Accreditation
Scheme
Under the Rail Safety Act 1997, a system of accreditation provides assurance that railway organisations have the competency and capacity and systems in place to operate safely before they commence operations. The system of accreditation requires that a railway organisation must have a safety management system suitable for the organisation’s railway operation.
Australian Standard AS4292.1 – 2006 sets the minimum requirements for the scope and content of a safety management system.
Audit, inspection and investigatory powers, together with analysis of performance data, enables the Rail Safety Regulator to monitor the compliance of accredited railway organisations with statutory accreditation requirements.
National Rail Safety Accreditation Package
The National Rail Safety Accreditation Package (version 2.0 dated December 2005) describes the context and purpose of rail safety accreditation and provides explanatory information to assist railway organisations to understand what is expected of them and why. It also describes what is required of the accreditation application and the safety management systems of accredited railway organisations.
Risk Management
Fundamental to ensuring safe railway operations is the continuous identification, assessment and elimination or control of safety risks.
The Department has issued a safety risk standard and risk tolerability guidelines to accredited railways in Tasmania to ensure a standardised approach is applied to safety related risk assessments. These documents follow the principle of managing risks to levels that are As Low as Reasonably Practicable (ALARP).
Accreditation Fees
Current fees applying under the Rail Safety Act 1997 are as follows:
| Application for accreditation as an owner and/or operator | $300.00 |
Annual renewal fee for an accredited owner and/or operator for:
| Commercial organisation (travelling more than 500 km per day) | $250.00 |
| Commercial organisation (travelling less than 500km per day) | $150.00 |
| Heritage, not-for-profit organisation: | $150.00 |
Auditing and/or inspection fee for:
| Commercial organisation (travelling more than 500 km per day) | $12,000.00 to $14,000.00 |
| Commercial organisation (travelling less than 500km per day) | $8,000.00 to $10,000.00 |
| Heritage, not-for-profit organisation: | $2,000.00 to $4,000.00 |
Annual private siding registration, per siding
| $50.00 |
Late fee
| 5% of application fee (or annual renewal fee) for each month overdue |
