Which Australian highway runs along the east coast from Sydney to Brisbane?

The Australian highway associated with the east-coast route from Sydney to Brisbane is the Pacific Highway (A1). It links major population centres in New South Wales and Queensland and follows the coastal corridor more closely than inland alternatives such as the New England Highway.

The route developed from a network of local roads and was formally gazetted in New South Wales as Main Road 10 in 1928, with Queensland gazetting its section in 1930. It passes or formerly passed through places including Newcastle, the Central Coast, Coffs Harbour, and Grafton before reaching the Brisbane region.

A frequent source of confusion is the Pacific Motorway. Large sections of the Sydney–Brisbane corridor have been upgraded, bypassed, or renamed Pacific Motorway, while the older Pacific Highway sections continue through towns and regional centres. Thus, “Pacific Highway” is the standard historic and quiz answer, even though the modern fastest route is not one uninterrupted road with that name.

The New England Highway is a different inland route running through the Northern Tablelands, while the Hume Highway connects Sydney with Melbourne. The Great Ocean Road is a scenic coastal road in Victoria, far to the south, and does not form the Sydney–Brisbane corridor.