The Rail Safety Act 2006 is a law enacted by the Parliament of the State of Victoria, Australia, and is the prime statute regulating the safety of rail operations in Victoria. The Act was developed as part of the Transport Legislation Review conducted by the Department of Transport between 2004 and 2010 and is aimed at preventing deaths and injuries arising from rail operations.
The Act was the State's first dedicated statute on the subject and replaced provisions in the former Transport Act 1983. The Act forms part of the transport policy and legislation framework in Victoria set by the Transport Integration Act 2010, and its provisions are subject to the overarching transport system vision, transport system objectives and decision making principles set out in the Transport Integration Act. The Act was passed in early 2006 and commenced on 1 August of that year. The Act also established Victoria's first independent transport safety regulator, the Director, Public Transport Safety. In 2010 the statutory office of Director, Public Transport Safety was replaced by the Director, Transport Safety. Though functionally independent, the Director is part of the Department of Transport and reports to the relevant Ministers.
The responsible Minister for the Act is the Minister for Public Transport, currently Jacinta Allan.
Outline
The stated purpose of the Act is "...to provide for safe rail operations in Victoria". The objects of the Act center on the safety of rail operations, management of safety risks, continuous improvement in rail safety management, public confidence in the safety of rail transport and appropriate stakeholder involvement. The Act also contains a number of overarching policy principles relating to shared responsibility, accountability for managing safety risks, integrated risk management, enforcement, transparency, consistency and stakeholder involvement.
The Act establishes a regulatory scheme with the following key elements:
a number of performance based safety duties applying to a broad range of parties who can affect rail safety outcomes an accreditation scheme concentrating on key rail industry operational parties a requirement that rail operators have a safety management system in place a broad range of sanctions and penalties cost benefit protections against excessive action by the regulator against industry participants alcohol and drug controls on rail safety workers provision for the making of codes of practice to give guidance to regulated rail industry parties.
The Act also established the State's first dedicated public transport safety regulator - the Director, Public Transport Safety - which was created as an independent statutory office.
Parts
The Act is divided into ten parts: Preliminary Principles of Rail Safety Rail Safety Duties and Other Safety Requirements Protection and Control of Rail Operations Accreditation of Rail Infrastructure and Rolling Stock Operations Alcohol and Other Drug Controls for Rail Safety Workers Review of Decisions Codes of Practice General Other Amendments to Acts, Savings and Transitional
Coverage
The Act regulates the safety compliance of most rail transport in Victoria including heavy and light rail systems, public and private sidings, tramways and tourist and heritage rail operations. The main railways regulated by the Act include the Melbourne heavy rail system, the Melbourne tram and light rail network, Victoria's regional standard and broad gauge rail networks and regional tourist and heritage railways. Railways excluded from coverage under the Act include railways in mines, amusement and theme park railways and slipways.
Duties
Part 3 of the Act sets out a number of performance based safety duties which are required to be observed by designated rail industry participants including:
rail infrastructure managers (including persons in charge of rail tracks) rolling stock operators rail contractors labour-hire entities rail safety workers.
"Rail contractor" is defined broadly by the Act to include a range of persons including those involved in design, construction, manufacture, supply, installation, maintenance, repair and modification who knows or ought reasonably to know that things were to be used as rail infrastructure or rolling stock.