About Open Road

Open Road

Open Road (mynrma.com.au) is the flagship membership magazine of the NRMA (National Roads and Motorists' Association), published in Sydney for the motoring organisation's more than 3 million members across New South Wales and the ACT. A quarterly print title and digital content hub, it reaches a readership of more than 1.3 million per issue — described by NRMA's Victoria Doidge as possibly Australia's longest circulating magazine — with 90% of readers rating it good to excellent.

Overview

Open Road is the NRMA's official member magazine: road trips, motoring, travel, lifestyle and member benefits, delivered to members quarterly in print and continuously online. The magazine celebrated its centenary in 2024 — its 100th year of continuous publication — making it one of the oldest magazines in continuous circulation in Australia. The digital home launched in 2025 as a content hub where members can explore the latest stories, plan their next road trip, and discover member benefits year-round.

History

The magazine's origins trace to the NRMA's earliest days. In 1923 \u2014 when the association was barely three years old and membership stood at 1,571 \u2014 a full twenty percent of the NRMA's income was expended on "Good Roads," the official organ of the National Roads and Motorists' Association. Heritage accounts date the launch of Good Roads to 1921 and record its renaming as The Open Road in 1927; by 1929 "The Open Road" had become a fortnightly rather than monthly publication. It was, from the start, an organising tool: the early issues carried touring advice \u2014 "many tens of thousands of personal consultations" supplying information on touring were attended to in 1927 alone, alongside advice by telephone and post \u2014 and "many thousands of column inches" published in city and country newspapers ventilating "all matters calling for public discussion," from road improvement to the elimination of blind and dangerous corners.

The magazine grew with the motoring age it chronicled. The NRMA's membership \u2014 17,252 by 1926, 48,625 by 1928 \u2014 hit one million in the 1970s and doubled again by the late 1980s; through the postwar decades the association's brief expanded into community safety and welfare, and Open Road carried those campaigns into members' homes: poster and media campaigns on drink driving, road safety, car theft and Neighbourhood Watch. Through it all the magazine kept its core promise \u2014 the road, the car, the trip \u2014 through boom years and oil shocks alike.

The centenary in 2024 was marked across the NRMA's newsroom and membership channels as the title's 100th year of continuous publication, with the association celebrating a century of motoring journalism alongside its century of roadside assistance, advocacy and member services. Victoria Doidge, the NRMA's chief membership officer, described it as "possibly Australia's longest circulating magazine and now one of the only magazines that is distributed to millions of Australians."

The multi-platform turn

The magazine's origins trace to the NRMA's earliest days. The association published "Good Roads" — then subtitled "the official organ of the National Roads and Motorists' Association" — from 1923; by 1929 "The Open Road" was being published fortnightly, and the journal evolved into the Open Road member magazine of today. The centenary in 2024 was marked across the NRMA's newsroom and membership channels, celebrating a hundred years of motoring journalism alongside the century of roadside assistance and advocacy that built the organisation.

The modern era brought fresh stewardship. In October 2024 the NRMA announced the appointment of award-winning journalist, video presenter and content creator Alex Inwood as the new managing editor of Open Road. Inwood brought close to 15 years as a motoring journalist \u2014 previously editor of Wheels magazine and digital editor of Wheels Media, where he created content across multiple channels, championed pioneering editorial and commercial partnerships, and helped implement Wheels Media's editorial strategy across its brands. As managing editor he is responsible for shaping the editorial direction of the magazine, producing high-quality multi-channel content, and leading a team of writers and creators \u2014 "pivotal," per the NRMA, "in delivering the NRMA's strategic vision of a multi-platform Open Road experience." Inwood himself said the magazine's "rich heritage as a travel and motoring publication" made him honoured to help transform it.

In 2025 the brand's digital home was launched as a content hub \u2014 the first iteration of a digital content experience alongside the flagship print magazine, with more features to come. The hub is far more than a digital copy of the print issue: a dynamic space where readers engage with each other and NRMA's team of experts and discover content under the key pillars of road, travel and rewards. Where the print magazine is quarterly, the hub is updated regularly with daily stories \u2014 travel advice, motoring advice, member discount offers \u2014 turning the century-old masthead into a year-round destination. The print edition's long-standing value as an advertising channel, reaching 1.3 million readers per issue, extends to the online platform.

Content and positioning

Open Road covers the member's life on the move: road-trip itineraries across NSW, the ACT and beyond; new and used cars and motoring news; travel and lifestyle features; and the member benefits, discounts and services that come with NRMA membership. The 90% good-to-excellent reader rating reflects a magazine read as a trusted companion — the print issue on the coffee table, the hub on the phone when the trip is being planned.

The member magazine as institution

Open Road is unusual in Australian publishing: a magazine whose circulation is a membership list. It is offered as part of the NRMA membership package \u2014 every issue lands in member households as a benefit, not a purchase \u2014 which gives it a reach and loyalty most commercial titles cannot buy. It is "consistently rated as good to excellent by 90 per cent of its readers," a figure the NRMA cites year after year. The content pillars map directly onto the member's needs: motoring advice and vehicle care (buying or selling a car, car maintenance, fuel, learning to drive, road safety), travel ideas (caravanning and camping, road trips, holiday planning), and My NRMA Rewards \u2014 the discounts and offers that make the membership pay. The NRMA frames the whole enterprise as continuity: "supporting Australians with motoring advice, vehicle care tips, and travel ideas for over 100 years," whether preparing for the next adventure or keeping the vehicle in top condition. Open Road is the printed and digital expression of that century of service \u2014 the magazine as member benefit, brand flagship and advertising channel in one.

Coverage and audience

The magazine serves NRMA's 3+ million members — one of the largest membership bases in Australia — with a per-issue readership exceeding 1.3 million. Its audience is drivers and travellers across New South Wales and the ACT, from city commuters to grey nomads.

Ownership

Open Road is published by the NRMA (National Roads and Motorists' Association), a member-owned mutual organisation. Managing editor: Alex Inwood (appointed October 2024). Further ownership and financial details are not publicly confirmed.

Digital presence

The Open Road content hub at mynrma.com.au/membership/open-road-magazine hosts the latest stories, road-trip planning content and member-benefit features, with the digital archive of magazine content under mynrma.com.au/news-and-resources/open-road-magazine. The NRMA newsroom (nrma.com.au/about/nrma-newsroom) carries the magazine's milestone announcements.

Sources and further reading

• My NRMA, "Open Road Magazine" and the Open Road archive — positioning, readership, digital hub.
• NRMA newsroom — the 100-year celebration and the managing-editor appointment.