Victorian Consolidated Legislation

Rail Safety Act 2006 - SECT 19

The concept of ensuring safety

19. The concept of ensuring safety



(1) To avoid doubt, a duty imposed on a person under this Act or the
regulations to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, safety requires
the person to-

   (a)  eliminate risks to safety so far as is reasonably practicable; and

   (b)  if it is not reasonably practicable to eliminate risks to safety, to
        reduce those risks so far as is reasonably practicable.

(2) To avoid doubt, for the purposes of Divisions 2 and 3 or regulations made
for the purposes of those Divisions, regard must be had to the following
matters in determining what is (or was at a particular time) reasonably
practicable in relation to ensuring safety-

   (a)  the likelihood of the hazard or risk concerned eventuating;

   (b)  the degree of harm that would result if the hazard or risk eventuated;

   (c)  what the person concerned knows, or ought reasonably to know, about
        the hazard or risk and any ways of eliminating or reducing the hazard
        or risk;

   (d)  the availability and suitability of ways to eliminate or reduce the
        hazard or risk;

   (e)  the cost of eliminating or reducing the hazard or risk.



Division 2-Safety duties of rail infrastructure managers and rolling stock
operators