Edition 43, April 2007

Putting new rail safety laws into practice

Draft national rail safety guidelines have been published by the National Transport Commission (NTC) for public comment. The guidelines are intended to help the rail industry understand, adapt, implement and comply with new nationally-consistent state and territory rail safety laws.

The suite of draft national rail safety guidelines were developed by the NTC and the Rail Safety Regulators Panel in consultation with representatives of the Australasian Railway Association and Rail Tram and Bus Union.

The suite comprises of:

  • Guideline to Accreditation under the National Rail Safety Scheme
  • Guideline for establishing a Rail Safety Management System
  • Guideline on the meaning of So Far As Is Reasonably Practicable
  • Guideline for Compliance and Enforcement Policy for Rail Safety
  • Business Rules for Uniform Administration of Accreditation
  • Guideline for Fatigue Management for Rail Safety Workers.

The guidelines support national consistency in the interpretation and administration of rail safety laws and describe in plain English what to do.

Public submissions on the draft national guidelines are due by 6 May 2007. Finalised guidelines will be submitted to the Australian Transport Council for endorsement in June 2007.

Rail Safety Reform

The national model Rail Safety Bill 2006 and Regulations were approved by transport ministers in 2006. The reforms, when implemented, achieve a nationally consistent approach to regulating rail safety in Australia. The Council of Australian Governments agreed to a deadline for commencement of the new laws in each State and Territory on 1 July 2007.

Under transitional arrangements, accredited rail operators have one year to ensure their safety management systems comply with the new laws and two years to comply with rail safety worker competency requirements.

For more information visit www.ntc.gov.au and the NTC rail safety home page.

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