About ONRSR

Amendments to legislation

All changes to the Rail Safety National Law Act and Regulations are approved by the Ministerial Transport and Infrastructure Council, which comprises each state/territory transport Minister.

Changes to the regulations are made by the South Australian Governor and published on the NSW Legislative website, in accordance with section 265 of the Rail Safety National Law and Part 6A of the Interpretation Act 1987 (NSW).

Links to the current Act and regulations as they apply in each state/territory are on our Legislation page.

Commencement date	Summary of the changes	Detailed changes
2 December 2019	Regulation 7 (1) (e) removed (excluded Victorian railways)	RSNL National Regulations (Application of Law) Variation Regulations 2019*
1 July 2019 – Act	Changes to the Rail Safety National Law (2019).pdf	RSNL (South Australia) (Miscellaneous) Amendment Act 2019*
1 July 2019 – Regulations	Changes to the Rail Safety National Law (2019).pdf	RSNL National Regulations Variation Regulation 2019* RSNL National Regulations (Fees) Variation Regulation 2019
1 July 2017 – Act	Changes to the Rail Safety National Law (2017)	Rail Safety National Law (South Australia) (Miscellaneous No 3) Amendment Act 2017*
1 July 2017 – Regulations	Changes to the Rail Safety National Law (2017)	RSNL National Regulations Variation Regulations 2016* RSNL National Regulations (Queensland Fatigue Provisions) Variation Regulations 2017)* RSNL National Regulations (Fees and Returns) Variation Regulations 2017 *
1 August 2016 – Act	Changes to the Rail Safety National Law (2016)	RSNL (South Australia) (Miscellaneous No 2) Amendment Act 2016*
1 July 2016 – Regulations	Changes to the Rail Safety National Law (2016)	Rail Safety National Law National Regulations (Fees) Variation Regulations 2016 Rail Safety National Law National Regulations Variation Regulations 2016*
1 July 2015 - Act	Changes to the Rail Safety National Law (2014)	Rail Safety National Law (South Australia) (Miscellaneous) Amendment Act 2015*
1 July 2015 – Regulations	Changes to the Rail Safety National Law (2014)	Rail Safety National Law National Regulations (Fees) Variation Regulations 2015 Rail Safety National Law National Regulations Variation Regulations 2015

* Commencement of the changes in Western Australia is subject to a separate parliamentary process and timing. Further information will be provided when known.

Updated documents

These documents have been updated as a result of legislative changes. Note that documents may have been updated further since the legislation commenced.

Updated and New ONRSR documents from 1 July 2019
Monthly Return form	Updated drug and alcohol reporting requirements with supporting changes to the Portal.
Monthly Return form (WA Only)	New form for operations in WA only with supporting changes to the Portal.
Monthly Returns fact sheet	Updated drug and alcohol monthly return requirements
Notifiable Occurrences Notification form	Updated to reference the term ‘level crossing’.
Reporting Requirements for Notifiable Occurrences	Updated to reference the term ‘level crossing’ and include prescribed incident requirements.
Requirement for Rail Transport Operators to report notifiable occurrences fact sheet	Updated to include information on holding a site and prescribed incidents.
ONRSR Drug and Alcohol Policy	Updated to include prescribed incidents.
Drug and Alcohol: ONRSR’s Testing Program fact sheet	New fact sheet which replaces separate jurisdictional fact sheets.
Drug and alcohol: Requirements for Rail Transport Operators fact sheet	New fact sheet on an operator’s responsibilities regarding testing, including prescribed incidents and reporting drug and alcohol information (replacing the Drug & Alcohol Notifiable Occurrence Reporting by Rail Transport Operators fact sheet).
Drug and alcohol: Requirements for Rail Transport Operators (NSW Only) fact sheet	Updated fact sheet which replaces three previous fact sheets for operators in NSW: Appointment Of Authorised Persons To Conduct Drug and Alcohol Testing In NSW Drug and Alcohol Management Requirements for Railway Operations In NSW (Q & A) Drug and Alcohol Management Requirements for Railway Operations In NSW (Summary)
Drug and alcohol: Introduction of Urine Testing	Updated as this takes effect.
Duties of Rail Safety Workers	Updated to include drug and alcohol offences.
A Guide to Rail Safety Officer Worksite Visits brochure	Updated ONRSR’s drug and alcohol testing information.
Level Crossing Policy	Updated to reflect new definition for ‘level crossing’ with information on how this applies to light rail and tramways.
Interface Agreement fact sheet	Updated to refer to ‘level crossings’ and include penalties for public road managers.
Interface Agreement template	Updated to refer to ‘level crossings’.
Using the Template Interface Agreement for Rail or Road Crossings guideline	Updated to refer to ‘level crossings’.
Major Project Fees fact sheet	Updated with 2019-20 fee amounts.

Last updated: 23 December 2019