Who is a rail safety worker, and what must the operator prove?
A rail safety worker is anyone who carries out rail safety work. The operator owes five things: a health and fitness program, a drug and alcohol management program, a fatigue risk management program, a competence assessment and identification a rail safety officer can check. The worker owes a duty too. Contractors are included.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prepare and implement a health and fitness program for rail safety workers that meets the prescribed requirements | s 114 | none set | an offence |
| Prepare and implement a drug and alcohol management program for rail safety workers that meets the prescribed requirements | s 115 | none set | an offence |
| Prepare and implement a fatigue risk management program for rail safety workers that meets the prescribed requirements | s 116 | none set | an offence |
| Ensure each rail safety worker who is to carry out rail safety work has the competence to carry out that work | s 117(1)-(4) | none set | an offence |
| As a rail safety worker, take reasonable care, follow reasonable safety instructions and do not interfere with safety equipment or recklessly endanger anyone | s 56(1)-(3); offences at s 57, ss 58-60 | none set | an offence |
| Give each rail safety worker identification that lets a rail safety officer check the worker's competence and training | s 118(1)-(2) | none set | an offence |
What each row does not say
s 114ONRSR names the National Transport Commission's National Standard for Health Assessment of Rail Safety Workers, current edition effective 11 November 2024, as the standard the program must follow. Maximum penalty for a body corporate is $500,000.
s 115The National Regulations reg 28 covers drug and alcohol testing and reporting, and each state's adoption regulations add detail. Maximum penalty for a body corporate is $500,000.
s 116The program must comply with the prescribed requirements relating to fatigue risk management. Maximum penalty for a body corporate is $500,000.
s 117(1)-(4)Competence must be assessed against the AQF qualifications or units of competence applicable to the work, or the qualifications or competencies prescribed by the national regulations, and by reference to the worker's knowledge and skills (s 117(2)). An AQF certificate is evidence of the qualification (s 117(3)). The exception in s 117(4) applies where it is not reasonably practicable to assess the worker. Maximum penalty for a body corporate is $500,000.
s 56(1)-(3); offences at s 57, ss 58-60The duty is personal and non-transferable (s 51(1)); the operator cannot discharge it for the worker, and a contractor's employee doing rail safety work is a rail safety worker. The Category 1 offence carries up to $300,000 or 5 years for an individual and $3,000,000 for a body corporate; Category 2 is $150,000 and $1,500,000; Category 3 is $50,000 and $500,000. Induction and instruction records are the nearest evidence, and no register holds them for the worker.
s 118(1)-(2)The identification must show the type of competence and training sufficiently for a rail safety officer to check it. The worker must produce it when a rail safety officer requests it (s 118(2)). Maximum penalty for a body corporate is $50,000, and the worker's own failure is $2,500. No register holds the issued identification.
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 .