Verification New Zealand

All operators of a rail service vehicle (ie trains, cable cars and trams) are required to hold a licence issued by the NZ Transport Authority (NZTA). To be eligible for a licence an operator must produce a safety document, called a safety case: a health and safety manual that specifies how the operator will comply with the Railways Act 2005.

For a list of requirements and more information, refer to http://www.nzta.govt.nz/commercial/rail/monitoring.html for the Rail Safety Licensing and Assessment Guidelines: 2006. This document relates to the safety management of railways and tramways in New Zealand and sets out the requirements of the government with respect to the public’s ever-increasing awareness of transport safety issues and high expectation of the right to remain safe.

All licence holders are audited by NZTA-appointed auditors regularly and as commissioned – normally annually – to ensure they are complying with their safety cases and safety systems. Non-licensed rail participants may also be audited if assurance of safe activities is required. The auditor reports both to the licence holder and to NZTA, using the NZTA report template.

Audits of rail safety systems involve a review of documentation, including records generated over the previous year. These include:

• The last audit report
• Correspondence from NZTA
• Rail occurrence/incident/accident reports
• Track and locomotive inspection and maintenance reports
• Evidence of driver/pilot competence and health
• The safety case and any amendments to this
• Where possible, audits also include observation of some rail activity

Union members, staff or their representatives are included in the safety assessment process.

Further Information

To make an enquiry or request a quote please email info@verification.co.nz.

To make an application, please download and complete this form (vnz-application-form.pdf).