![Australian Transport Safety Bureau window logo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c4/Australian_Transport_Safety_Bureau_window_logo.jpg)
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) is Australia's national transport safety investigator. The ATSB is the federal government body responsible for investigating transport-related accidents and incidents within
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
. It covers air, sea and rail travel. The ATSB is an independent Commonwealth Government
statutory agency, governed by a Commission and is separate from transport regulators, policy makers and service providers.
History
The ATSB was formed on 1 July 1999. It combined the Bureau of Air Safety Investigation (BASI), Marine Incident Investigation Unit (MIIU) and parts of the Federal Office of Road Safety (FORS).
Its central office is located at 12 Moore Street in
Canberra
Canberra ( )
is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...
,
Australian Capital Territory
The Australian Capital Territory (commonly abbreviated as ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) until 1938, is a landlocked federal territory of Australia containing the national capital Canberra and some surrounding townships. ...
. It has field offices in
Adelaide
Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
,
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...
,
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
and
Perth
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...
. It has about 100 employees, including about 60 Transport Safety Investigators of aviation, marine, and rail accidents and incidents.
Air safety investigation
Australian aviation accidents were initially investigated by the Air Accident Investigation Committee (AAIC), formed in 1927, to "investigate all civil and military aircraft accidents that the Committee deemed advisable".
When the
Department of Civil Aviation
A civil aviation authority (CAA) is a national or supranational statutory authority that oversees the regulation of civil aviation, including the maintenance of an aircraft register.
Role
Due to the inherent dangers in the use of flight vehicles, ...
(DCA) was formed in 1938, investigation of air safety came within its purview. During the 1950s, the Air Safety Investigation Branch (ASIB) was formed, becoming the Bureau of Air Safety Investigation (BASI) in 1982, an operationally independent unit of the
Department of Aviation (DoA). In 1987, BASI was transferred to the
Department of Transport and Communications
The Department of Transport and Communications was an Australian government department that existed between July 1987 and December 1993.
History
The Department of Transport and Communications was one of 16 'super-ministries' announced ...
(DoTaC) when DoA was abolished.
Currently, the ATSB is responsible for investigating civil aircraft incidents and accidents within Australia and assisting in investigations of Australian registered aircraft overseas. Australia is a Council member of the
International Civil Aviation Organization
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO, ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates the principles and techniques of international air navigation, and fosters the planning and development of international sc ...
(ICAO).
Marine safety investigation
The Marine Incident Investigation Unit (MIIU) was created on 1 January 1991, under the direction of the Inspector of Marine Accidents, a statutory position. Previously, significant marine accident investigations were conducted by a Court of Marine Inquiry, a model which was adopted in 1921, via amendment to the ''Navigation Act 1912'' (Cwlth). This was based on United Kingdom law and practices dating back to the 1850s.
Currently, the ATSB investigates accidents and serious incidents of Australian
flagged
Flagging may refer to:
*Running out of time on a chess clock
*Flagging (tape)
Flagging is a coloured non-adhesive tape used in marking objects. It is commonly made of PVC or vinyl, though wood fibre cellulose-based biodegradable flagging also ex ...
ships worldwide, and of foreign flagged ships withi
Australian waters Australia is a Council member of the
International Maritime Organization
The International Maritime Organization (IMO, French: ''Organisation maritime internationale'') is a specialised agency of the United Nations responsible for regulating shipping. The IMO was established following agreement at a UN conference ...
(IMO).
Road Safety Branch
Between July 1999 and March 2008, Federal government initiatives dealing with road safety were primarily within the ATSB's responsibilities in the Road Safety Branch (RSB). The RSB later became part of 'The Infrastructure and Surface Transport Policy Division' of the
.
Rail safety investigation
Until formation of the ATSB, rail safety had been the responsibility of each state government.
With the enactment of the ''Transport Safety Investigation Act 2003'' (Cwlth), the ATSB gained jurisdiction for rail incident and accident investigations on the
Defined Interstate Rail Network (DIRN), consisting of the standard gauge track linking all major Australian mainland cities and ports. In December 2009, the
Council of Australian Governments
The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) was the primary intergovernmental forum in Australia from 1992 to 2020. Comprising the federal government, the governments of the six states and two mainland territories and the Australian Local G ...
(COAG) agreed to adopt the ATSB as the national rail safety investigator, in conjunction with the formation of
national rail safety regulator Commencing in January 2013, all Australian states and territories gradually adopted the scheme, with
Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, established_ ...
the last to join in July 2017. Th
Office of Transport Safety Investigations(OTSI) and th
Chief Investigator Transport Safety(CITS), continue to investigate rail accidents and incidents in conjunction with the ATSB, in
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
and
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
, respectively.
ATSB operations
The ATSB contributes to transport safety by independently investigating, analysing and openly reporting on transport safety matters. It is not a function of the ATSB to apportion blame or liability, instead, investigations are focused on learning from accidents and incidents and, encouraging safety action by government and industry.
The ATSB is entirely separate from transport regulatory authorities such as the
Civil Aviation Safety Authority
The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) is the Australian national authority for the regulation of civil aviation. Although distinct from the government, it reports to the Federal Minister for Infrastructure and Transport.
CASA is responsibl ...
(CASA), the
Australian Maritime Safety Authority
Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) is an Australian statutory authority responsible for the regulation and safety oversight of Australia's shipping fleet and management of Australia's international maritime obligations. The authority ...
(AMSA) and th
Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator(ONRSR), government policy makers and, service providers such as
Airservices Australia and the
Australian Rail Track Corporation
The Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) is an Australian Government-owned statutory corporation.
It operates one of the largest rail networks in the nation spanning 8,500km across five states, 39 worksites and more than 50 First Nations.
...
(ARTC). This separation ensures the independence of ATSB investigations, thereby avoiding external influence and conflicts of interest.
The ''Transport Safety Investigation Act 2003'' (TSI Act), allows the ATSB to investigate transport safety matters in the aviation, marine and rail transport modes within the Australian Government's constitutional jurisdiction and, to release transport safety information, including investigation reports that detail the findings and significant factors that led to a particular transport safety occurrence. ATSB Transport Safety Investigators exercise statutory powers delegated by the Chief Commissioner in accordance with the provisions of the TSI Act. These powers allow ATSB investigators to interview anyone involved directly or indirectly in a transport safety occurrence. A comprehensive regime of provisions within the TSI Act is in place to maintain the confidentiality of, and legal protection for, a range of sensitive safety information gathered by ATSB investigators. The ATSB is now so experienced in Aircraft crash investigations that they are now specifically called upon by the US NTSB and were a major contributor in the Adam Air 574 crash in Silowasi Indonesia
Other countries
*
Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board
The Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board (ARAIB, ko, 항공ㆍ철도사고조사위원회) is an agency of the South Korean government that investigates aviation and railway accidents, subservient to the Ministry of Land, Infrastruc ...
– South Korea
*
Dutch Safety Board
The Dutch Safety Board (DSB; nl, Onderzoeksraad voor Veiligheid, OVV, literally "Investigation Council for Safety") is an organisation based in The Hague, Netherlands.[Taiwan Transportation Safety Board
The Taiwan Transportation Safety Board (TTSB, ) is an independent government agency of the Republic of China responsible for major transportation accidents on aviation, railways, waterways, and highways in Taiwan. The council is headquartered in ...]
– Taiwan
*
Japan Transport Safety Board
The is Japan's authority for establishing transportation safety. It is a division of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT). It is housed in the in Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan.
The agency formed on Octob ...
– Japan
*
National Transportation Safety Board
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is an independent U.S. government investigative agency responsible for civil transportation accident investigation. In this role, the NTSB investigates and reports on aviation accidents and incid ...
– United States
*
National Transportation Safety Committee
The National Transportation Safety Committee (NTSC, id, Komite Nasional Keselamatan Transportasi, KNKT; literally "Transportation Safety National Committee") is an Indonesian government agency charged with the investigation of air, land, rail, ...
– Indonesia
*
Safety Investigation Authority
The Safety Investigation Authority of Finland (SIAF or SIA, fi, Onnettomuustutkintakeskus, lit. ''Accident Investigation Center'', shortened to ; sv, Olycksutredningscentralen) is the accident investigation authority of Finland. It investigates ...
– Finland
*
Swedish Accident Investigation Authority
The Swedish Accident Investigation Authority ( sv, Statens haverikommission, or SHK, in English formerly the Swedish Accident Investigation Board) is a Swedish government agency tasked with investigating all types of serious civil or military acci ...
– Sweden
*
Swiss Transportation Safety Investigation Board
The Swiss Transportation Safety Investigation Board (STSB, german: Schweizerische Sicherheitsuntersuchungsstelle; french: Service suisse d'enquête de securité; it, Servizio d'inchiesta svizzero sulla sicurezza) is a government agency of Swit ...
– Switzerland
*
Transport Accident Investigation Commission
The Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC, mi, Te Kōmihana Tirotiro Aituā Waka) is a transport safety body of New Zealand. It has its headquarters on the 7th floor of 10 Brandon Street in Wellington. The agency investigates aviatio ...
– New Zealand
*
Transportation Safety Board of Canada
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB, french: Bureau de la sécurité des transports du Canada, BST), officially the Canadian Transportation Accident Investigation and Safety Board (french: link=no, Bureau canadien d'enquête sur les ...
*
Transport Safety Investigation Bureau
The Transport Safety Investigation Bureau (TSIB) is statutory board under the Ministry of Transport of the Government of Singapore and is an independent investigation authority, responsible for the investigation of air, marine and land transpor ...
– Singapore
References
External links
Australian Transport Safety Bureau Website*
{{Authority control
Organizations investigating aviation accidents and incidents
Commonwealth Government agencies of Australia
Rail accident investigators
Transport safety organizations
1999 establishments in Australia
Funding bodies of Australia
Organisations based in Canberra
Transport organisations based in Australia
Safety in Australia