The ATSB is Australia’s national transport safety investigator. In rail, we collaborate with the Office of Transport Safety Investigations (OTSI) in New South Wales and the Office of the Chief Investigator (OCI) in Victoria for investigations in those States.
Ensuring the safety of rail travel is integral to growth in patronage, economic contribution, innovation, and sustained investment. There is a significant public benefit in avoiding rail accidents and incidents (occurrences). The ATSB aims to prevent future occurrences by ensuring lessons are learned and safety improvements are made through independent, evidence-based, no-blame investigations, providing assurance that systems are operating safely through growth and change.
What are no-blame investigations?
We do not investigate for the purpose of taking administrative, regulatory, or criminal action.
The Transport Safety Investigation Act 2003 (TSI Act) guards against the inappropriate use of evidence gathered in ATSB investigations in legal proceedings. This gives those directly involved in an occurrence greater confidence that they can provide open disclosure in the interests of safety.
Why are we independent
The ATSB is independent of rail transport operators, the Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator (ONRSR), the Australian Rail Industry Standards Organisation (ARISO, formerly RISSB), the Australasian Railway Association, unions, and government policymakers. Unconstrained by conflicts of interest, we report publicly. Our independence means we do not have powers to force organisations to take safety action. Instead, we seek to influence by engaging with our stakeholders, widely communicating our findings, and sharing safety information.
How are we different from others
Depending on the circumstances, ONRSR, the police, work health and safety regulators, and coroners may also investigate. The investigation remit of the ATSB, OTSI and OCI is distinct from these organisations. For example, ONRSR undertakes compliance investigations and may employ enforcement mechanisms. In contrast, we investigate and report on systemic safety issues involving risk controls in the rail transport operator, standards, and regulatory frameworks. Safety action taken in response reduces the risk of future occurrences.
Resourcing
ATSB rail safety investigations rely on a combination of funding and resourcing from the Commonwealth and State governments. In addition to the collaboration arrangement we have in New South Wales and Victoria, the Queensland Government provides funding for ATSB investigations in their State. Other States and Territories have not opted into similar arrangements. We are working with governments to provide future certainty around resourcing for a national capability.
Deciding to investigate
The ATSB receives approximately 160 notifications of investigable occurrences each year. Investigation resources are prioritised to investigate occurrences likely to have the greatest public safety benefit through lessons learned.
The ATSB considers:
- the availability, including extant tasking, of ATSB rail resources
- whether the track is part of the interstate network
- if the track is off the interstate network, whether the relevant State or Territory provides funding
- whether OTSI or OCI will commit existing resources under the Commonwealth TSI Act
- the prioritisation given to mainline passenger operations and then freight and other commercial operations
- the severity of the occurrence and anticipated safety outcomes of the investigation.
The severity of the outcome, such as deaths, injuries and damage, does not necessarily indicate the extent of the anticipated safety outcomes. It is important that the ATSB considers near miss occurrences for investigation. The factors that led to the near miss might reveal safety issues that, left unaddressed, could lead to a catastrophic accident in the future.
The criteria above is important for decision-making as the ATSB is currently only able to commence a limited number of investigations annually with its available resourcing.