The NTC is undertaking a review of the 2017 edition of the National Standard for Health Assessment of Rail Safety Workers (the Standard).
The draft revised Standard, now open to formal submissions, has been developed based on extensive consultation with medical professionals and specialists, jurisdictions, rail industry, rail unions, rail safety regulators, Office of Best Practice Regulation and the Rail Industry Worker group.
The health assessment standard is used to assess medical conditions that may impact a rail safety worker’s ability to perform their duties safely. We’re reviewing medical aspects of the standard to make sure it reflects the latest knowledge and medical practices.
Rail operators accredit doctors and other health professionals to perform the assessments. Accredited health professionals then carry out the assessments using the Standard.
We review the National Standard for Health Assessment of Rail Safety Workers every five years.
Since March 2022, the NTC has undertaken extensive engagement to identify, understand and resolve issues with the Standard.
We have also shared iterations of the revised draft Standard and model forms with Chief Medical Officers Council (CMOC), Rail Health Advisory Group (RHAG) and working group stakeholders and addressed feedback received to date.
The NTC established a Rail Health Advisory Group as a forum for consideration of proposals to amend the Standard.
We have also convened five working groups on the topics:
We have spoken to the subject matter experts to get advice on chapters relevant to them including:
We also engaged the Office of Best Practice Regulation to provide advice on the proposed changes to the sleep screening criteria and whether a regulation impact statement is required.
The NTC sought feedback from the public on the revised draft Standard. In support of this a consultation report was provided. Submissions closed in December 2022. Submissions received are available below.
We are seeking views on the draft revised National Standard for Health Assessment of Rail Safety Workers and questions in the accompanying consultation report.