Regulation
Who has responsibility for rail safety in Australia? Currently responsibility for rail safety in Australia is shared by the rail industry and governments under a co-regulatory approach. Industry is responsible for:
Are rail operations in Australia over-regulated? Despite ongoing national reform since 1996, each State and Territory across Australia continues to have its own Rail Safety Regulator. This means the Australian rail industry is still governed by seven State and Territory Rail Safety Regulators each with different regulations and processes to service a small population of 21 million and a 38,550 km rail network. Compare this with the USA which has one regulator for 220 million people. There are also three independent Investigatory bodies that undertake ‘just culture’ investigations. Compliance investigation is undertaken by all seven Rail Safety Regulators. Then there are separate State and Territory Regulators focusing on OH&S and the Environment. Do State borders continue to have any relevance to today’s interstate rail operations? The rail industry does not recognise any need for retention of State borders for rail operations and has long advocated for a single national rail safety regulator. Despite ongoing national reform since 1996, each State and Territory across Australia continues to have its own Rail Safety Regulator, effectively continuing the recognition of State borders. More recently, the National Transport Commission (NTC) and representatives of all jurisdictions and the rail industry developed a national model Rail Safety Bill (2006) and supporting model Rail Safety Regulations which were expected to be in place by the end of 2008 in all mainland States and Territories. This followed an extensive review of the current co-regulatory approach to rail safety in Australia. However, rail safety jurisdictions have retained variances to what was to be uniform legislation and these appear difficult to remove under existing arrangements. Why is there not a single national Rail Safety Regulator and Rail Safety Investigator? Just like the road transport industry, today’s rail operations do not recognise retention of State borders. The rail industry has long advocated for a single national rail safety regulator. Early in 2008, Australia’s Transport Ministers agreed there is a need for a national approach to transport policy and the initial steps to reform would focus on proposals for a single national system for the regulation, registration and licensing of heavy vehicles, a national rail safety regulator and a national rail safety investigator. Despite extensive consultation around Australia leading to a Transport Ministers’ recommendation to the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) in May 2009 for a national rail safety regulator and a national rail safety investigator, COAG decided to further consider the proposal with a mid-2011 target date. The Australasian Railway Association (ARA) has called on COAG to reconsider its decision and to fast track the review of options for consideration before the end of 2009 or early in 2010 at the latest. What are the Rail Safety Regulator’s responsibilities? Rail Safety Regulators administer the rail safety legislation in their State or Territory and has responsibility for:
The rail safety officers have powers to:
Is there a national forum for State and Territory Rail Safety Regulators to come together? A State and Territory Rail Safety Regulators Panel comes together under the auspices of the Australian Transport Council’s Standing Committee on Transport - Rail Group. (The Australian Transport Council comprises Transport Ministers). The Rail Safety Regulators Panel has been working on the reform process together with the National Transport Commission, the Australasian Railway Association and various stakeholder groups. More information What accreditation is required by train operators to operate on the Australian rail network? Once a train operator has been provided access under an access agreement, the train operator must be accredited by the ‘Rail Safety Regulator’ in each State in which they operate. If operating from Brisbane to Perth, this means accreditation by five State Regulators, although the principle of mutual recognition applies. Accreditation attests that an operator has demonstrated to the satisfaction of the ‘Rail Safety Regulator’ that the operator has the capacity and competence to manage the risks to safety associated with the rail operations for which accreditation has been sought. There is no prescription on how operators identify their associated operational risks and they can choose the methodology most appropriate for identifying risks. Further detailed information on Accreditation requirements, guidelines and processes is available from the individual State ‘Rail Safety Regulator’ (or their equivalent) websites. Links What is the role of the Rail Industry Safety and Standards Board (RISSB)? RISSB is wholly owned by the Australasian Railway Association (ARA) and is responsible for development and management of rail industry national standards, rules and codes of practice. RISSB is accredited by Standards Australia as a Standards Development Organisation and all new standards commenced by RISSB from 1 July 2007 will be published as Australian Standards. The accreditation process provides the rail industry with assurance that RISSB standards are developed using a rigorous and transparent process. Link What role does industry have in developing rail safety standards? The RISSB Board receives advice from four Standing Committees (Operations; Rolling Stock; Infrastructure; and the Wheel-Rail Interface Committee). Link What is the Australian Code of Practice? Initially the Code of Practice was developed by the Commonwealth to address safe working rules and infrastructure standards for the interstate rail network. Ownership of this Code of Practice was transferred to the Australasian Railway Association (ARA) owned Code Management Company (now RISSB) in July 2003. The Australian Code of Practice (ACOP) now consists of four different categories of document – Rules; Standards; Code of Practice; and Guidelines. Do Rail Safety Regulators recognise industry-developed rail safety standards as ‘good practice’? Rail organisations previously had to ‘prove’ that their standards are representative of good practice and ‘fit for purpose’ during their accreditation and re-accreditation processes. In July 2009, Australia’s Transport Ministers unanimously voted to approve a policy and process to recognise industry-developed rail safety standards as ‘good practice’. The policy was developed under a co-regulatory approach involving the rail industry working with the Regulators and the National Transport Commission to produce a policy statement of national significance. The Rail Safety Regulators Panel has now agreed to recognise RISSB’s Standards, Codes of Practices and Rules. What are the benefits of recognising industry-developed rail safety standards as ‘good practice’? Regulator recognition of RISSB standards will save the industry time, energy and money in terms of their safety compliance. Will the RISSB standards also apply to the rail industry Codes of Practice and Rules? Yes, subject to Regulators’ acceptance of the new policy. Who is Australia’s prime agency responsible for transport safety investigations? The Australian Transport Safety Board (ATSB), formed in July 1999, is Australia’s prime agency for transport safety investigations aiming to maintain and improve transport safety and public confidence through:
ATSB is as an operationally independent body within the Federal Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government. It is entirely independent from transport regulators and service providers and functions under the Transport Safety Investigation Act 2003 (TSI Act) which consolidated best practice investigatory processes in aviation and marine transport modes and applied them to rail. ATSB investigations do not apportion blame or liability but focus on finding why the accident occurred and recommending action aimed at reducing or eliminating the chance of recurrence. The TSI Act allows the ATSB to investigate rail accidents and serious incidents that have occurred on the national interstate rail track network. ATSB may also investigate intrastate rail accidents and incidents when requested by the States and Territory Regulators. In practice, the majority of rail safety investigations continue to be undertaken under the auspices of State and Territory jurisdictions. What guidelines are there for conducting rail safety investigations in Australia? Railway safety investigations are undertaken in accordance with Australian Standard AS4292.7-2006: Railway Safety Management – Railway Safety Investigation. This specifies:
The Standard does not address remedial action or formulating prescriptive solutions arising from a report. Are there any plans to introduce a National Rail Safety Investigator? Early in 2008, Australia’s Transport Ministers agreed there is a need for a national approach to transport policy and the initial steps to reform would focus on proposals for a single national system for the regulation, registration and licensing of heavy vehicles, a national rail safety regulator and a national rail safety investigator. Despite extensive consultation around Australia leading to a Transport Ministers’ recommendation to the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) in May 2009 for a national rail safety regulator and a national rail safety investigator, COAG decided to further consider the proposal with a mid-2011 target date. The Australasian Railway Association (ARA) has called on COAG to reconsider its decision and to fast track the review of options for consideration before the end of 2009 or early in 2010 at the latest.
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