I am pleased to present the Australian Transport Safety Bureau’s (ATSB) Corporate Plan, which covers the period 2021-22 to 2024-25.
This Corporate Plan has been prepared consistent with paragraph 35(1)(b) of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 and the relevant provisions of the Transport Safety Investigation Act 2003 (the TSI Act), which establishes the ATSB. The Corporate Plan is also consistent with the Minister’s revised Statement of Expectations 2021–23 (SOE) for the ATSB, as notified under Section 12AE of the TSI Act. The SOE sets out clear expectations that the ATSB’s resources be used in an efficient, effective, economical and ethical way, following best practice principles and guidelines.
I acknowledge this continues to be a time of great uncertainty for the transport industry in general, and aviation in particular. As an independent safety agency, the ATSB is continuing to apply our safety knowledge and expertise and carefully monitoring the return to safe and reliable transport operations. As an operational agency, the ATSB continues to deploy accident investigation teams where and when necessary during this pandemic.
The ATSB Commission and I acknowledge the retirement of Mr Greg Hood as Chief Commissioner and Chief Executive Officer, and sincerely thank him for his leadership, professionalism and guidance in leading the ATSB from 1 July 2016 to 30 June 2021. Mr Hood drove an innovation and transformation agenda at the ATSB during his five-year term, which saw the introduction of world-leading practices including a multi-modal teams approach to investigations, new recruitment initiatives, a tertiary partnership with RMIT University, and new technologies to support investigations. All have helped to further establish the ATSB as a global leader in transport safety investigation and we look forward to yielding the benefits resulting from these advancements over the out-years.
The Deputy Prime Minister, the Hon Barnaby Joyce MP, has appointed Mr Angus Mitchell as the new ATSB Chief Commissioner and Chief Executive Officer, commencing with the agency in early September 2021. I am looking forward to supporting Mr Mitchell in his new role.
Together, Mr Mitchell and I will work to progress the key initiatives prescribed in the 2021-23 SOE. Our immediate focus will be on the continuing rationalisation of our accommodation footprint to ensure we have highly capable technical facilities to support our operational requirements and a more dispersed workforce that will enhance our ability to deploy to transport accident sites throughout Australia.
Consistent with the SOE, the ATSB is also well placed to support the Australian Government’s responses to two inquiries with recommendations concerning the ATSB’s jurisdiction and funding. These are the government responses to the:
- Productivity Commission’s final report on its inquiry into the National Transport Regulatory Reforms; and
- the Senate Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport References Committee report into the policy, regulatory, taxation, administrative and funding priorities for Australian shipping.
The ATSB continues to work towards achieving its new performance measures established in the 2020-21 Corporate Plan. Through revised performance criteria, we are focused on improving our timeliness, demonstrating safety action taken in response to our investigations, ensuring our findings are defendable, and using our resources efficiently and effectively.
Colin McNamara
Acting Chief Commissioner and CEO