AGY-6119 | Office of Transport Safety Investigations

Full description

Background
The Office of Transport Safety Investigations (OTSI) was established on 1 January 2004 as a separate division within the Independent Transport Safety and Reliability Regulator (ITSRR) to investigate and report on rail, bus and ferry safety incidents in NSW. In response to the recommendations of the Special Commission of Inquiry into the Waterfall Rail Accident, the NSW Parliament passed the Transport Legislation Amendment (Waterfall Rail Inquiry Recommendations) Bill 2005 which removed OTSI from ITSRR and created the Chief Investigator as a statutory position reporting directly to the Minister for Transport. (1)

Office of Transport Safety Investigations
The Office of Transport Safety Investigations (OTSI) was established on 1 July 2005 by the Transport Legislation Amendment (Waterfall Rail Inquiry Recommendations) Act 2005 (Act No.55, 2005) which amended the Transport Administration Act 1988 (Act No.109, 1988), the Rail Safety Act 2002 (Act No.96, 2002) and the Passenger Transport Act 1990 (Act No.39, 1990). (2) The Chief Investigator of the former Office of Transport Investigations under the Independent Transport Safety and Reliability Regulator (ITSRR) became the Chief Investigator of the Office of Transport Safety Investigations. (3) The office of the Chief Investigator of the Office of Transport Safety Investigations may be known as the Office of Transport Safety Investigations. (4)

The Chief Investigator was appointed by the Governor on the recommendation of the Minister for Transport and is accountable to that Minister. While the Chief Investigator OTSI reported to the Minister for Transport, the Chief Investigator was not subject to the direction and control of the Minister in the exercise of the Chief Investigator's investigative and reporting functions. However, in a situation where the Chief Investigator may not have already initiated an investigation into a particular rail or passenger transport accident or incident, he was required to do so when given a written direction by the Minister. (5)

The Office of Transport Safety Investigations contributed to the safe operation of public transport and rail freight services in New South Wales by initiating and directing investigations which were designed to produce the following outcomes:

- The identification of those factors which have caused and / or contributed to rail and passenger transport accidents and incidents
- The determination of those remedial safety actions, the implementation of which were designed to prevent recurrence of those types of accidents and incidents
- The provision of a Confidential Safety Information Reporting Scheme (CSIRS) and its utilisation by transport employees for the reporting of safety issues that required remedial action
- The analysis of the rail, bus and ferry transport industries in order to identify safety trends and to communicate that analysis to industry, and
- The production of Transport Safety Investigation Reports which were to be tabled in Parliament by the Minister for Transport and published on the OTSI website for industry and public utilisation. (6)

From 1 July 2009 when the Ministry of Transport was abolished, the Office of Transport Safety Investigations became a branch of the new Principal Department, the Department of Transport and Infrastructure. (7) The name of this Department was changed to Transport NSW from 1 July 2010. (8)

From 4 April 2011, when the name of Transport NSW was changed to Transport for NSW, the Office of Transport Safety Investigations became a branch of the Department of Transport/Transport for NSW. (9)

Endnotes
1. OTSI, Annual Report, 2021-2022, p.4
2. Transport Legislation Amendment (Waterfall Rail Inquiry Recommendations) Act 2005 (Act No.55, 2005); NSW Government Gazette (No.81), 1 July 2005, p.3310.
3. Office of Transport Safety Investigations, Annual Report, 2005-2006, p.4.
4. Transport Legislation Amendment (Waterfall Rail Inquiry Recommendations) Act 2005, Schedule 1 [13]; Transport Administration Act 1988 (Act No.109, 1988, s.45 (4) as amended.
5. Ibid., pp.4, 6.
6. Ibid., pp.4-5.
7. Public Sector Employment and Management (Departmental Amalgamations) Order 2009 (2009 No 352) cls. 34; notified on NSW Legislation website, 27 July 2009.
8. Transport Administration Amendment Act 2010 (Act No.31, 2010) Sch. 1.2 [1] amending the Public Sector Employment and Management Act 2002 (Act No.43, 2002) Sch. 1; Commencement Proclamation (2010 No 294); notified on NSW Legislation website, 25 June 2010.
9. Public Sector Employment and Management (Departments) Order 2011 (2011 No 184) cls. 44; notified on NSW Legislation website, April 2011.