The National Rail Safety Regulator:

Progress and Priorities

Sue McCarrey

Chief Executive

Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator (ONRSR)

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Being ONRSR:a great Australian rail journey

> Australia’s colonial rail networks

> State-based networks and rules

> 1990s: privatisation and state-

based regulation

> 1993: “A National Approach to

Rail Safety Regulation”

> 1996: agreement – nationally

consistent regulation

> 2009: COAG: national law,

national regulator

> Jan 2013: ONRSR commences

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Rail in Australia

Rail industry guide to safety 2014-15

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Rail Safety National Law (South Australia) Act 2012

The draft Rail Safety National Law was introduced into the

South Australian parliament in March 2012 and

successfully passed through both houses on 1 May 2012.

Other States and Territories have progressively passed

enabling legislation to give effect to the Rail Safety National

Law within each jurisdiction.

The Rail Safety National Law (South Australia) 2012 can

be found at www.legislation.sa.gov.au.

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Being ONRSR:a great Australian rail journey

> 2009 – 2013Project Office establishes ONRSR HQ in Adelaide, SA

> 2013Operations commence

− Central Branch (SA, NT, Tas.)

− NSW Branch (Service Level Agreement)

> 2014− Victoria joins ONRSR (Vic Branch -

Service Level Agreement)

− ACT joins ONRSR (Central Branch)

> 2015− Removal of Service Level Agreement in

NSW

− WA Parliament passes mirror legislation to establish WA Branch

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ONRSR’s corporate goals1. Maintain and improve rail safety

through a risk based approach to regulation

2. Reduce regulatory burden on industry

3. Promote greater self-regulation by industry

4. Prepare for and support the entry of other state regulators into ONRSR

5. Promote safety awareness and safety improvement initiatives and research

6. Develop and enable our people to optimise internal capability and organisational effectiveness

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ONRSR’s regulatory approach

> Independent and impartial

> Risk-based

> Educational

> Proportionate compliance and

enforcement

> Transparent, fair and

accountable

> Consistent

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Key achievements: 2013 – 2015

> Consolidated national accreditation notices

> Established an ONRSR national drug and alcohol testing program

> Streamlined reporting periods for industry

> Developed an ONRSR major projects guideline

> Established MoUs with NTC, ATSB, Workplace Safety Authorities and Police

> Issued safety improvement policy promoting industry collaboration and best practice safety standards

> Developed readily available online resource centre

> Undertaken targeted safety and efficiency improvement initiatives covering:

− Road/Rail vehicle (RRV) safety management

− Fatigue risk management

− Asset management

− Level crossing safety

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Facts and figures

2013/14 2014/15 Change

284 non-conformance reports,

with zero operator appeals

400 non-conformance

reports

409 drug and alcohol tests 436 drug and alcohol tests

129 formal inspections 196 formal inspections

57 audits 48 audits

10 compliance investigations 10 compliance investigations -

0 improvement notices 5 improvement notices

0 prohibition notices 2 prohibition notices

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Priorities 2016

“…the safety of the community through encouraging and

enforcing safe railway operations, including promoting

and improving national rail safety on behalf of all

Australian Governments.”

Rail safety Organisational

Industry risk model Passage of RSNL in Queensland

National data strategy Review of SLA in Victoria

Level crossing policy Workforce planning

Major projects Stakeholder survey

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Priorities 2016

Support objectives of the National Reform Agenda:

> Support a seamless national rail transport system

> Not reduce existing levels of rail safety

> Streamline regulatory arrangements and reduce the compliance burden for business

> Improve national productivity and reduce transport costs generally

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Further information

> Visit our website: www.onrsr.com.au

> ONRSR Corporate Plan 2015 – 2018 (available now)

> ONRSR Annual Report 2014/15 (available October)

> ONRSR Annual Safety Report (available December)

Questions?