South Australia
Rail Safety National Law (South Australia) (Miscellaneous) Amendment Act 2023
An Act to amend the Rail Safety National Law (South Australia) Act 2012.

Contents
Part 1—Preliminary
1	Short title
2	Commencement
3	Amendment provisions
Part 2—Amendment of Rail Safety National Law
4	Amendment of section 42—National Rail Safety Register
5	Amendment of section 117—Assessment of competence
6	Amendment of section 203—Ministerial exemptions
7	Insertion of Part 6 Division 1A
Division 1A—Exemptions granted by Regulator in event of emergency
203A	Exemptions granted by Regulator in event of emergency
8	Amendment of heading to Part 6 Division 2

The Parliament of South Australia enacts as follows:
Part 1—Preliminary
1—Short title
This Act may be cited as the Rail Safety National Law (South Australia) (Miscellaneous) Amendment Act 2023.
2—Commencement
This Act comes into operation on a day to be fixed by proclamation.
3—Amendment provisions
In this Act, a provision in Part 2 amends the Rail Safety National Law set out in the Schedule to the Rail Safety National Law (South Australia) Act 2012.

Part 2—Amendment of Rail Safety National Law
4—Amendment of section 42—National Rail Safety Register
Section 42(2)(e)—delete "conferred on a person" and substitute:
granted under Part 6
5—Amendment of section 117—Assessment of competence
Section 117—after subsection (6) insert:
	(6a)	A person who provides a document or information in relation to the assessment by a rail transport operator of the competency of that person to carry out rail safety work that the person knows—
	(a)	is false or misleading in a material particular; or
	(b)	omits any matter or thing without which the document or information is misleading,
is guilty of an offence.
Maximum penalty: $10 000.
6—Amendment of section 203—Ministerial exemptions
	(1)	Section 203(3)(a)—delete paragraph (a) and substitute:
	(a)	vary an exemption (but not so as to extend the operation of the exemption to exceed the period referred to in subsection (2)(b)); or
	(2)	Section 203(3)—after paragraph (a) insert:
	(ab)	cancel an exemption; or
7—Insertion of Part 6 Division 1A
After Part 6 Division 1 insert:
Division 1A—Exemptions granted by Regulator in event of emergency
203A—Exemptions granted by Regulator in event of emergency
	(1)	The Regulator may, in the event of an emergency, by notice in the South Australian Government Gazette, exempt rail transport operators or rail transport operators of a class, from the operation of section 114 in respect of the railway operations, or specified railway operations, of the operator.
	(2)	The Regulator may grant an exemption under subsection (1)—
	(a)	on conditions specified in the notice; and
	(b)	for a period (not exceeding 3 months) specified in the notice.
	(3)	The Regulator may, at any time, by further notice in the South Australian Government Gazette—
	(a)	vary an exemption (but not so as to extend the operation of the exemption to exceed the period referred to in subsection (2)(b)); or
	(b)	cancel an exemption; or
	(c)	vary or cancel a condition of an exemption.
	(4)	A rail transport operator who, without reasonable excuse, contravenes a condition of an exemption that applies to the operator is guilty of an offence.
Maximum penalty: 
	(a)	in the case of an individual—$20 000;
	(b)	in the case of a body corporate—$100 000.
	(5)	Subsection (4) places an evidential burden on the accused to show a reasonable excuse.
	(6)	The Regulator must publish a copy of a notice under this section on the ONRSR's website.
	(7)	In this section—
emergency means an event or circumstance that is declared to be an emergency or disaster by—
	(a)	the Commonwealth or a State or Territory; or
	(b)	a Commonwealth, State or Territory authority responsible for managing responses to emergencies or disasters.
8—Amendment of heading to Part 6 Division 2
Heading to Part 6 Division 2—after "Regulator" insert:
on application