A new era for rail safety investigation
From 1 January 2013, Australia's national transport safety investigator, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB), will take responsibility for investigating safety events on the critical metropolitan passenger and freight rail networks across Australia.
This national focus will see more investigations conducted across a greater range of safety matters. Ultimately, it will mean improved safety through the sharing and implementation of safety findings across all states and territories.
A new Bill recently passed by Parliament allows states and territories to request the ATSB to conduct a rail investigation in their jurisdiction. However, as an established rail, aviation and maritime safety investigator, the ATSB will continue to make its own decisions about what to investigate.
The ATSB's national rail safety investigation role will complement the regulatory function of the new national rail safety regulator.
This reform will greatly improve productivity through consistent regulatory and investigation practices between the states and territories.