Under a strategic partnership launched in early 2019, RMIT University delivers the Graduate Certificate in Transport Safety Investigation to both the ATSB’s own transport safety investigators and industry participants.
Through the partnership the ATSB provides advice on the development of the program structure and the course material, and a significant number of topics are delivered by ATSB subject matter experts with in-depth investigation and industry experience.
The ATSB-RMIT University partnership provides industry in Australia and throughout the Asia-Pacific region with access to high quality, ATSB sponsored training in transport accident investigation, as well providing a framework to facilitate important transport safety related research through a credible university-based methodology.
The Graduate Certificate in Transport Safety Investigation delivers the following units of study:
- Investigation Readiness – covering Transport Safety Legislative frameworks, Accident Site Work Health and Safety, Critical Incident Stress Management, Cognitive Interviewing Techniques etc;
- Human Factors for Investigators – covering a broad spectrum of fields that are contextualised for safety investigation purposes;
- Accident Investigation Fundamentals – covering on-site deployment and information gathering techniques applied in aviation, rail and marine;
- Analysis and Analytical Writing Techniques – covering the ATSB’s world-leading safety investigation analytical methodologies and practices.
The courses are offered intensively in one-week blocks spread over a six-month period. They are primarily delivered by experienced ATSB investigators and by design, meet the needs of the Bureau while extending the opportunity for industry participants to gain this coveted qualification.
Delivery is through a hybrid of either attending RMIT University’s Melbourne campus and/or through on-line lectures (where possible attending in person is highly recommended).
The Graduate Certificate program has also received the endorsement of the International Federation of Air Line Pilots' Associations (IFALPA) as an IFALPA Accredited Accident Investigation (AAI) course.
In 2025, RMIT will extend its offerings to include the Graduate Diploma program, which will incorporate an additional four units of study as follows:
- Specialist Engineering Techniques applied in Transport Safety Investigations – covering primarily materials failure and an extensive array of data recovery applications and techniques
- Advanced Accident Investigation Fundamentals – building on the Graduate Certificate course as applied to more complex accident scenarios
- Investigating Safety Management Systems – covering techniques applied to more systemic type investigations
- Choice of an elective – from a wide range of subjects/courses geared towards advanced engineering applications and/or research techniques.
Longer term, RMIT and the ATSB (and potentially the Australian Defence Force) will create a pathway to a further higher education program leading to Masters-level qualifications in Transport Safety Investigation.
The relationship also provides for a range of collaborative research projects which will bring together RMIT’s deep expertise in delivering world-leading research with the ATSB’s considerable industry knowledge, intelligence and data access.
Further information on the Graduate Certificate in Transport Safety Investigation can be found on the RMIT website.