What must an accredited rail operator hold, and when must it be reviewed?
Accreditation is ONRSR's permission to carry out railway operations. Behind it sits the safety management system, the document that names the risks, the controls and the people. The law sets a yearly review, a report six months after the financial year, a documented change process, and a duty to amend when the regulator directs.
The rows the law sets
Each row is one duty the Rail Safety National Law places on the operator, with the section that states it. "None set" means the law sets no number: the duty is standing, or the clock is set by a direction or by the National Regulations, and the note under the table says which.
| Duty | Clause | Window | If missed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hold an accreditation before carrying out railway operations, unless the work is carried out for an accredited or exempt operator | s 62(1) | none set | an offence |
| Have a safety management system in the form approved by the regulator, covering the risks, the controls and the matters Division 6 requires | s 99(1)-(2) | none set | an offence |
| Implement the safety management system and comply with it for the operator's railway operations | s 101(1)-(3) | none set | an offence |
| Review the safety management system at least once each year, or at the times the national regulations prescribe | s 102 | 12 months | an offence |
| Keep a current risk register and manage a change through a documented process that identifies the risks, consults, trains, re-assesses and reviews after go-live | s 99(1)(c)-(f), s 100; National Regulations Sch 1 cll 12, 16 | none set | an offence |
| Amend the safety management system when the regulator directs, within the period the direction allows | s 104(1)-(4) | none set | an offence |
| Give the regulator a safety performance report in the approved form within 6 months after the end of each reporting period | s 103(1)-(3) | 6 months | an offence |
What each row does not say
s 62(1)Binds the rail transport operator. A signalling contractor working for or on behalf of an accredited operator does not need its own accreditation for that work (s 62(1)(b) and s 62(2)), but its own railway operations would. Each state's adoption Act modifies the application, and the text read here is the Queensland reprint of the national law.
s 99(1)-(2)The system must identify and assess risks, specify the controls, provide for monitoring and review, and include the interface measures, security management plan, emergency management plan, health and fitness program, drug and alcohol management program and fatigue risk management program (s 99(2)). The operator must consult workers before establishing, reviewing or varying it (s 99(3)). Maximum penalty for a body corporate is $1,500,000.
s 101(1)-(3)Subsection (2) places an evidential burden on the accused to show a reasonable excuse. Maximum penalty for a body corporate is $1,500,000.
s 102At least once each year where no period is prescribed, or at such other time as agreed between the operator and the regulator. The review must consult workers (s 99(3)). The regulator may direct an amendment under s 104.
s 99(1)(c)-(f), s 100; National Regulations Sch 1 cll 12, 16The safety management system must identify and assess the risks, specify controls and monitor them (s 99(1)(c)-(f)), and the operator must conduct assessments for the identified risks (s 100). Schedule 1 cl 12 sets the management-of-change process and cl 16 the risk register. Section 100 and Schedule 1 carry no standalone penalty; they bite through s 101 and the accreditation conditions, so the exposure is the s 101 maximum of $1,500,000 for a body corporate.
s 104(1)-(4)The direction must be in writing, state the reasons and include the cost-benefit results where one was required. The period must be at least 28 days after the direction is given, so the window is the direction's own period, not a number the library can set. Failing to comply without reasonable excuse is an offence.
s 103(1)-(3)The reporting period is a financial year unless the regulator and the operator agree another period. The report must describe and assess safety performance, comment on deficiencies and irregularities, and describe safety initiatives (s 103(1)). It is filed with the regulator, and no register holds the filing. Maximum penalty for a body corporate is $25,000.
Where the rows come from
The full instrument, every row and its caveat, is on the Rail Safety National Law page. The library holds the national law. The National Regulations and each state's adoption Act are cited in the rows where they set the detail, not held as separate instruments.
What this page is, and is not
It is the section text this library holds from the Rail Safety National Law, with the window and the consequence. It is not legal advice, and it is not a substitute for reading the Act, the National Regulations and the contract you signed.
No library of law is complete, and Demiton never says this one is. An obligation the library does not hold, and you did not add, is not protected. You can add your own to any job.
The Rail Safety National Law is drafted for the next library release and was read on 19 October 2026. The rest of the library is public release v19; until the next release, the rows on this page are the draft, not the published set.
Clauses read from the obligation library, release v19, last checked against the source on .