Safe railways for Australia

Monthly returns


Accredited rail transport operators are required to report certain activity data to ONRSR via monthly returns.

Monthly returns provide information on activity undertaken under the operator’s Notice of Accreditation, including:

  • length of track over which the infrastructure manager has effective management and control (that is, track kilometres)
  • number of kilometres travelled by trains, including passenger, freight, and self- propelled infrastructure maintenance vehicles (that is, train kilometres)
  • number of journeys made by passengers on trains (urban and non-urban)
  • number and type of drug and alcohol tests conducted, the class of rail safety work undertaken, and positive results and refusals
  • the number of employees engaged to undertake rail safety work, as on the last working day of the month.

This data is used to monitor trends and safety implications, and for the calculation of annual accreditation fees.

A separate Monthly Return form is required for each state / territory where the operator is accredited to operate. Completed forms must be provided to ONRSR by the 21st day of the month following the reported month.

From 1 July 2017, Annual Returns are not required.

Download the form and fact sheet


Please note that the Monthly Return Form is a PDF smart form. To complete your form, please right click on the link and save the form to your computer. Then open the saved form and enter your details.

If you can’t open the saved form, please download and install Adobe Acrobat Reader (free) – most modern computers will already have this software.

If you wish to edit your form in a web browser, please note these smart forms are only compatible with Internet Explorer. They will not work correctly in other browsers such as Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox. (More information on browser compatibility and workaround solutions can be found here and here.)

Last updated: 15 June 2017