Have you ever noticed a hazard in your work environment that you thought might need addressing, but weren’t quite sure whether you should say something or not?
Whether it’s a minor or major safety issue, you must report all suspected safety concerns.
Importance of safety reporting
Safety reporting is a key part of aviation safety.
Reporting helps identify and correct unsafe conditions before they lead to accidents.
What should be reported?
If you see a safety issue or something that might lead to a safety issue, and intend to submit a safety report, there are a few things to keep in mind.
Safety reports generally include information about:
- serious aircraft incidents and reportable serious aircraft incidents, for example, an aircraft accident, loss of separation between aircraft, declaration of an emergency in relation to an aircraft or property damage incident (see applicable Transport Safety Investigation Regulations 2021, Civil Aviation Safety Regulations 1998 and Civil Aviation Regulations 1988)
- a procedure, practice or unsafe condition, for instance, smoke or fumes in the cabin
- an incident or circumstance that affects the safety of an aircraft’s operations, for instance, malfunctioning emergency equipment (such as oxygen masks, seatbelts and life vests)
- scheduling, rostering or turnaround concerns, specifically those that have the potential to increase fatigue levels and/or those that jeopardise pre-flight safety checks or inspections
- psychosocial hazards such as excessive stress, bullying and harassment, lack of job clarity and other factors that affect a person’s wellbeing
- inadequate training that has flow-on effects for safe operation of aircraft, vehicles or other equipment.
Safety reports don’t generally include:
- personal grievances with staff and managers
- industrial relation matters
- criminal liabilities.
When to report a safety concern?
Safety reports should be made whenever you suspect a safety concern, no matter how small.
‘Even if an accident hasn’t happened yet, proactive reporting is always encouraged so hazards can be mitigated in time, before they occur,’ says Matt Bouttell, Executive Manager of Regulatory Oversight at CASA.
‘If you work for an aviation organisation, such as an airline or airport, we encourage you to use your organisation’s internal safety reporting channels to report your safety concerns, which are normally submitted within a Safety Management System. However, other reporting channels are also available to you that are external to your organisation such as those operated by the ATSB and CASA.’
REPCON is the ATSB’s confidential safety reporting channel, and CASA maintains a Report concerns about aviation safety web form.
Both CASA and the ATSB support open and honest reporting cultures, where genuine reporting of safety concerns will not result in enforcement/administrative/disciplinary action.
We are all responsible for upholding safety within an organisation, so don’t hesitate – report all safety concerns if you suspect or see them!
Further information
Visit the CASA website to:
For more about information about confidentially reporting aviation safety concerns, visit the ATSB website.
