Safety Managers Group

The SMG is coordinated by RISSB and is composed of rail safety managers from rail organisations, working together in a cooperative way to:

• Provide a forum for free and open exchange of ideas and concepts in relation to safety management in the rail context
• Provide an opportunity for industry to prepare a common position for further consideration by the Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator (ONRSR) working groups
• Facilitate the development of improved industry safety policy and practice with the goal of reducing injury and damage so far as reasonably practicable within the Australasian rail networks, including Heritage operations.

Membership of the SMG is open to safety managers from rail industry companies who have a direct key stakeholder interest in rail safety issues.

Members are required to attend at least 2 meetings per year (each subsequent meeting is in an alternate major city to reduce the travel burden). The SMG is a forum that meets three times per year annually.

The SMG is responsible for maintaining and upholding the principles of the Rail Industry Safety Strategy 2016-2020

Achievements since 2016 include:
• The cost of regulation decreasing with ONRSR’s budget reduced in 2018/19
• Steps towards a single national rail safety law through ARA advocacy and ONRSR industry engagement
• Industry driving a nationally agreed categorisation of SPADs, implemented in occurrence reporting from 1 July 2018
• The development of the Australian Rail Risk Model (ARRM) by RISSB
• Strong uptake of RISSB products including standards, codes of practice and guidelines
• Establishment of the Chief Medical Officers Council to strengthen governance.

If you believe your company should have a representative on the SMG, please send an email to info@rissb.com.au.