Marine transport accounts for all bulk imports and exports and nearly three-quarters of the value of all imports and exports of cargo into Australia, and plays a primary role in coastal trade. In addition, a major offshore industry fleet supports oil and gas exploration off the Australian coast. A safe and efficient marine transport system is therefore an essential part of the Australian economy. The work of the ATSB investigation team assists in maintaining and improving the safety of marine transport.
When ATSB investigates a marine accident or incident, investigators seek to determine its circumstances, contributing and other factors, including any safety issues, and encourage relevant safety action. The aim of all ATSB investigations is to prevent accidents and incidents - not to assign blame or liability. This approach helps ensure the continued free flow of safety information for the purposes of improving safety in the future.
The ATSB conducts 'no blame' marine safety investigations in accordance with the Transport Safety Investigation Act 2003 (TSI Act). The ATSB does not investigate for the purpose of taking administrative, regulatory or criminal action.
Marine safety investigations are carried out in accordance with international treaties and instruments. These include the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) Convention (specifically the Casualty Investigation Code), relevant International Maritime Organization (IMO) resolutions and Article 94(7) of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). The TSI Act recognises these international agreements and instruments.
The power to prosecute ships' masters and others for breaches of safety and pollution prevention legislation resides with the Australian Maritime Safety Authority(Opens in a new tab/window) (AMSA), the regulatory and administrative body responsible for marine safety in Australia.
Prior to the establishment of ONRSR, rail safety occurrence data was provided to the ATSB by state and territory government rail safety regulators for national publication.
Disclaimer: This data was supplied to the ATSB by state and NT rail safety regulators. The ATSB accepts no liability for any loss or damage suffered by any person or corporation resulting from the use of these data.
Definitions: Definitions for data provided in each of the categories were developed by rail safety regulators in collaboration with industry:
1 January 2001 to 30 June 2008 were taken from Occurrence Notification Standard 1 (ON-S1, 2004 Rail Safety Regulators' Panel); and
From 1 July 2008 were taken from Occurrence Classification Guideline 1 (OC-G1, July 2008 Rail Safety Regulators' Panel).
From 1 July 2019, report Category A rail occurrences directly to the Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator (ONRSR) on 1800 430 888 (24 hrs / 7 days).
The ATSB is the single national rail safety investigator in Australia.
The ATSB’s rails safety investigation role occurs concurrently with the Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator (ONRSR) overseeing rail safety regulation in every Australian state and territory.
The ATSB investigates selectively, as do many equivalent organisations overseas. The aim is to concentrate ATSB’s resources on those investigations considered most likely to enhance rail safety. Because many accidents are repetitive in nature, investigating these in any detail may not be justified, given the ATSB’s limited resources. In such cases, the ATSB will not necessarily attend the scene, conduct an in-depth investigation or produce an extensive report.
When the ATSB investigates an accident or incident, investigators will seek to determine its circumstances, identify any safety issues, and encourage relevant safety action. The aim of all ATSB investigations is to prevent the occurrence of other accidents and incidents, rather than to assign blame or liability. This approach helps ensure the continued free flow of safety information for the purposes of improving safety in the future.
As required under the Transport Safety Investigation Act 2003 (TSI Act), train operating crew, rail and track owners and operators must report accidents and serious incidents (Category A occurrences) that occur as soon as practicable and by the quickest means possible. All Category A occurrences need to directed to ONRSR by calling 1800 430 888 (24 hrs / 7 days).
Train operating crew, rail and track owners and operators must report all notifiable occurrence (an accident or incident associated with railway operations - either Category A, Category B or Category C) to ONRSR (Opens in a new tab/window)by calling 1800 430 888 (24 hrs/7 days) or via the ONRSR Portal(Opens in a new tab/window).
Note: Following changes to the Rail Safety National Law (RSNL) in July 2019, a separate report to the ATSB is no longer required.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) makes this material available on the understanding that users exercise their own skill and care with respect to its use.
The ATSB gives no warranty and makes no representation whether expressed or implied, that the information contained in this site is error free.
The material contained in this site is made available on the understanding that the ATSB is not thereby engaged in rendering professional advice for a particular purpose. Before relying on the material in any important matter, users should carefully evaluate the accuracy completeness and relevance of the information for their purposes and should obtain appropriate professional advice relevant to their particular circumstances.
The material at this site may include views or recommendations of third parties which do not necessarily reflect the views of the ATSB or indicate its commitment to a particular course of action.
Links to other websites are inserted for convenience and do not constitute endorsement of material at those sites or any associated organisation product or service. These external information sources are outside the ATSB's control. It is the responsibility of users to make their own decisions about the accuracy, currency, reliability and correctness of the information at those sites. Furthermore, there is no guarantee that any of the sites listed will be available at any particular time.
Maps and images on this website are for information purposes only and are not intended for navigation or to precisely locate any particular feature.
The depiction and use of boundaries, place names, location names and related data shown on maps and also included in lists, tables and links on this website are not warranted to be correct and final nor do they necessarily imply official endorsement by the ATSB.
By accessing information at or through this site, each user waives and releases the ATSB to the full extent permitted by law from any and all claims relating to the usage of and/or reliance on the material made available through the web site. In no event shall the ATSB be liable for any injury, loss or damage resulting from use of or reliance upon the material.
This license enables you to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon our material in any medium or format, so long as attribution is given to the Australian Transport Safety Bureau.
You are not licensed to use:
the Commonwealth Coat of Arms – terms of use are available from the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet website(Opens in a new tab/window),
the ATSB logo,
material specifically noted as not being licensed under the CC BY 4.0 licence, or
material obtained from other agencies, private individuals or organisations, including photos and graphics, copyright for which belongs to those agencies, individuals or organisations. Where you wish to use their material you will need to contact them directly.
The word ATSB is a registered trade mark (IP Australia number 1099587) in certain classes of goods and services.
Requests for further information or authorisation should be directed to the ATSB Communications and Media Team. Details on contacting the ATSB can be found here.
Please call the toll-free number 1800 011 034 (24 hours), for advice or assistance on reporting requirements. If telephoning from outside Australia, please use +61 2 6230 4470.
Masters of Australian registered vessels, or of foreign flag vessels in Australian waters and other 'responsible persons' are obliged, under the Transport Safety Investigation Act and Regulations 2003, to report any accident (or 'immediately reportable matter') as soon as practicable to the ATSB, by the quickest means possible. Recognising the practical difficulties of reporting to a number of separate authorities, the Regulations consider a report to the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA), or to AusSAR in Canberra, to be a report to the ATSB, although the ATSB is a separate organisation. On receipt of a report of an incident, ATSB staff, who are on 24-hour call, decide(s) what action will be taken.
Depending on the type and severity of the incident, this may be:
an investigation carried out by an ATSB or specially appointed investigator, or
more information sought from the owner, employer or other body, or
no further action taken
Incidents should be notified to AMSA(Opens in a new tab/window) using forms found on the AMSA website. AMSA forwards copies of the completed forms to the ATSB and these meet reporting requirements.
Submission of information known by the reporter to be false, or misleading is a serious offence under section 137.1 of the Criminal Code. Aiding, abetting, counselling, procuring or urging the submission of false or misleading information is also a serious offence.
Information may be disclosed to other organisations or individuals in the interests of safety. Where possible, the ATSB will remove information that directly identifies an individual (such as names, licence numbers and addresses). However, other indirect identifiers (such as times, dates and locations for the occurrence of incidents) will usually be disclosed in the interests of safety. If the information is the subject of an investigation, it will only be used in accordance with the Transport Safety Investigation Act 2003. The ATSB’s privacy policy also includes relevant information.
