Tuesday, November 10, 2026

Safety Message: Prioritising dignity, health and wellbeing ONRSR Supports RTBU Campaign

Workplace environments and job demands can impact the ability of workers to take breaks and access suitable and hygienic toilet facilities and drinking water.  

In the absence of accessible and hygienic toilet facilities, worker coping strategies can include delaying taking breaks, not sufficiently hydrating and suppressing basic physiological needs. These give rise to a range of health and human performance impacts.

A recent study of Rail Bus and Tram Union (RBTU) members found that many experience health issues, discomfort and distress in response to lack of access to suitable, hygienic rest facilities. The RBTU study is consistent with other studies in Australia and overseas that found limited access to breaks and suitable hygienic facilities can impact worker health, wellbeing and performance. 

The following risk factors can impact all workers and can disproportionately impact some groups of workers such as women and older workers who, together, make up a large proportion of the rail workforce:

• Lack of access to suitable hygienic toilet facilities or inability to take a break 
• Limiting fluid intake leading to dehydration and other health impacts in addition to anxiety and discomfort, distraction and distress
• Having to justify breaks, or feeling pressure not to ask for breaks to avoid disrupting service efficiency or inconveniencing others
• Exiting train cabs to use facilities while not safe to do so, or having to use receptacles or “go” out of cab windows and doors
• Exposure to risks created by ‘going bush’ in isolated locations or using toilets in places that risk personal safety.

Managing these hazards is relevant to general duties of rail organisations under WHS law and Rail Safety National Law (RSNL). 

As railway systems rely on optimum human performance this is an important rail safety issue. Rail operators must also take into account specific duties in the RSNL relevant to management of these risks:

• RSNL Regulation Schedule 1 (3)(e) Human factors to be positively addressed in promoting and maintaining a positive safety culture.
• RSNL Regulation Schedule 1 (17)   Procedures to ensure that human factors matters are taken into account during the development, operation and maintenance of the safety management system and for the integration of human factors principles and knowledge into all relevant aspects of operational and business systems.
• RSNL Regulation 29 (1) Rail Transport Operators must assess physiological factors arising out of work practices affecting rail safety workers including length and frequency of breaks.

ONRSR is advising operators that as part of ongoing activities, rail safety officers will gauge what operators are doing to review their facilities for workers. These interactions will also examine the extent to which they have consulted with employees (in particular female staff) on the issue of dignity, respect, health and wellbeing, how they intend to address shortfalls and their progress in implementing reforms. 

Additionally, ONRSR is recommending that rail transport operators review their safety management systems, processes and procedures to ensure that workers are not working for extended periods without sufficient breaks to meet basic physiological needs that maintain safe performance over the duration of work.   

Logistics planning and timetabling systems must ensure that workers have access to adequate sanitary toilet facilities and sufficient time is allowed for personal needs breaks.  This is particularly important for lone workers who may have tasks requiring sustained attention, inability to leave a location or “down tools”.   

Improvements in network efficiency and resourcing changes can impact task duration, workload, ability to take breaks or rotate tasks.  Service planning and resourcing decisions must consider these gradual incremental changes that have a cumulative impact on risk over time.

ONRSR is aware of initiatives to upgrade facilities and ensure service planning and resource optimisation algorithms build in breaks or task rotation for situations where self-timed breaks cannot be reliably taken.   

However, more work is needed to address these matters more generally across the industry and to reprioritise worker dignity, respect, health and wellbeing. 

ONRSR is a supporter of the RTBU’s It’s A Bloody Mess campaign. Further details of the campaign and a copy of the report are available HERE.