The ATSB conducts different levels of investigation according to the anticipated scope and scale of the work required to determine the contributing factors to a safety occurrence.

New reporting requirements for safety occurrences involving remotely piloted aircraft (or drones) took effect on 30 September 2021.

The Transport Safety Investigation Regulations 2021 require the reporting of certain transport safety occurrences to the ATSB as immediately or routine reportable matters, and introduced updated requirements for operators of certain types of remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) to make reports to the ATSB.

ATSB policy provides for identifying most organisations in its transport safety investigations. Most organisations directly involved in any aviation occurrence investigated by the ATSB are identified in the report and on the investigation web page.

The policy ensures the ATSB’s compliance with the International Civil Aviation Organization’s recommended practices. It also ensures that the ATSB has a consistent and transparent approach across all of its aviation, rail and marine safety investigations.

The International Confidential Aviation Safety Systems Group

The International Confidential Aviation Safety Systems (ICASS) Group promotes confidential reporting systems as an effective method of enhancing flight safety in commercial air transport and general aviation operations. The principal objectives of the ICASS Group are:

What is REPCON?

REPCON is a voluntary and confidential reporting scheme. REPCON allows any person who has an aviation safety concern to report it to the ATSB confidentially. Protection of the reporter's identity and any individual referred to in the report is a primary element of the scheme.

Who can make a report?

Anyone can report a safety concern confidentially to the ATSB. This means members of the travelling public or people involved in aviation.

Some examples of who has made a REPCON report in the past include: