Who we are
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) is Australia's
national transport safety investigator. The ATSB is established as
an independent agency by the Transport Safety Investigation Act
2003 (TSI Act).
It is funded by the Australian Government to deliver improved
transport safety in Australia, including through:
• independent 'no blame' investigation of transport accidents and
other safety occurrences
• safety data recording, analysis and research
• fostering safety awareness, knowledge and action.
What we do
The ATSB's primary function is to improve transport safety by
investigating safety occurrences and communicating what we learn.
To achieve this, we:
• focus our resources where they are most likely to result in
safety improvements
• harness the expertise and information necessary to our safety
role
• conduct impartial, systemic and timely safety
investigations
• identify safety issues based on evidence and expert
analysis
• report safety issues clearly and objectively, without
attributing blame or liability
• ensure the significance of safety issues is clearly understood
by all concerned
• promote effective safety action.
How we do it
The ATSB works actively with the aviation, marine and rail
industries, transport regulators and governments at a state,
national and international level to improve transport safety.
Through rigorous investigation, supported by focussed research
and analysis and clear communication, we identify safety issues and
advocate action to improve future safety.
Why we do it
Independent 'no blame' investigation of transport
accidents and other safety occurrences
Independent investigations that focus on systemic issues, and on
future safety rather than on blame, ensure that stakeholders are
aware of safety issues and what needs to be done to address them.
Rigorous investigation reports and consequent safety action foster
public confidence in the safety of the transport system.
Safety data recording, analysis and
research
Timely receipt and assessment of transport accident and other
safety occurrence notifications allows the ATSB to identify
possible safety issues at the earliest opportunity.
The maintenance and analysis of a body of safety information
(including transport safety data, and research and investigation
reports) enables better understanding of safety trends and safety
issues.
Fostering safety awareness, knowledge and
action
Awareness and understanding of transport safety issues is
increased through a range of activities including consultation,
education, and the promulgation of research and investigation
findings and recommendations. These contribute to the national and
international body of safety knowledge and foster action for the
improvement of safety systems and operations.
Our principles
We approach our work in accordance with five key principles
intended to maintain trust in our organisation:
Independence: we think for
ourselves
Engagement: we work with others
Rigour: we rely on evidence
Innovation: we are open to new
ideas
Relevance: we make a difference
Our priorities for 2011-12
The ATSB Statement of Intent identifies the following
priorities.
Safety communication and education
We will plan and allocate resources to meet the ATSB's commitment
to enhancing safety communication and education.
We will ensure that the safety messages resulting from
investigations are clearly stated and communicated well, thereby
maintaining industry awareness and public confidence.
Active participation in the transport reform
agenda
We will work to meet the Council of Australian Governments'
commitment to establish the ATSB as the national investigator of
rail accidents and other safety occurrences.
We will collaborate on marine safety investigation arrangements
to complement an expanded role for the Australian Maritime Safety
Authority (AMSA) in the safety of commercial shipping.
We will implement the government's commitments regarding safety
investigation as outlined in the National Aviation Policy White
Paper - Flight Path to the Future.
Improved efficiency, effectiveness and timeliness of
investigations
We will continue to ensure our resources deliver the best safety
benefits and outcomes to the travelling public.
We will continually improve our investigation policies and
practices to maintain our status as a best practice safety
investigation agency.
We will monitor our efficiency, effectiveness and timeliness
through benchmarking with like agencies.
By December 2011, we will establish and implement updated
investigation management policies and procedures and supporting
tools.
Strengthening stakeholder relationships
By December 2011, we will revise our MoUs with the Department of
Defence and AMSA.
We will strengthen our relationship with industry participants
and the travelling public through safety communication and
education, and through objective and transparent investigations
that include appropriate levels of consultation.
We will develop and agree a MoU with the national rail safety
regulator for use from 2013 onwards.
Sharing safety information
We will cooperate with other state, national and international
safety agencies to share safety data and other safety intelligence
to allow all parties to better perform their important safety
functions.
In responding to the Declaration of Open Government, we will
promote public access to transport safety accident and incident
occurrence data and statistical holdings.
We will implement the ATSB Information Publication Plan,
consistent with the government's FOI reforms.
Focussed safety research and data
analysis
We will develop a proactive safety occurrence trend monitoring
capability, including developing occurrence risk ratings to allow
indications of safety risk from occurrence data.
We will publish and undertake a research program informed by:
analysis of safety data holdings and investigation findings; and
consultation with relevant stakeholders, including other safety
agencies, educational institutions and transport industry
participants.
We will work to improve consistency and comparability of
transport safety datasets, including those that focus on the
collection, collation and analysis of data.
We will contribute to the creation of national safety occurrence
datasets in rail and marine to ensure that the ATSB will have ready
access to the data, and that the databases will be conducive to
proactive data analysis for measuring safety within these
industries.
Regional and international engagement
We will be an active and constructive player in International
Civil Aviation Organization, International Maritime Organization,
and other international and regional forums that have a role in
transport safety
We will promote engagement with our international counterpart
agencies and with relevant multilateral organisations, ensuring
that safety lessons and operational innovations are shared
internationally. We will collaborate on improving the international
standards for transport accident investigation
We will actively support initiatives to build aviation and
maritime safety investigation capability in the Asia-Pacific
region
We will assist Australia's regional neighbours through
international agreements and participation in intergovernmental
programs such as the Indonesian Transport Safety Assistance Package
(ITSAP) and cooperation with Papua New Guinea (PNG) in line with
the Australia-PNG MoU on Cooperation in the Transport Sector.
Building capability
We will progressively acquire and train the additional staff
necessary to carry out our expanded roles in the rail and maritime
sectors
By December 2011, we will issue revised investigator work level
standards to support the government's transport reform agenda that
appropriately reflect project management requirements and increased
emphasis on safety communication and education priorities.
Where resources permit, the ATSB will provide technical advice
and support to other organisations with a role in transport
safety.
We will ensure we are able to respond to the challenges posed by
new transport vehicles and technologies.
We will ensure that the characteristics of a good safety
management system are understood by our investigators, and that our
investigation findings are a valuable means of measuring and
assuring the effectiveness of safety management systems.
Preparedness for a major accident
We will plan and exercise to effectively respond to a major
accident within Australia or involving an Australian air carrier or
ship overseas. As well as contingency planning, we will participate
in regular exercises to test and improve preparedness. We will
participate in emergency response and post investigation
debriefs.
Resource information
|
($'000)
|
2011-12
Budget
|
2012-13
Forward
year 1
|
2013-14
Forward
year 2
|
2014-15
Forward
year 3
|
|
Total program allocations
|
21,308
|
24,021
|
19,396
|
19,581
|
|
Staffing (full-time equivalent)
|
116
|
130
|
130
|
130
|
Income statement 2011-12 ('000)
|
Revenue
|
|
Appropriation
Revenue
Own Source Revenue
|
21,308
945
|
|
Total Revenue
|
22,253
|
|
Expenses
|
|
Employee
Expenses
Supplier Expenses
|
*15,500
6,753
|
|
Total Expenses
|
**22,253
|
|
Capital budget
|
|
Computer
equipment
|
105
|
|
Other plant and
equipment
|
73
|
|
Intangible
software
|
300
|
|
Total Capital
|
**478
|
Key performance indicators and deliverables
| Key performance indicators |
Estimate |
| Safety action is taken by stakeholders to address identified
critical safety issues. |
100% |
| Safety action is taken by stakeholders to address identified
significant safety issues. |
70% or higher
|
|
Stakeholder awareness of safety issues is raised as a result of
investigation, research and analysis findings and through safety
education activities (as measured through a biennial survey; scored
on a 7-point rating scale).
|
5 or higher |
| Stakeholders are satisfied with the ATSB's performance (as
measured through a biennial survey; scored on a 7-point rating
scale). |
5 or higher
|
| Deliverables |
Target |
| We will assess, classify and record all accident and incident
notifications and confidential safety reports that we receive. |
13,000 incident notifications,
130 confidential reports |
| We will undertake complex investigations based on safety
priorities and trends and complete them in a timely manner.* |
35 investigations (*365 days) |
| We will undertake less complex investigations based on safety
priorities and trends and complete them in a timely manner.* |
90 investigations (*200 days) |
| We will undertake research and analysis investigations based on
safety priorities and trends. |
12 investigations |
| We will ensure we are prepared for a major accident by
reviewing and testing our major accident response and management
capabilities. |
Annually |
| We will comply with relevant international safety investigation
obligations based on the Australian legal and governance
framework. |
100% compliance |
| We will publish final investigation reports and make them
available on our website. |
100% |
| We will measure stakeholder awareness of safety issues as a
result of the ATSB's communication and education activities and the
level of satisfaction in the delivery of our services. |
By 30 September 2011 |
* As measured from the commencement of the investigation to
the release of the final report.
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