The Highway Authority was first established under the Public Highways Protection Act 1989. Membership were appointed by the Minister for a specified period. Generally, membership was nominated from government stakeholders such as the Ministry responsible for the administration of the Act, representative from the Office of the Attorney-General, the Police, the Ministry responsible for the Local Government and the Public Vehicle Unit.

The members were group of experts that are summons whenever necessary or required to meet and to provide solutions to issues that were compromising the integrity of the highway. Resolutions with recommendations were often issued to relevant stakeholders to implement. The said group neither have a permanent and dedicated staff nor an office per say.

In 2018, the Ministry responsible for the administration of the 1989 Act decided to repeal the Act and adopted a new one. The new Public Highways Protection Act 2018 retain most of the provision of the 1989 Act and incorporated a provision that established the Kiribati Land Transport Authority (KLTA). The Act further empowers the authority to administer the Traffic Act 2017 as a Licensing Authority.