Sharing your safety concerns
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We’ve all been there. The moment when you see something that just doesn’t seem quite right. There’s a problem in front of you, and while it may not have caused an accident yet, you can easily imagine how one day, maybe one day soon, it could end badly. But if you say anything, if you point out that something is being done incorrectly, this could mean trouble.
It’s a situation that’s all too common, where sometimes people won’t thank you for pointing out a problem. But there is a way for you to share your concerns and see something done about them, without fear of being identified. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau’s (ATSB) confidential reporting scheme, REPCON, allows people with safety concerns about the rail, aviation or marine industries to disclose them to the ATSB. These reports often contain valuable information that can help the industry address unsafe procedures, practices or conditions.
Crucially, REPCON is not used to apportion blame or liability—the underpinning legislation specifically precludes information in a report being used for disciplinary purposes. As well, REPCON reports are inadmissible in evidence in a court, except where a person has committed an offence under the Criminal Code (False or misleading information) in making the report.
“REPCON is all about solving problems, and anyone can make a call to us,” explains Elaine Hargreaves, the ATSB’s team leader for confidential reporting. She oversees REPCON, and she is a woman who keeps secrets. At the core of the scheme is the assurance that no one outside the REPCON office will learn who has reported their concerns. “I will never reveal a reporter’s identity to anyone – not even the Chief Commissioner of the ATSB. There are people out there who will only report to us, and they do that because they know they won’t be punished for speaking their mind and sharing their concerns. We’ve received calls from all around the country, from members of the public and people working within the industry itself.”
“People will call us at any time of day,” continues Hargreaves. “They’ll lay out their basic concerns, and then we receive a written report from them.” She acknowledges that a scheme that guarantees anonymity also offers opportunities for abuse, but tremendous care is taken to ensure that a report meets the requirements of what a safety concern is. “We assess the reports thoroughly to make sure they’re not solely focussed on an industrial action, that it’s not criminal or a threat.”
If the matter is deemed to be a genuine safety concern, the report is carefully de-identified, removing all personal attributes, and information that might lead to the identification of the reporter. The ATSB also removes the names of any other individuals mentioned in the report, ensuring that people don’t abuse the program to satisfy grudges or out of spite.
From there, the REPCON office assesses the de-identified text to ensure that the report has not become so benign that there would be no chance of any safety outcomes. After all, when the report is provided to an operator, they will need enough details to find the problem.
“We forward the de-identified text back to the reporter to get their approval before we send it out,” says Hargreaves. “Nothing happens until they’re satisfied that the right message is getting passed along, and that their identity is sufficiently protected. The report can go back and forth between the REPCON office and the reporter a few times before everyone is satisfied.”
The ATSB then provides the final report to the operator, and they have five working days in which to respond. (An extension may be granted, depending on the circumstances.) The operator’s response, along with the de-identified text is forwarded to the regulator, to take whatever action is deemed necessary. The regulator is required to respond, in accordance with a signed MOU.
“Once we’ve had a response from the regulator, feedback is provided to the operator and the reporter, where they have the opportunity to provide feedback on the outcome,” says Hargreaves. “That feedback will be reviewed, and everyone is kept abreast of developments. The report is not considered closed until all avenues for addressing the safety concern have been exhausted.”
Once the REPCON case is closed, all personal information is destroyed, and the final report (with all the relevant input) is published on the ATSB website. This final report contains no information which will identify the reporter and all efforts are made to de-identify the operator involved. Only the details of the safety concerns, as well as the responses and safety actions taken by relevant organisations or government agencies are retained. “So many important safety concerns are reported to us through REPCON,” said Hargreaves. “We publish this information so that all of industry can be aware of, and can learn from, the problems that others have encountered, and the solutions that they’ve implemented.”
You can read closed REPCON transport reports on the ATSB website, www.atsb.gov.au/REPCON.
If you have a concern about transport safety that you’re uncomfortable reporting to the operator, you can submit a REPCON report yourself, either via the REPCON webpage or the reporting line on 1800 020 505.
