Late last year, the Rail Industry Safety and Standards Board (RISSB) officially changed its name to the Australian Rail Industry Standards Organisation (ARISO), signifying a “new era” in its service to members and the wider rail industry.
ARISO said it will have a stronger focus on supporting the development of mandatory standards, leading harmonised standards and assisting the industry where local standards are required.
The change was approved by members of the organisation at its Annual General Meeting (AGM) on November 27, 2025.
It comes after Australia’s rail industry, infrastructure and transport ministers made the historic decision to nominate European Train Control Systems (ETCS) as the future technology pathway for the National Network for Interoperability (NNI), meaning any digital train control and signalling system introduced on the NNI must comply with ETCS mandatory standards.
Progress on the national pathway for streamlining rolling stock approvals has also been endorsed by ministers, who support a national approach to the procurement of passenger rolling stock to maximise local industry participation, grow manufacturing capability and strengthen supply chain resilience.
In addition, ministers agreed to consider a package of reform options to implement elements of the National Rail Procurement and Management Strategy, including nationally harmonised standards for manufacturing rolling stock.
Alan Fedda, Chief Executive Officer of ARISO, said he’s delighted by the current appetite for change in the rail industry.
“It’s been a fantastic time because you can really feel that momentum, from a policy perspective but also more broadly across the industry,” he said.
“There’s a sense that we need to do something different if we’re going to drive greater productivity and safety outcomes nationally.”
Fedda said that until now, adopting standards was on more of a voluntary basis, but this hasn’t resulted in the necessary levels of consistency.
“We have been working hard to drive harmonisation across the rail sector.
“In 2023, we co-sponsored a report, along with the National Transport Commission (NTC), the Office of National Rail Industry Coordination (ONRIC) and the Australasian Railway Association (ARA), to look at the barriers to harmonisation, and one of the main barriers was that voluntary environment. Now there’s real momentum to create a stronger standards body to drive that harmonisation, especially on critical standards of national importance.”
The consequences of inconsistency
Across Australia, different jurisdictions use different rail gauges, technologies, signalling systems, driver training requirements – even different high-vis vests.
The consequences of these inconsistent standards include inefficiencies and lower productivity, slower approval processes, higher costs and increased safety risks.
A freight driver going from Perth to Sydney, for example, could travel through four different Rail Infrastructure Managers (RIMs) – four territories where the rules are different.
“That driver will have to do four different lots of training, carry four different colour vests in the cabin and change four times along the way,” said Fedda. “It’s just not efficient.
“But the inconsistencies go from simpler things like that to very important decisions around what signalling systems to implement.
“Historically, there hasn’t been the agreement we need in the industry on what the standards are that we should adopt moving forward.”
With reform now occurring for the Rail Safety National Law and the NTC entering consultation in 2026 around changes to the law, Fedda said this is a crucial time.
“This is an opportunity to think about exactly how standards fit in that regulatory environment,” he said.
Advancing safety and productivity
Fedda said ARISO’s new name sums up what the organisation does, and who it serves.
“We are the Australian Rail Industry Standards Organisation – and that ‘industry’ in the middle of our name is so important,” he said. “We continue to be an industry-led organisation, and everything we do is driven by industry input.”
Some eagle-eyed members of the rail sector have pointed out that the word “safety” has been dropped from ARISO’s name. However, Fedda said this certainly does not signify that safety is any less important to the organisation than it has been.
“Safety is at the heart of our culture in rail, and the clear objectives of the new organisation is to advance safety and productivity,” he said.
“Through harmonisation of standards, not only do you drive safety outcomes, but you also drive those productivity benefits for the economy and for operators and suppliers.”
Next steps
A critical priority for ARISO is progressing its Standards Prioritisation Framework.
“This is really important, because it will define what the work plan will be for the new ARISO,” Fedda said.
“It will determine what those standards of national importance are that we want to drive harmonisation on.”
He said these standards will look at the key objectives for the rail industry, such as increasing local manufacturing, enhancing infrastructure to improve safety, streamlining infrastructure supply chains, and the implementation of procedures to improve efficiency and safety.
“There is also something that we don’t talk about enough in the industry, which is training and skills accreditation,” he continued.
“If you’re a train driver in one jurisdiction, that doesn’t mean you’re accredited to be a train driver in another jurisdiction. That limits the movement of skills and career opportunities. And it’s not just drivers – we don’t have standardisation around skills and accreditation for many different roles in the rail industry.”
After ARISO completes the consultation process with its members and finalises its Standards Prioritisation Framework, the industry will begin to see more changes.
“Industry needs to be part of the development and assurance of our standards before they’re completed, so that we have that real assessment around their technical feasibility and about the ability to adopt those standards.
“Because if we’re going to get the real benefit realisation out of creating ARISO, it has to be through greater adoption.
“It’s one thing to have good standards, but if they’re not adopted, we’re not going to drive harmonisation.”
At ARISO’s AGM, new board governance was also approved for a transitional period of two years.
For the transition period, the board will consist of seven members, comprising the elected independent chair and independent directors, two industry directors and two government-appointed directors.
It has been announced that Jeroen Weimar, Secretary of the Department of Transport and Planning Victoria and Sally Stannard, the Director General of the Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads, will join the board as the government-appointed directors in 2026.
“The new board is for a transitional period of two years because our remit is changing, the way we work is changing, and what we need to deliver for the industry is changing,” said Fedda.
“This is about creating a credible standards body that the industry will continue to have faith in.
“We want the industry to support us, to be invested enough that they are at the table developing these standards with us – and, more importantly, invested in adopting these standards when they are in place.”
He said the industry can expect a lot of change in the next 12 months.
“It will take time to build our new organisation, but we have the right people in place with the competency in reform, in organisational change, and in driving process improvement that is needed to deliver on harmonisation outcomes.
“We’re excited for what 2026 will bring.”
