b'T L H E R EG U ATO S R S M E S AG ETHE REGULATORS MESSAGEInitiatives such as the National Rail Action Plan, the National Level Crossing Safety Strategy and the Rail Safety National Law Review, present opportunities for the rail industry to do things differently. At ONRSR we are embracing this sense of renewal by positioning the organisation to do its part to facilitate and champion change. To that end ONRSR established its Strategic Directions 20242027, at the core of which is a new organisational purpose not only to apply risk-based regulation but also to proactively share insights and information arising from our work. And so, in support of a sector-wide sense of rejuvenation, I am delighted to present our annual ONRSR Rail Safety Report - the first iteration to present information beyond counts of notifiable occurrences. The report, now an online resource, uses chain of event details provided by operators for each notifiable occurrence to delve deeper into the why and how a set of circumstances has resulted in a rail safety incident. This is complemented by additional statistical analyses and international benchmarking that allows us to compare Australias performance not only with traditional yardsticks, the UK and USA but also with several comparable European nations and Canada. These are small but important first steps to evolve our data sets and transform our analysis and reporting functions so that they deliver actionable insights for those with the responsibility for managing railway operations safely. Ultimately, we want this and subsequent iterations of the report to provide a richer understanding of the safety issues challenging the industry and the safety performance of the industry in addressing them. Where we can take the report is something I am constantly challenging the ONRSR team with, and I know they are committed to working hard not only internally but with rail operators and the wider transport and research sectors to continue its evolution. The report retains its focus on providing rail operators, duty holders, decision-makers and all other stakeholders with an understanding of the industrys safety performancewhich I am pleased to note remains generally strong. Watch this space. Dr. Natalie E Pelham Chief Executive / National Rail Safety Regulator2 ONRSR Rail Safety Report 20232024'