Rail Industry Worker Program FAQs

Topics – Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) Rail Industry Worker Program fact sheet for Queensland Rail contractors

Summary Rail Industry Worker Program

Queensland Rail is a member of the national Rail Industry Worker Program (RIW) Program which is owned and endorsed by the Australasian Railway Association (ARA).

The RIW Program provides a single national competency management system for contractors working in the rail industry. It meets regulatory requirements and complies with Rail Safety National Law (RSNL).

Under RIW Program, contractors who do work deemed as “rail safety work" for Queensland Rail, must carry Rail Industry Worker (RIW) identification (RIW card). In combination with the RIW card, the RIW is to hold valid job roles and competences (qualifications) relevant to the intended rail safety work to be performed.

The RIW card must be presented on request to a Rail Safety Officer or Regulator from the Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator, or a Queensland Rail representative.

Do I need a RIW card?

Anyone performing rail safety work for Queensland Rail or performing rail safety work on Queensland Rail property must carry a RIW card with valid job roles and competencies for the intended rail safety work.

All new contractors who perform these roles are required to have this identification with relevant job roles and competencies before commencing work.

RIW cards can only be used for competency checks and do not entitle the holder to any additional privileges or benefits, nor do they grant the holder access to the rail corridor.

You will need a RIW card and associated job roles and competencies if your role could impact on the safe operation of our railway, including:

All contractors undertaking rail safety work, as defined under section 8 of the Rail Safety National Law (Note: there are no exceptions), refer to “Appendix-1 (Checklist) do I need a RIW card?"
Contractors performing work for Queensland Rail in the rail corridor.

Exclusions:

Those excluded from carrying Rail Industry Worker identification are Contractors who are:

Working on station buildings with limited to no exposure to the danger zone
Deliveries to the rail corridor outside the danger zone
Once-off entry to the rail corridor where contractors have completed a Rail Corridor Induction Checklist, are operating under a PO and where it is not reasonably practical to expect the contractor to obtain a RIW card due to the short-term nature of their work in the rail corridor
External third parties (non-rail related) not contracted by Queensland Rail, such as telecommunications workers

There are no exceptions for rail safety workers

Am I a rail safety worker?

Please refer to “Appendix-1 (Checklist) do I need a RIW card?" at the end of this document to help understand if you or your workers are considered to be a rail safety worker.

How do I obtain a RIW card?

Review the relevant competency matrices (under “Competence matrices") to identify the competencies you require. These matrices are available on the Queensland Rail website: http://www.queenslandrail.com.au/forbusiness/contractors

Queensland Rail's “Business rules for management of Rail Industry Worker Contractors" provides info on what's required with how to obtain an RIW card and other relevant information from the same page and under “Key documents"

Complete any additional training requirements.

Visit https://www.riw.net.au/ to register for the program and apply for your card

How do I use competency matrices to identify the competencies I require?

A competency matrix refers to core competencies (normally contained within a job role), relevant to the rail safety worker task being performed.

Queensland Rail has mapped these for all rail safety worker tasks. They can be found in the competence matrices on the Queensland Rail website.

Select the column with the relevant work description from the top row of the matrices.
Follow this column down to see the relevant qualifications (use the key at the bottom to see whether the qualification is mandatory or only required when performing a specific task)

Note: if you perform rail safety work and are required to enter the rail corridor, then as a minimum, the National roles of “QR Operator" and “National - Around the Track Personnel (Construction/Maintenance)" must be held (shown as valid) in RIW system (this links to your RIW card). This also applies to all workers performing work in the area identified as the 'Danger Zone' of the rail corridor.

Please refer to the information contained in the Trackside Safety competency matrix (or other matrices as relevant), to check if further job roles and competencies are required such as “Working in the electrified territory" role or Network lockout competencies. If the work you are performing is not rail safety work and you are working in the rail corridor but outside the 'Danger Zone' then the 'In The Rail Corridor Personnel (Non Rail Safety Worker)' can be selected.

Additionally, if the rail safety work relates to the below national job role categories, then a national job role or job roles (where applicable) related to the rail safety work to be performed, must be held (shown as valid) in RIW system, along with the “QR Operator" and “National - Around the Track Personnel (Construction/Maintenance)" roles.

National job role categories

National Plant Matrix
National Track and Civil Matrix
National Trades Matrix
National Operator Roles Matrix

Note: you are not permitted to perform any rail safety work where you don't hold the relevant and valid job roles and competencies in RIW system. National matrices are located on the national Rail Industry Worker website https://www.riw.net.au/business-rules/network-operators/

What do I do if I can't find my role in the matrices?

If your role isn't in the matrices on our website or the national matrices on Rail Industry Worker website and if you believe you fit within the scope outlined for the Rail Industry Worker Program, you should:

advise Queensland Rail of the work you are contracted to perform by email to railsafetyworker@qr.com.au
obtain the “QR Operator" and “National - Around the Track Personnel (Construction/Maintenance)"/depots/yards role from the trackside safety matrix (if you work in the corridor), until your role is added to the system

What do I do if I need to obtain additional competencies?

If you require additional units of competency, you will need to contact a Registered Training Organisation (RTO) to obtain the relevant training.

Trackside Safety training

Queensland Rail has contracts in place with training providers, who are licenced to deliver on the Trackside Safety competency requirements for Queensland Rail. Details for these providers can be found by clicking on or posting the below link into your internet search engine (under “Training") from

http://www.queenslandrail.com.au/forbusiness/contractors

Note: this includes the Queensland Rail enterprise specific Safely Access the Rail Corridor (SARC) course which provides an organisational outcome (certificate of achievement) along with the national Safety Access the Rail Corridor (SARC) unit of competency (statement of attainment).

Whilst Queensland Rail accepts the national SARC unit of competency, the enterprise specific component (certificate of achievement) can only be awarded by the approved licenced training providers.

Why hasn't my statement of attainment for the Trackside Safety related competencies been accepted?

Due to the organisational specific content, which is contained within the Queensland Rail licensed Trackside Safety products delivered by the Queensland Rail licenced training providers, we are unable to accept courses delivered by another training provider.

We do recognise the national units of competence, however if this has been obtained by a provider other than Queensland Rail or one of the Queensland Rail licenced training providers, you will need to contact one of the licenced training providers to arrange for training to cover the organisational specific content.

A Recognition of Enterprise Requirements (RER) process is in place for the suite of Safeworking Protection Officer roles. This process provides for the contractor having their existing qualifications analysed by Queensland Rail to determine additional training and assessment requirements. The process is contained within the Trackside Safety competency matrix. To initiate this process, please email railsafetyworker@qr.com.au.

What if I have workers who are still working towards their competencies or working to upgrade competencies?

Any contractor performing work on behalf of Queensland Rail must hold all mandatory competencies for the applicable role before performing any work. This is a legal requirement.

Upgrading currently held competencies should be undertaken as soon as possible. You should check with your Registered Training Organisation (RTO) if current units of competency held are equivalent to the new unit or if further training is required.

Do apprentices and trainees need a RIW card?

Apprentices and trainees working in the rail corridor will require a Rail Industry Worker card. They should obtain the minimum “QR Operator” and “National Around the Track Personnel (Construction/Maintenance)” job roles from the Trackside Safety competency matrix.

Upon completion of their training, they can then (through their RIW system Employer Administrator), add the relevant role to their profile and upload records of their competencies.

If your apprentices and trainees don’t work in the corridor, they will not require a RIW card until they complete their training for the apprenticeship/traineeship.

If I have new contractors working for me, do they need to obtain a RIW card right away?

It is a requirement that contractors be able to provide proof of their competencies if requested by an authorised person (from either Queensland Rail or ONRSR). Contractors within the scope of the RIW Program need to obtain an RIW card, with the applicable role/s obtained, before performing work.

I require more information, who can I contact?

If you have any questions regarding Queensland Rail’s participation in the Rail Industry Worker Program or competency requirements, email RailSafetyWorker@qr.com.au or visit the Contactors page on the Queensland Rail website.

For general information about the Rail Industry Worker Program, including registering, applying and providing documentation, contact 1300 101 682 or visit https://www.riw.net.au/

Queensland Rail’s “Business rules for management of Rail Industry Worker Contractors” also provides info on what’s required with how to obtain an RIW card and other relevant information from the same page https://www.queenslandrail.com.au/forbusiness/contractors/Railworkers and under “Key documents”

For Rail Safety Worker Program enquires related to Aurizon, please email RailIndustryWorker@aurizon.com.au

Appendix-1 (Checklist) Am I a Rail Safety Worker?

If you answer “yes” to any work (defined under section 8 of the Rail Safety National Law), as rail safety work as follows, you’re considered to be a rail safety worker and will require a RIW card:

Is the person responsible for driving or dispatching rolling stock?
Does the person carry out any activity which is capable of controlling or affecting the movement of rolling stock?
Does the person carry out any signalling operations?
Is the person responsible for receiving or relaying communications or any other activity which is capable of controlling or affecting the movement of rolling stock?
Is the person responsible for coupling or uncoupling rolling stock?
Is the person responsible for constructing, maintaining, repairing, or modifying rolling stock or rail infrastructure that may have an impact upon (or is associated with) the safety of operations?
Is the person responsible for monitoring rolling stock or rail infrastructure that may have an impact upon (or is associated with) the safety of operations?
Is the person responsible for inspecting or testing rolling stock or rail infrastructure that may have an impact upon (or is associated with) the safety of operations?
Is the person responsible for checking that rolling stock or rail infrastructure is working properly before being used?
Does the person install components of rolling stock?
Does the person perform work on or about rail infrastructure or associated works or equipment that places, or may place, the person performing the work at risk of exposure to moving rolling stock?
Does the person install or maintain a telecommunications system relating to rail infrastructure or used in connection with rail infrastructure that may have an impact upon (or is associated with) the safety of operations?
Does the person install or maintain the electricity supply for rail infrastructure, any rolling stock using rail infrastructure or a telecommunications system that may have an impact upon (or is associated with) the safety of operations?
Does the person carry out any work involving certification of the safety of rail infrastructure or rolling stock or any part or component of rail infrastructure or rolling stock?
Does the person carry out any work involving the decommissioning of rail infrastructure or rolling stock or any part or component of rail infrastructure or rolling stock?
Does the person carry out any work on the development, management or monitoring of safe working systems for railways?
Does the person carry out any work involving the management or monitoring of passenger safety on, in or at any railway?