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=56&t=254566

Recent Imports

These pages have been recently added and need verification that their links and information are still correct. Please discuss further in the Waze Australia Forums.

Australian City Names

Australian Duplicate Cities

Abbreviations and Acronyms

Australian Road Names

Newly Added

These pages are new to Australian Guidance. Please remember that Australian Guidance if it exists takes precedence over all others when editing in Australia.

Australian Place Style Guide