Footplate: Standing Up for Safety

To All Locomotive Division Members,

In early 2017, we wrote to the Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator (ONRSR) to request fatigue information for a number of rail operators after reports of shift breaches. We requested this information as part of a Freedom of Information Act request.

Freedom of information requests are a way for members of the public to have some oversight for decisions made by government or government organisations. Therefore we were extremely concerned when the majority of our request for information was refused.

Despite repeated delays, we continued to pursue this matter and demanded a further review of what information the regulator has to make public. We even took the issue to the Ombudsman’s Office in South Australia. This is where the regulator is headquartered.

Whilst we have once again been denied the information requested our application has resulted in the Ombudsman’s Office acknowledging “the legislative framework is flawed and in its current format” They have advised us they have written to the relevant government ministers to change the Act to make information about fatigue and rail safety more accessible.

We will keep you updated as more information is available on those changes. To make sure we always have the latest information on safety, keep reporting shift breaches at www.locoexpress.com.au

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