Aircraft operators and organisations involved in aviation safety will soon have access to a new method of submitting written notifications to the ATSB of aviation safety matters.

This method will allow operators and organisations to report out of their own safety management systems or reporting software and directly transfer accident and incident notifications to the ATSB notification system.

This new option is set to significantly improve the way aviation transport safety matters are reported to the ATSB.

How it works

To ensure that accident and incident data reported to the ATSB is compatible with the ATSB’s notification system, we have developed an ‘XML schema’ that is available upon request through the ATSB website.

The schema will provide a framework for organisations and software vendors to develop and automate accident and incident reporting solutions in a format compatible with the ATSB notification system.

Draft schema

Before we roll out the schema, we’re offering an opportunity for interested parties to review and evaluate a draft version.

We’re particularly keen to engage with software vendors and operators of safety management systems who are looking to either update existing systems or build new systems that are capable of using the ATSB’s schema for reporting accidents and incidents.

Once the final schema is released, the ATSB will provide a section on its website where software vendors and safety management system providers can apply to have their compatible reporting systems listed as being ‘ATSB Reporting Compliant’.

This listing option will be conditional on the ATSB validating that the outputs of any reporting system are fully compliant with schema and the ATSB’s notification system.

Reporting options

The ATSB’s current options for reporting incidents and accidents include a web form, email, fax, post and electronic formats. Within the next 12 months, the ATSB will move towards only accepting electronic formats for the submission of written accident and incident notifications.

This means that aircraft operators and organisations will eventually need to report aviation transport safety matters to the ATSB via their compatible reporting solution or through the ATSB’s web notification form. The ATSB will keep you updated on the new reporting requirements over the coming months.

Compliance

Irrespective of the schema’s implementation, users need to ensure that they are compliant with all aspects of the aviation accident and incident reporting requirements of the Transport Safety Investigation Act 2003 or any other applicable statutory instrument.

Prior to receiving the schema details, users will need to accept the license terms and conditions associated with its use, which will be supplied by the ATSB.

Licencing

A licence for use of the schema will be provided in accordance with the terms of Creative Commons Licence Attribution CC BY 3.0.