Australian Government Introduces New Aviation Safety Reporting Scheme
By Steve Creedy, The Australian | Feb. 02, 2007
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) has introduced a new scheme aimed at substantially widening the use of confidential aviation safety reports.
The new REPCON confidential reporting scheme allows any person to make a confidential report if they see or become aware of an aviation safety concern.
It will complement the Aviation Self Reporting Scheme, which allows unintentional regulatory breaches to be reported by people seeking protection from administrative action by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA).
But the ATSB says it is a much broader scheme designed to capture a wide range of aviation safety concerns from a big pool of potential reporters.
This includes any matter that endangers or could endanger an aircraft.
Examples include unsafe scheduling or crew rostering and incidents where safety procedures are bypassed by a crew or an aircraft operator because of commercial pressures.
Issues that are not reportable include industrial relations issues, acts of unlawful interference with an aircraft and criminal acts attracting jail terms of more than two years.
While the system is designed to protect the identity of of reporters, it does not generally accept anonymous submissions.
"REPCON staff cannot contact an anonymous reporter to verify the report or seek additional information," the ATSB says.
"Further, REPCON staff must be satisfied that the reporter's motivation for reporting is aviation safety promotion, and the reporter is not attempting to damage a rival or pursue an industrial agenda."
Australia's Transport Minister Mark Vaile said the new system was consistent with International Civil Aviation recommendations and aimed at improving safety.
"While Australia has the most comprehensive mandatory safety occurrence reporting legislation in the world, the Australian aviation industry has been keen to see a new confidential reporting scheme introduced with legislative coverage that will protect the identity of the reporter. This will be particularly valuable for reporters who fear reprisal or sanction if they report openly," Mr Vaile said.
Mr Vaile said reports could be lodged by mail, facsimile, telephone or email.
"REPCON protects reporters by 'de-identifying' reports so that any person reading the de-identified report cannot identify the source of the original report," he said.
"De-identified information from the report can then be provided to authorities with the capability to take safety action in response."