Division 1Division 1 Accreditation of owners and operators
11 Owners and operators to be accredited
(1) A person who is the owner of a railway is guilty of an offence unless the person is an accredited owner for that railway.(2) A person who operates a railway is guilty of an offence unless the person is an accredited operator for that railway.Maximum penalty: 2,500 penalty units in the case of a corporation or, in any other case, 1,000 penalty units or imprisonment for 12 months, or both.
(1) The purpose of accreditation under this Division is to attest:(a) that the accredited person is (or, in the case of an accredited corporation, the directors and managers of the corporation designated in accordance with section 21 are) considered to be of good repute and in all other respects fit and proper to be responsible for the safe construction and maintenance, or construction or maintenance, of a railway (in the case of an owner) or the safe operation of a railway and the safe construction and maintenance, or construction or maintenance, of rolling stock (in the case of an operator) or both (in the case of an owner and operator), and(b) that the standards proposed by the accredited person for the construction and maintenance, or construction or maintenance, of a railway (in the case of an owner) or the operation of a railway and the construction and maintenance, or construction or maintenance, of rolling stock (in the case of an operator) or both (in the case of an owner and operator) have been accepted by the Director-General (subject to Division 3).(2) In particular, accreditation under this Division attests that the accredited person has demonstrated the competency and capacity to meet the standards submitted by the accredited person, and accepted by the Director-General (subject to Division 3), for the purposes of the safe construction, operation and maintenance of a railway, relating to the following:(a) financial viability,(b) managerial and technical competency,(c) suitability of rolling stock,(d) appropriateness of safeworking systems,(e) availability and competency of railway employees,(f) availability and adequacy of infrastructure generally and, in particular, railway track, associated track structures, signalling systems and other relevant facilities,(g) public risk insurance,to the degree and in the manner required by the Director-General in respect of a railway of the kind specified in the accreditation.
13 Applicant to furnish information
An applicant for accreditation must furnish the Director-General with such information as the Director-General reasonably requires in the circumstances to enable the Director-General to effectively determine the application for accreditation.
14 Applicant to submit safety management plan
(1) An applicant for accreditation must submit to the Director-General a comprehensive safety management plan that:(a) identifies any significant potential risks that may arise from the construction and maintenance, or construction or maintenance, of the railway specified in the application (in the case of an owner) or from the operation of the railway and the construction and maintenance, or construction or maintenance, of the rolling stock specified in the application (in the case of an operator) or both (in the case of an owner and operator), and(b) specifies the systems, audits, expertise and resources that are to be employed by the applicant to address these risks.(2) If a person is accredited under this Division, the person’s safety management plan must be revised annually and the revised plan submitted to the Director-General at least 28 days before each anniversary of the accreditation.
15 Applicant to provide railway performance details
(1) An applicant for accreditation must provide the Director-General with a statutory declaration (of the applicant or an agent of the applicant acceptable to the Director-General) setting out details of the quantity of freight or number of passengers (or both) hauled by the railway specified in the application in the period of 3 years immediately before the date of the application.(2) If the information referred to in subsection (1) cannot be provided because the railway has not been constructed or has not operated previously or for that period of 3 years, the applicant must provide the Director-General with an assessment of the projected performance of the railway concerned.(3) If a person is accredited under this Division, the person must provide the Director-General with a statutory declaration (of the person or an agent of the person acceptable to the Director-General) at least 28 days before each anniversary of the accreditation setting out the details referred to in subsection (1) for such period as the Director-General nominates from time to time by written notice to the accredited person for the purposes of this section.
16 Applicant to demonstrate capacity for safe construction, operation and maintenance of railway
(1) An applicant for accreditation as an owner must demonstrate by the submission of appropriate standards with which the applicant agrees to comply, to the satisfaction of the Director-General, that the applicant possesses the competency and capacity to safely construct and maintain, or construct or maintain, the railway specified in the application.(2) An applicant for accreditation as an operator must demonstrate by the submission of appropriate standards with which the applicant agrees to comply, to the satisfaction of the Director-General, that the applicant possesses the competency and capacity to safely operate, and construct and maintain, or construct or maintain, the rolling stock of, the railway specified in the application.(3) An applicant for accreditation as an owner and operator must comply with subsections (1) and (2).
17 Applicant to possess right to operate on railway
An applicant for accreditation as an operator who does not own the railway on which the applicant proposes to operate must demonstrate, to the satisfaction of the Director-General, that the applicant possesses appropriate rights to operate a railway on the railway specified in the application.
18 Applicant to submit pressure vessel certificates for rolling stock
An applicant for accreditation whose application specifies the use of a steam locomotive or a unit or units of rolling stock that utilise pressure vessels as a means of transporting, loading or discharging goods under pressure must submit to the Director-General an appropriate, current pressure vessel certificate, issued by the WorkCover Authority or its authorised agent, for the locomotive or other rolling stock concerned.
19 Applicant to describe, and identify ownership of, infrastructure
(1) An applicant for accreditation as an owner (or as an owner and operator) must, to the satisfaction of the Director-General, describe all elements that comprise the infrastructure specified in the application and must identify the owner of the infrastructure.(2) If the applicant is not the owner of the infrastructure, the applicant must show the basis of the entitlement of the applicant to control and manage the infrastructure.
20 Rolling stock to be identified
(1) An applicant for accreditation as an operator (or as an owner and operator) must identify the owner of the rolling stock specified in the application and, if the applicant is not the owner of the rolling stock, must show the basis of the entitlement of the applicant to control and manage the rolling stock.(2) The applicant must also describe the proposed ambit of operation, in terms of railway location, of the particular units of rolling stock, or the particular class or classes of rolling stock, that the applicant intends to use.(3) An applicant for accreditation as an operator must cause all rolling stock specified in the application to be clearly marked, in an approved manner:(a) to show the name of the operator of the rolling stock, and(b) to enable each unit to be individually identified.(4) Despite subsection (3), the Director-General may accept instead an inventory of individually identified units of rolling stock.
21 Applications by corporations
For the purpose of obtaining accreditation under this Division:(a) a corporation must nominate, and the Director-General may accept the nomination of, any one or more of its directors and managers, and(b) further nominations may be made and accepted from time to time, and(c) a person so nominated becomes a director or manager designated for the purposes of section 12 (1) (a) only when the Director-General certifies acceptance of the nomination.
Having regard to the purposes of accreditation, the Director-General may accredit a person duly applying for accreditation as an owner or operator of a railway or as both an owner and operator of a railway.
23 Grant of interim accreditation
(1) The Director-General may grant interim accreditation to an applicant to permit the carrying out of activities such as the following:(a) site preparation of a disused railway,(b) restoration or repair of rolling stock,(c) testing of railway track or other infrastructure,or for any other purpose considered to be appropriate by the Director-General.(2) Procedures for the purposes of this section are as prescribed by the regulations or, if no procedures are so prescribed, are as determined by the Director-General.
(1) Particulars of accreditation are to be given in writing by the Director-General to the accredited person.(2) An accreditation may be given so as to be general or limited including, for example:(a) appropriate for the whole of a railway, or(b) appropriate only for the part or parts of a railway designated in the accreditation, or for a part or parts having the scope or characteristics so designated, or(c) appropriate for all public or private passenger or freight services or both, or(d) appropriate only for the service or services designated in the accreditation, or for a service or services having the scope or characteristics so designated.(3) An accreditation may be given subject to such conditions and restrictions (if any) as are specified by the Director-General in the accreditation.(4) It is a condition of any accreditation that a third-party policy under the Motor Accidents Compensation Act 1999 is in force in respect of each light rail vehicle owned by the accredited person that is required to be insured under that Act.
25 Exemption from accreditation
(1) The Director-General may, by written notice, exempt an owner or operator who applies to the Director-General under this section from compliance with all or any one or more of the requirements of this Division, for the period specified in the notice, subject to such conditions and restrictions (if any) as appear to the Director-General to be appropriate.(2) An exemption may be granted only if the owner or operator demonstrates, to the satisfaction of the Director-General, that the systems, expertise, resources and methods to be employed by the owner or operator for safe construction, operation and maintenance (or for safe construction, operation or maintenance) of the railway or rolling stock concerned are likely to achieve a level of safety that, in the opinion of the Director-General, is appropriate for the railway concerned.(3) A person is not guilty of an offence of contravening or failing to comply with a requirement of this Act in respect of which the person holds a current notice of exemption under this section.
26 Exemption of owners of private sidings from accreditation
(1) A person who owns a private siding is not required to be accredited under this Act.(2) However, if a person wishes a private siding to continue to be, or to be, connected with, or to have access to, a railway or siding owned by an accredited owner, the person must register the private siding with the Director-General and comply with the provisions of any regulations made under this Act with respect to the safe construction, operation and maintenance of sidings.(3) If a private siding is not registered, the accredited owner of the railway or siding with which the private siding connects may apply to the Director-General for permission to remove the private siding’s connection with the railway or siding.(4) If the Director-General grants permission under subsection (3), this section authorises the disconnection of the private siding from the railway or siding concerned.(5) A person incurs no liability to the owner of a private siding if the person disconnects a private siding in accordance with permission granted under this section.
27 Sale or transfer of railway by accredited person
(1) If an accredited person proposes to sell or otherwise transfer a railway in respect of which the person is accredited, the Director-General may, on an application for accreditation under this Division being made by the proposed transferee, waive compliance by the proposed transferee with any one or more of the requirements of this Division relating to the safe construction, operation and maintenance of the railway.(2) The Director-General is not to waive compliance with any such requirement unless the proposed transferee demonstrates, to the satisfaction of the Director-General, that the proposed transferee has the personal capacity to comply with the relevant requirements of this Division that apply to applicants for accreditation of the appropriate kind.(3) A waiver of compliance with requirements under this section may be given subject to such conditions and restrictions (if any) as appear to the Director-General to be appropriate.