The ATSB prioritises the investigation of transport safety matters that have the highest potential to yield improvements to transport safety for the greatest public benefit.
Our focus on the greatest public benefit reflects the contribution the ATSB makes to preventing loss of life, as well as avoiding significant local, state and national economic costs that can be associated with an accident.
The ATSB is not resourced to investigate every single accident or incident that is reported to us but allocates priorities within the transport modes to ensure that investigation effort achieves the best outcomes for safety improvement.
We recognise that there is often more to be learned from serious incidents and patterns of incidents, and we give focus to these investigations, as well as specific accident investigations.
When assessing and prioritising accidents and incidents for investigation we consider a broad range of factors including ATSB resource availability and, in no particular order:
- the anticipated safety value of an investigation, including the likelihood of furthering the understanding of the scope and impact of any safety system failures
- the likelihood of safety action arising from the investigation, particularly of national or global significance
- the existence and extent of fatalities/serious injuries and/or structural damage to transport vehicles or other infrastructure
- the unique value an ATSB investigation will provide over any other investigation by industry, regulators or police
- the obligations or recommendations under international conventions and codes
- the nature and extent of public interest – in particular, the potential impact on public confidence in the safety of the transport system
- the existence of supporting evidence, or requirements, to conduct a special investigation based on trends
- the relevance to identified and targeted safety programs
- the risks associated with not investigating – including consideration of whether, in the absence of an ATSB investigation, a credible safety investigation by another party is likely
- the timeliness of notification
- the training benefit for ATSB investigators.
For information on investigation prioritisation within our three transport modes, see:
Aviation safety investigation in Australia | ATSB
Marine safety investigation in Australia | ATSB
Rail safety investigation in Australia | ATSB