Rail Safety Regulations 2006

Version No. 007

Rail Safety Regulations 2006

S.R. No. 96/2006

Version incorporating amendments as at 19 October 2010

table of provisions

RegulationPage

Part 1—Preliminary

1Objective

2Authorising provisions

3Commencement

4Definitions

5Scope of meaning of rail safety work

Part 2—Accreditation

Division 1AA—Exemption from accreditation

6AACertain rolling stock operators exempt

6ABDirector of Public Transport exempt

Division 1—Application for accreditation

6Application for accreditation

7Combined applications for accreditation

8Ongoing notification of change of details

Division 2—Emergency plans

9Preparation and communication of an emergency plan

10Matters to be included in an emergency plan

11Keeping, maintaining and testing an emergency plan

12Review and revision of emergency plan

Part 3—Safety Management Systems

13Content of a SMS

14Review and revision

15Provision of SMS to Safety Director

16Copies of SMS to be kept

16ACopies of safety interface agreements to be kept available to public

Part 4—Revoked

17, 18Revoked

Part 5—Rail Safety Workers

Division 1—Alcohol and drug controls

19Preliminary breath test devices

20Procedure for breath analysis

21Procedure for taking blood sample

22Procedure after taking blood samples

23Certificate under section 78(5)

24Particulars of report of assessment of drug impairment

25Certificate under section 83(5)

26Certificate under section 83(6)

27Certificate under section 83(7)

28Certificate under section 83(8)

29Procedure for collecting urine samples

30Procedures after collecting urine samples

31Certificate under section 84(5)

32Certificate under section 84(6)

33Certificate under section 84(7)

34Duty to provide indicative positive results to Safety Director

Division 2—Health and fitness of rail safety workers

35Rail operator to ensure workers are fit to carry out rail safety work

36Fatigue management

37Health assessments

Division 3—Competence

38Competence of rail safety workers

39Assessment of rail safety worker competence

40Records of competence and training

Part 6—Reporting

Division 1—Duties relating to railway accidents and incidents

41Definitions

42Safety Director may specify notifiable accident or incident or notifiable circumstance

43Duty to notify railway accidents or incidents

44Duty to notify notifiable circumstances

45Investigation report

Division 1A—Operational reporting and notifications

46Monthly reports

46ANotification to Safety Director of certain decisions or changes

47Exemptions from reporting requirements

48Duty to preserve accident or incident site

Division 2—Annual reviews and reports

49Annual reviews and reports

Part 7—Fees

50Accreditation application fee

51Fee for temporary accreditation

52Fee for accreditation exemption for private siding

53Accreditation fee

54Annual fees

55Late payment fees

56Refund of application or annual fees

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SCHEDULES

SCHEDULE 1—Fees

SCHEDULE 2—Matters and information to be contained in a Safety Management System of an accredited rail operator

SCHEDULE 3—Matters and Information to be Contained in a SMS
of a Nonaccredited Rail Operator

SCHEDULE 4—Investigation Reports

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ENDNOTES

1. General Information

2. Table of Amendments

3. Explanatory Details

Version No. 007

Rail Safety Regulations 2006

S.R. No. 96/2006

Version incorporating amendments as at 19 October 2010

Rail Safety Regulations 2006

S.R. No. 96/2006

Part 1—Preliminary

1Objective

The objective of these Regulations is to promote safe rail operations in Victoria by prescribing requirements for—

(a)accreditation of rail infrastructure managers and rolling stock operators;

(b)emergency plans;

(c)safety management systems;

(d)alcohol and drug controls for rail safety workers;

(e)the health, fitness and competence of rail safety workers;

(f)reporting of accidents, incidents and inquiries;

(g)fees for services.

2Authorising provisions

These Regulations are made under Division 5 of Part 9 of the Rail Safety Act2006.

3Commencement

(1)These Regulations (except Part 4, regulations 36, 39, 45 to 48 and Division 2 of Part 6) come into operation on 1 August 2006.

(2)Part 4, regulations 36, 39, 45 to 48 and Division 2 of Part 6 come into operation on 1November 2006.

4Definitions

In these Regulations—

accredited tourist and heritage railway operatorhas the same meaning as it has in section66(1) of the Act;

approved means approved in writing by the Safety Director;

Reg. 4 def. of AQF insertedby S.R. No. 9/2008 reg.5.

AQF has the same meaning as in the Education and Training Reform Act 2006;

control measure means a measure used to control the likelihood, magnitude and severity of consequences of incidents;

Reg. 4 def. of health assessment national standard inserted by S.R. No. 9/2008 reg.5.

health assessment national standard means National Standard for Health Assessment of Rail Safety Workers, published by the National Transport Commission in June 2004, as amended from time to time;

running line means any railway track on which rolling stock operates other than a railway track in a depot or yard, or a railway track that is a siding;

SMS means safety management system;

the Act means the Rail Safety Act 2006.

Reg. 5 amended by S.R. No. 9/2008 reg.6(ILA s.39B(2)).

5Scope of meaning of rail safety work

r. 4

(1)For the purposes of section 7 of the Act, the following work, if not undertaken on railway premises, is not rail safety work for the purposes of Part 6 of the Act and Part 4—

(a)designing—

(i)rolling stock; or

(ii)civil or electric traction infrastructure; or

(iii)signalling or telecommunications equipment;

(b)any work relating to the design of rail infrastructure or associated works, or equipment;

(c)any work involving the development of safe working systems for railways.

Reg. 5(2) inserted by S.R. No. 9/2008 reg.6.

(2)For the purposes of section 7 of the Act, maintaining, monitoring or inspecting rail infrastructure or associated works for the purpose of assessing or undertaking fire prevention work is not rail safety work for the purposes of Division 2 of Part 5.

Reg. 5(3) inserted by S.R. No. 9/2008 reg.6.

(3)For the purposes of section 7 of the Act, monitoring, inspecting or testing of—

(a)rolling stock; or

(b)civil or electric traction infrastructure; or

(c)signalling or telecommunications equipment—

is not rail safety work if undertaken by a transport safety officer for compliance and investigative purposes.

Reg. 5(4) inserted by S.R. No. 9/2008 reg.6.

(4)In this regulation compliance and investigative purposes has the same meaning as in section 228S(1) of the Transport Act 1983.

r. 5

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Part 2—Accreditation

Pt 2 Div. 1AA (Heading and regs 6AA, 6AB) insertedby S.R. No. 9/2008 reg.7.

Division 1AA—Exemption from accreditation

Reg. 6AA inserted by S.R. No. 9/2008 reg.7.

6AACertain rolling stock operators exempt

A rolling stock operator who only operates rolling stock that is an emergency response vehicle is exempt from the requirement to be accredited under Part 5 of the Act in respect of the following rolling stock operations—

(a)the use of that rolling stock in an emergency or rescue operation; or

(b)the use of that rolling stock for training for emergency or rescue operations; or

(c)the testing of that rolling stock.

Reg. 6AB inserted by S.R. No. 9/2008 reg.7.

6ABDirector of Public Transport exempt

(1)The Director is exempt from the requirement to be accredited under Part 5 of the Act.

(2)In this regulation Directorhas the same meaning as in the Transport Act 1983.

Division 1—Application for accreditation

6Application for accreditation

r. 6AA

(1)For the purposes of section 38(3)(b) of the Act, a rail infrastructure manager must provide the following with an application for accreditation—

(a)a description of the nature, character and scope of the rail infrastructure manager's proposed rail infrastructure operations;

(b)the name of the person making the application and the contact details of that person;

r. 6

(c)evidence of competence and capacity, including—

(i)details of the knowledge, skills and experience of persons who will be responsible for the development, management and maintenance of the SMS so that those persons perform their allocated tasks and discharge their allocated responsibilities effectively; and

(ii)details about the resources and systems that will be relied upon by the rail operator to carry out its rail operations safely;

(d)documentary evidence that the rail infrastructure manager complies with section26 of the Act;

(e)documentary evidence that the rail infrastructure manager's SMS complies with Division 4 of Part 3 of the Act;

(f)evidence to the satisfaction of the Safety Director that the rail infrastructure manager has—

(i)the financial capacity; or

(ii)public risk insurance arrangements—

to meet reasonable potential accident liabilities arising from the carrying out of the rail operations;

Reg. 6(1)(g) substitutedby S.R. No. 114/2010 reg.3(1).

(g)information identifying potential risks to the safety of rail operations that may require the development of a safety interface agreement.

Note to reg.6(1) insertedbyS.R. No. 114/2010 reg.3(2).

r. 6

Note

The application must also be accompanied by the relevant fee: see regulation 50(1).

(2)For the purposes of section 38(3)(b) of the Act, a rolling stock operator must provide the following with an application for accreditation—

(a)a description of the nature, character and scope of the rolling stock operator's proposed rolling stock operations;

(b)the name of the person making the application and the contact details of that person;

(c)evidence of competence and capacity, including—

(ii)details about the resources and systems that will be relied upon by the rail operator to carry out its rail operations safely;

(d)documentary evidence that the rolling stock operator complies with section 26 of the Act; and

(e)documentary evidence that the rolling stock operator's SMS complies with Division 4 of Part 3 of the Act;

(f)evidence to the satisfaction of the Safety Director that the rolling stock operator has—

(i)the financial capacity; or

(ii)public risk insurance arrangements—

to meet reasonable potential accident liabilities arising from the carrying out of the rail operations;

Reg. 6(2)(g) substitutedby S.R. No. 114/2010 reg.3(3).

(g)information identifying potential risks to the safety of rail operations that may require the development of a safety interface agreement;

(h)evidence of any agreement with the rail infrastructure manager who controls the rail infrastructure on which the rolling stock operator wishes to operate particular rolling stock.

Note

The application must also be accompanied by the relevant fee: see regulation 50(2).

7Combined applications for accreditation

r. 7

A rail infrastructure manager who is also a rolling stock operator may combine the information required under regulation 6(1) and (2) into one application.

8Ongoing notification of change of details

(1)An accredited rail operator must, within 28 days, notify in writing, the Safety Director of any change to information—

(a)relating to the operator's application for accreditation;or

(b)relating to item 3.2 of Schedule 2; or

(c)that was included in the application submitted by the operator for that accreditation.

Example

Changes with respect to the name of the accredited person, the registered business name or trading name of the accredited person, the name of directors, or the registered business address.

(2)Subregulation (1) is a condition of accreditation.

Division 2—Emergency plans

Note

An emergency plan required under the Act and referred to in this Division is different to a risk management plan required under section 29 of the Terrorism (Community Protection) Act 2003.

9Preparation and communication of an emergency plan

r. 9

(1)An emergency plan under section 52 of the Act must be prepared in conjunction with—

(a)any government agencies with emergency management functions in the area to which the plan relates; and

Example

The Victorian WorkCover Authority has responsibility for dangerous goods.

(b)other rail operators who may be affected by the implementation of the plan.

Note

Section 52(4)(b)(i) of the Act states that an emergency plan must be prepared in conjunction with the emergency services and any other prescribed person.

(2)A rail operator who is required to develop an emergency plan in conjunction with government agencies or other operators must do so by—

(a)sharing with the agencies or operators information in relation tothe proposed emergency plan; and

(b)giving the agencies or operators a reasonable opportunity to express their views about the plan; and

(c)taking into account those views.

(3)A rail operator who has developed an emergency plan must communicate the content of the plan to—

(a)rail safety workers, rail contractors and employees of the rail operator who may be required to implement the emergency plan; and

(b)the relevant emergency services; and

(c)the government agencies referred to in subregulation (1).

10Matters to be included in an emergency plan

r. 10

An emergency plan must address—

(a)the consequences of a major incident occurring;

(b)methods to prevent an emergency from escalating;

(c)initial response procedures for dealing with an emergency and the provision of rescue services;

(d)recovery procedures for the restoration of rail operations and for the assistance of persons affected by the occurrence of an emergency;

(e)the allocation of roles and responsibilities to persons employed by the rail operator relating to emergency management, including arrangements for communication and co-operation between organisations in the event of an emergency;

(f)processes for the training of personnel who will be responsible for implementing the emergency plan and arrangements to maintain the competence of those persons in emergency management;

(g)call-out procedures;

(h)the allocation of personnel for the on-site management of the emergency;

(i)procedures for liaison with relevant emergency services, including information about the circumstances in which the emergency services should be immediately contacted;

(j)procedures to ensure that emergency services are provided with all the information that is reasonably required to enable them to respond effectively to an emergency;

(k)the intervals within which the plan must be reviewed, being intervals not longer than 3years.

11Keeping, maintaining and testing an emergency plan

r. 11

(1)A rail operator must ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that training in the relevant elements of the plan is provided to rail safety workers, rail contractors and employees of the rail operator who may be required to implement the emergency plan.

Penalty:10 penalty units.

(2)A rail operator must test the emergency plan or elements of the plan to ensure the plan remains effective—

(a)at intervals determined by the operator in conjunction with the emergency services when preparing the emergency plan; and

(b)after any significant changes are made to the plan.

(3)A rail operator must, so far as is reasonably practicable, arrange for participation in the testingof the emergency plan or elements of the plan by relevant emergency services.

(4)A rail operator must ensure that in-house exercises to test the plan are undertaken on a regular basis.

(5)A rail operator must ensure that the emergency plan is comprehensible, and is readily accessible, to—

(a)all employees of the operator, rail safety workers and rail contractors engaged by the operator, who may be required to implement any emergency response procedures in the emergency plan; and

(b)any utilities that may be required to implement any part of the emergency plan; and

(c)emergency services.

Penalty:10 penalty units.

12Review and revision of emergency plan

r. 12

A rail operator must review, and if necessary revise, the emergency plan—

(a)at intervals specified in the emergency plan; and

(b)following the occurrence of a major incident; and

r. 12

(c)if testing of the emergency plan reveals that the plan should be reviewed.

Penalty:5 penalty units.

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Part 3—Safety Management Systems

13Content of a SMS

r. 13

For the purposes of section 25 of the Act—

(a)a SMS established by an accredited rail operator must contain the matters and information contained in Schedule 2;

(b)a SMS established by a rail operator who is not accredited must contain the matters and information contained in Schedule 3.

14Review and revision

(1)A rail operator must ensure that its SMS is reviewed—

(a)at intervals that do not exceed 5 years; or

(b)at shorter intervals as specified in its SMS.

Penalty:15 penalty units.

(2)A rail operator must review, and revise where necessary, its SMS if—

(a)the rail operator is required to apply for a variation of accreditation under section 54(1) of the Act; or

(b)a major incident occurs; or

(c)a recommendation of a safetyaudit is that the SMS should be reviewed.

Penalty:15 penalty units.

(3)The rail operator must record the date the SMS is reviewed.

Penalty:5 penalty units.

(4)A review of the SMS may form part of the annual review required by regulation 49.

15Provision of SMS to Safety Director

r. 15

(1)The Safety Director may request a rail operator to—

(a)provide a copy of, or parts of, the SMS to the Safety Director; or

(b)provide a summary of the SMS to the Safety Director.

(2)A rail operator must comply with a request under subregulation (1) within 7 days after receiving the request.

Penalty:15 penalty units.

16Copies of SMS to be kept

A rail operator must keep an up to date copy of the SMS.

Penalty:15 penalty units.

Reg. 16A insertedby S.R. No. 59/2009 reg.11.

16ACopies of safety interface agreements to be kept available to public

For the purposes of keeping and maintaining a safety management system, a rail operator, whether accredited or non-accredited, must keep a copy of a safety interface agreement that forms part of the safety management system established and maintained by that rail operator available for inspection free of charge by any person affected by that agreement.

Penalty:10 penalty units.

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Pt 4 (Heading and regs 17, 18) revokedby S.R. No. 59/2009 reg.12.

*****

Part 5—Rail Safety Workers

Division 1—Alcohol and drug controls

19Preliminary breath test devices

r. 19

The devices prescribed for the purposes of section77 of the Act are the breath testing devices known as—

(a)the Alcotest 80/A; or

(b)the Lion Alcolmeter also known as the lion alcolmeter S-D2; or

Reg. 19(c) amended by S.R. No. 59/2009 reg.5(1).

(c)the lion alcolmeter SD-400PA; or

Reg. 19(d) inserted by S.R. No. 59/2009 reg.5(2).

(d)the Alcolizer LE.

20Procedure for breath analysis

It is a requirement for the proper operation of a breath analysing instrument that a person authorised under section 78(4) of the Act to operate a breath analysing instrument—

(a)does not require a person to provide a breath sample for analysis until the authorised person is satisfied that the person has not consumed any alcohol for a period of at least 15 minutes before the analysis; and

(b)provides a fresh mouthpiece for use by each person required to provide a breath sample; and

(c)uses only a mouthpiece which, until required for taking the breath sample, has been kept in a sealed container.

21Procedure for taking blood sample

r. 21

If a blood sample is taken by a registered medical practitioner or an approved health professional for the purposes of the Act, the site of the puncture must be cleansed with a swab taken from a container which—

(a)appears to be sealed against contamination; and

(b)bears a label stating that the container holds an aqueous solution of chlorohexidine and cetrimide and no methylated spirits, alcohol, tincture of iodine or other substance containing alcohol.

22Procedure after taking blood samples

(1)A registered medical practitioner or an approved health professional who takes a blood sample must ensure that—

(a)the sample of blood is placed in 3 dry containers, each containing approximately the same amount of blood; and