10 Dec 2024
Progress report – Code of Practice Rail Safety Investigations
The Development Group for the Code of Practice Rail Safety Investigations is close to finalising the draft document, following its latest meeting on 27 November.
Facilitated by Michael Maartensz, RISSB Standards Development Manager, this was the 12th meeting of the group since it was established.
During the meeting, the Group discussed the importance of promoting a just culture approach to rail safety investigations and applying a standard method of investigation to all rail safety occurrences.
The initial Development Group meeting was held in October 2023 with representation from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB), Rail Tram and Bus Union (RTBU), Perth Transport Authority of Western Australia (PTA) and other subject matter experts from rail organisations across Australia.
The development group has held thorough discussions for the review of the Code of Practice, and a number of important changes have been made to the document since the initial draft version. Some of these changes include:
- further alignment of the investigation framework to the rail safety national law (RSNL)
- a revised set of rail safety investigation principals
- risk management guidance for investigators
- inclusion of additional investigation analysis models
- the role of subject matter experts during investigations.
The Code of Practice will be of great benefit to the Australian rail industry as it provides the basis of a common approach to the investigation of occurrences.
The Code of Practice is based on the principle that rail safety investigations should determine the circumstances of occurrences, and any actions or recommendations identified should be developed to reduce risks from such occurrences. It provides a suite of tools to assist anyone that is involved in the investigation of rail safety occurrences.
The draft document is currently undergoing an internal review and is expected to be released for Public Consultation in the coming weeks.