On this page: Enforcing rail safety | Compliance and enforcement policy for rail safety | What is an improvement notice? | What is a prohibition notice? | Appealing rail safety decisions
Rail safety legislation in Victoria requires accredited rail operators to operate safely, so far as is reasonably practicable.
Enforcing rail safety
Recent reform of rail safety legislation in Victoria has enabled a proportionate approach to compliance and enforcement. This enables PTSV to undertake compliance and enforcement actions appropriate to the breach of legislation detected. These include:
- Provision of advice, education and training in relation to rail safety
- Improvement notices
- Prohibition notices
- Enforceable undertakings
- Disciplinary inquiries
- Variation of accreditation or conditions or restrictions on the accreditation
- Prosecution
- Suspension or revocation of accreditation
Compliance and enforcement policy for rail safety
The Safety Director carries out enforcement activities according to the following principles:
- Accountability – Staff working on behalf of the Safety Director must be conscious at all times of their role and their accountability for promoting the highest reasonably practicable safety standards.
- Consistency – Like situations should be treated in a like manner. Duty holders need to have full confidence that regulatory staffs' decision-making and actions will be fair and that comparable situations will have comparable outcomes.
- Transparency – Duty holders must be in no doubt as to the criteria used by regulatory staff in coming to a decision. A decision and its reasons need to be clearly communicated to the person involved. All decisions will be documented.
- Impartiality – Decisions made by staff working on behalf of the Safety Director must be impartial and be seen to be impartial.
What is an improvement notice?
An improvement notice is a notice served by the Safety Director, or a transport safety officer (TSO) to a person that requires the person to remedy a contravention (breach) or likely contravention against the Rail Safety Act or Regulations within a specified period of time.
What is a prohibition notice?
A prohibition notice is a notice served by the Safety Director or a TSO to a relevant person who has, or appears to have control over an activity which:
- is occurring, or which may occur at a railway premises that involves or will involve an immediate risk to the safety of a person; or
- may occur at, on, or in the immediate vicinity of, rail infrastructure or rolling stock that, if it occurs, will involve an immediate risk to the safety of rail operations.
Appealing rail safety decisions
The Rail Safety Act 2006 provides for an appeals process for certain decisions made by the Safety Director or transport safety officer (TSO). Further information can be found on the appeals and review page.