Development is underway on a proposed nationally harmonised system for authorising who is qualified to deliver services across the nation’s rail networks.
A Transport for NSW scheme is proposed to be used as the foundation to achieve national consistency, and the agency is now partnering with the Australasian Railway Association to develop this further.
This system seeks to solve the problem that currently occurs where anyone carrying out work within rail corridors across Australia needs to be authorised or prequalified by the relevant state or territory authorising body, but they must repeat a very similar process in each separate state or territory for similar types of activities.
This authorisation process applies to a wide range of organisations and roles from civil or rollingstock engineers to multi-national construction companies performing high-tech works such as track, signalling, tunnelling and major civil projects.
It can be very time-consuming and costly for an applicant to submit the necessary information to work on a rail project in multiple jurisdictions.
There’s also duplication as each state or territory’s authorising body must review and approve applications, without any national coordination or cross-border sharing of information that could help improve safety, quality and public transport outcomes.
Research by the ARA suggests inefficient processes such as this cost the rail industry alone up to $40 million per year.
Identifying this lack of collaboration as a barrier to productivity, the ARA earlier this year started rail-industry wide consultation towards a nationally harmonised pre-qualification scheme.
The ARA concluded that adopting a technical-assurance-based framework such as Transport for NSW’s (Transport) Technically Assured Organisation (TAO) scheme, offers a more practical foundation for achieving national consistency.
The TAO Scheme takes an accredited management systems approach, establishing a common baseline for an organisation’s technical capability, safety, and assurance arrangements that can be recognised across networks.
The ARA, Transport and relevant rail agencies and transport jurisdictions are now partnering with the goal of developing a nationally harmonised TAO prequalification scheme for the industry.
It will be modelled on the Product Type Approval Framework (PTAF) recently developed by Transport and Department of Transport and Planning (DTP) Victoria, which is a coordinated, nationwide approach to approvals of new products used in the rail and road industries.
Transport for NSW Secretary, Josh Murray, said that key to the proposed national rail TAO prequalification scheme is its scalability.
“States and territories would agree on a baseline of defined core safety management and assurance requirements, and then each jurisdiction would only need to assess additional elements relevant to the local circumstances or project,” Murray said.
“I am proud that Transport for NSW is leading efforts to reduce duplication and waste in the rail industry so we can deliver projects faster and more cost effectively which will ultimately benefit Australia’s train passengers and freight customers.”
Chief Executive Officer of the Australasian Railway Association, Caroline Wilkie, said these are significant steps in the right direction.
“Cross-border collaborations such as the PTAF and the proposed TAO nationally pre- qualification scheme responds to ongoing industry concerns and about duplication and waste,” Wilkie said.
“There are too many fragmented and siloed processes in Australia’s rail industry and if these can be streamlined and harmonised, there will be big wins for operators, contractors and government.”
The industry was updated on developments towards harmonisation in the rail industry at this week’s AusRAIL Plus conference in Melbourne, hosted by the ARA (25-28 November).
