National rail safety draft out for comment

<p>The National Transport Commission (NTC) has released its rail safety reform bill, setting out the legal duties and regulatory requirements for safety in the industry.</p> <p>NTC chief executive Tony Wilson said the bill’s objective was to establish a best practice approach to safety regulation and to provide a stronger and more consistent national framework that would reduce the unnecessary duplication of effort and resources.</p> <p>The draft bill:</p> <p>&#8226 Establishes the general safety duties and the requirements of all parties</p> <p>&#8226 Defines the safety level to be achieved</p> <p>&#8226 Provides rail safety regulators with powers to gain access to documents, staff, infrastructure and equipment for auditing compliance</p> <p>&#8226 Provides regulators with a hierarchy of sanctions and penalty options</p> <p>&#8226 Sets check and balances on the actions of the rail safety regulator</p> <p>&#8226 Requires rail safety regulators in different states and territories to coordinate decision making and</p> <p>&#8226Enables the establishment of national guidelines, standards and compliance codes to support nationally consistent legislation and regulations. </p> <p>The draft model rail safety (reform) and associated draft regulatory impact statement are now out for comment.</p> <p>See http:&#47&#47www.ntc.gov.au&#47DocVi e w.aspx?page=A02312406400060020 for more information.</p> <br />