Rail accident or incident notification

Changes to reporting rail occurrences for Qld rail operators

ATSB is the national independent, no-blame safety investigator for rail incidents and accidents.
Report all Category-A rail occurrences to the ATSB on 1800 011 034.

From 30 June 2017, the ATSB will start investigating accidents and incidents on Queensland’s metropolitan and regional passenger, and freight rail networks.

This new focus in Queensland will see more investigations conducted across a greater range of safety matters. It will also mean that the ATSB will be the mandatory notification point for all Category-A occurrences within Queensland.

The changes are a result of Queensland joining the national rail safety scheme. The Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator (ONRSR) will also assume regulatory oversight in the state.

Queensland now joins South Australia, Tasmania, Northern Territory, New South Wales, Victoria, Western Australia and the Australian Capital Territory in the national scheme.

The table below highlights who you should notify for Category-A occurrences in each state and territory. It also shows who will be investigating an accident or incident in each state and territory.

State/ Territory	Who should I notify?	Investigator
South Australia	Report Cat. A occurrences immediately to the ATSB on 1800 011 034. Send written reports of Cat. A and Cat. B occurrences to the Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator within 72 hours.	The ATSB.
Tasmania	Report Cat. A occurrences immediately to the ATSB on 1800 011 034. Send written reports of Cat. A and Cat. B occurrences to the Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator within 72 hours.	The ATSB.
NSW	Report Cat. A occurrences immediately to the ATSB on 1800 011 034. Send written reports of Cat. A and Cat. B occurrences to the Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator within 72 hours.	The ATSB and the Office of Transport Safety Investigations will continue investigating throughout NSW.
ACT	Report Cat. A occurrences immediately to the ATSB on 1800 011 034. Send written reports of Cat. A and Cat. B occurrences to the Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator within 72 hours.	The ATSB.
Northern Territory	Report Cat. A occurrences immediately to the ATSB on 1800 011 034. Send written reports of Cat. A and Cat. B occurrences to the Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator within 72 hours.	The ATSB.
Victoria	Report Cat. A occurrences immediately to the ATSB on 1800 011 034. Send written reports of Cat. A and Cat. B occurrences to the Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator within 72 hours.	The ATSB and the Chief Investigator Transport Safety will continue investigating throughout Victoria.
Western Australia	Report Cat. A occurrences immediately to the ATSB on 1800 011 034. Send written reports of Cat. A and Cat. B occurrences to the Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator within 72 hours.	The ATSB.
Queensland	Report Cat. A occurrences immediately to the ATSB on 1800 011 034. Send written reports of Cat. A and Cat. B occurrences to the Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator within 72 hours.	The ATSB.

The ATSB and the ONRSR are working with all states and territories to make notifications and investigation arrangements more consistent across Australia. We’ll let you know when there are any changes to the reporting requirements listed above.

Voluntary and confidential reporting (REPCON)

A national voluntary and confidential reporting scheme (REPCON) is available for anyone with concerns about rail, aviation or maritime safety.

Managed by the ATSB, REPCON will gather information about unsafe transport practices so that action can be taken to address them. Anyone can confidentially report concerns about such things as unsafe scheduling or rostering, unsafe operating procedures or the by-passing of safety instructions.

If you have a transport safety concern, you can confidentially report it by:

calling the ATSB on 1800 020 505
emailing repcon@atsb.gov.au
visiting the ATSB’s confidential reporting page

More information

The changes to Australia’s rail notification and investigation arrangements are part of the broader reforms to the national rail safety regulations and investigations.