Are you a transport employee wanting to report a safety concern? Make a confidential report through the Confidential Safety Information Reporting Scheme (CSIRS)
Confidential reporting of safety concerns
Employees in the public passenger transport sectors (of rail, bus and ferry industries), have the right to make a confidential report under the provisions of Section 46E of the Passenger Transport Act 1990.
The Confidential Safety Information Reporting Scheme (CSIRS) gives employees in the transport industry a confidential way to make a report about a safety issue affecting a bus, rail or ferry service.
Making a report is voluntary, confidential and non-punitive.
The benefits of the scheme are that employees can report:
- safety concerns relating to Safety Management Systems, or significant safety matters that they have not have been able to resolve internally or they feel may warrant additional investigation and/or review by OTSI
- matters they are not prepared to report to their employer for fear of retribution or vilification.
Make a confidential report
You can make a confidential report in two ways:
- using the form below, or
- by telephone on 1800 180 828 (between 8:30am and 5:00pm on weekdays).
What happens after you make a report
Once a CSIRS report is received, an OTSI Transport Safety Investigator will review it and confirm that the matter raised is a safety issue that falls within the remit of OTSI.
The investigator will advise you if the issue is not one that OTSI can action.
If a report is accepted
If the CSIRS report is accepted for action, the investigator will discuss it with you and obtain your agreement to raise the matter with the relevant organisation.
OTSI will forward a de-identified report to the relevant authority or organisation and ask for a response on the safety issue raised. If it is confirmed there is an issue to address, OTSI will liaise with the organisation to gain their commitment to actions that will address it.
Following the completion of the investigation you will be contacted directly by an OTSI investigator with information on the outcomes.
CSIRS Outcome Report
If a matter uncovers significant operational safety concerns it may be published as a CSIRS Outcome Report.
These reports document:
- the safety issue reported
- the response received from the operator in question, or the appropriate regulator
- the outcome of the investigation
- any recommendations or safety actions that arise from the investigation.
By law, the Chief Investigator must not disclose to any other person, or to any court, any information that may identify an employee who provides information under the CSIRS unless the employee consents to the disclosure, or the Chief Investigator or a court is of the opinion that it is necessary in the public interest that the information be disclosed (s46E of the Passenger Transport Act 1990 ). This protection does not apply to organisations.
You can view completed CSIRS Outcome Reports on this website.