Australian Transport Safety Bureau
ATSB
1 July 1999 – present
Australia's national no-blame transport safety investigator, investigating accidents and incidents in civil aviation, marine and rail transport to identify safety issues and encourage safety improvements.
How it came into existence
Formed on 1 July 1999 as an operationally independent bureau within the Department of Transport and Regional Services by merging the Bureau of Air Safety Investigation, the Marine Incident Investigation Unit and the road safety research, statistics and education functions of the Federal Office of Road Safety.
- Aviation accident and incident investigation
- Marine casualty investigation
- Road safety research
- Road crash statistics
- Road safety education
Only the road safety functions came across; vehicle safety standards stayed in the department.
Legislation: Transport Safety Investigation Act 2003
Changes during its life
- 1 July 2003The Transport Safety Investigation Act 2003 commenced, giving the bureau a single statutory framework for investigating aviation, marine and rail occurrences.
- 1 July 2009Became an independent statutory agency separate from the department, governed by a commission headed by a Chief Commissioner; its road safety functions returned to the department.
- Functions transferred to Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government · 1 July 2009
- Road safety research
- Road crash statistics
- Road safety education
Main functions
- Investigation of aviation accidents and incidents
- Investigation of marine accidents and incidents
- Investigation of rail accidents and incidents
- Receipt and analysis of transport safety occurrence notifications
- Safety recommendations and safety research
- Road safety research and statistics (1999–2009)
Where it sits
In the portfolio of Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sport and the Arts.
- Type of body
- Non-corporate Commonwealth entity
- Portfolio
- Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sport and the Arts
- Accountable authority
- Chief Executive Officer – Transport Safety Investigation Act 2003 section 12(2)(b)
- ABN
- 65 061 156 887
Lineage
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Sources
Primary sources
- List of Commonwealth entities and companies under the PGPA Act, 1 July 2026 (Department of Finance) (as Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB))
- Australian Government Organisations Register (Department of Finance, data.gov.au) (listed from 11 December 2014 to the latest release (30 June 2026))