Rail safety reference material

National standard for health assessment of rail safety workers

A system for monitoring the health of rail safety workers has been developed by the National Transport Commission and approved by the Australian Transport Council.

This standard enables consistent application of health standards across the Australian rail industry. It aims to make the national rail system safer for everyone and to help rail workers stay fit and healthy. It reflects advances in medical knowledge, recent changes in rail operating environments and developments in privacy and anti-discrimination laws. Extensive consultation with industry, rail unions, rail safety regulators and health professionals was carried out in developing the standard.

The standard comprises two volumes and forms:

• Volume one: Management systems (PDF, 711 KB)
  • Part A (PDF, 470 KB)
  • Part B (PDF, 304 KB).

  Volume one provides accredited rail organisations with practical guidance for implementing systems to monitor rail safety worker health and fitness.
  

• Volume two: Assessment procedures and medical criteria (PDF, 936 KB)
  • Part A (PDF, 488 KB)
  • Part B (PDF, 500 KB).

  Volume two is intended for use by examining health professionals and outlines procedures for conducting assessments, as well as medical criteria for judging fitness for rail safety duty.

See also:

Tourist and Heritage Safety Management Systems Guidance Material

This guidance material has been developed by the Australian Rail Safety Regulators Panel (consists of senior representatives from all rail regulation agencies) in consultation with representatives of tourist and heritage railway operators. This material is intended to assist tourist and heritage railway operators develop safety management systems that comply with Queensland rail safety legislation, including the National Rail Safety Accreditation Package.

• Guidance for Tourist and Heritage Railway Operators (PDF, 254 KB)
• Rail Safety Management Plan (Heritage Rail Incorporated).

National Rail Safety Accreditation Package

This document has been developed by the Rail Safety Regulators Panel to provide a nationally consistent approach to rail safety accreditation. The package provides guidance to accredited rail organisations and for applicants seeking rail safety accreditation. Australian transport ministers have endorsed the package and its implementation across all Australian states and the Northern Territory. The package is provided here for you to download.

• National Rail Safety Accreditation Package version two (PDF, 582 KB)
  • Part A (PDF, 166 KB)
  • Part B (PDF, 449 KB).

The state and territory rail safety regulators have agreed on an amended set of occurrence categories and definitions to ensure national consistency in the notification and exchange of occurrence data. The Department of Transport and Main Roads implemented the

National Railway Level Crossing Safety Strategy

The National Railway Level Crossing Safety Strategy (PDF, 1.49 MB) was developed by the Rail Level Crossing Group and endorsed by the Australian Transport Council. It provides a nationally consistent approach to addressing railway level crossing issues. The strategy is summarised in a Community Information Fact Sheet (PDF, 673 KB)

National Rail Safety Guideline – Management of Fatigue in Rail Safety Workers

The purpose of this guideline is to assist industry, workers and their representatives, regulators and other stakeholders in understanding good practice with regard to fatigue management (PDF, 334.26 KB).

This Joint Investigation Protocol (PDF, 1.48 MB) outlines the processes used by the Rail Safety Regulation Branch to undertake joint investigations with accredited railway managers/operators to investigate occurrences to determine causal factors to reduce the likelihood of future occurrences. These investigations are conducted in partnership and follow a ‘no blame’ philosophy.

Roles and Accountabilities of Rail Safety Regulators and Accredited Railway Track Managers and Operators

The Roles and Accountabilities of Accreditation Authorities and Accredited Railway Track Managers and Operators (PDF, 395 KB) provides assistance in understanding the respective roles and responsibilities of rail safety regulators, accredited railway managers and accredited railway operators in the system of rail safety management within Australia.

Interface Coordination Plan

This Interface Coordination Plan (PDF, 109 KB) agreement outlines the responsibilities of each party, or functional area, involved in establishing an interface coordination plan.

Compliance and Enforcement Policy for Managing Rail Safety in Queensland

With the introduction of the Transport (Rail Safety) Act 2010 on 1 September 2010 the Queensland Rail Safety Compliance and Enforcement Policy (PDF, 85 KB) has been developed to reflect the National Compliance and Enforcement Policy developed by the National Transport Commission following the finalisation of the model national Rail Safety Legislation.

The Queensland policy includes new enforcement options such as Improvement Notices, Prohibition Notices and Embargo Notices which are included in the new Queensland rail safety legislation.

Annual levy

This page provides information on annual levy payable by accredited railways.

Transport (Rail Safety) Act 2010

This Act provides the statutory requirements for rail safety accreditation within Queensland.

Transport (Rail Safety) Regulation 2010

This Regulation provides other requirements which support the Transport (Rail Safety) Regulation 2010.

Transport Infrastructure Act 1994

Previous rail safety legislation.

Transport Infrastructure (Dangerous Goods by Rail) Regulation 2008

This Regulation reduces risk by giving effect to the standards and requirements of the Australian Dangerous Goods code. It also promotes consistency between rail and other modes of transport in relation to the transport of dangerous goods.