In 2025 the ATSB adopted a new purpose statement, to "influence transport safety improvements for the greatest public benefit through independent no-blame investigations and fostering safety awareness".
The updated statement highlights that our role is not just the independent investigation of transport accidents and incidents, it is also to use the reports and their safety messaging to influence safety changes across the aviation, rail and marine sectors.
But it also reflects the broader responsibilities of the ATSB in improving transport safety, such as by helping Australia's neighbours develop their own best practice safety investigation bodies, providing investigator training for other safety agencies and organisations, administering the REPCON confidential reporting scheme, and publishing and maintaining a national aviation safety occurrence database.
In 2025, in line with our purpose, the ATSB published no fewer than 304 safety products, up from 202 in 2024 and almost double the 153 published in 2023.
Illustrating the breadth of the ATSB's outputs, these comprised:
- 91 investigation final reports
- 34 other investigation reports, including preliminary and interim reports, safety studies and safety advisory notices
- 74 occurrence briefs
- 26 safety promotion videos, and
- 79 REPCON reports.
Significant among those 91 investigation final reports included, in the aviation sector, the systemic investigation of the midair collision of two sightseeing helicopters over the Gold Coast, which made 27 findings and identified 12 safety issues.
Also concluded in 2025 was a systemic investigation into two international widebody airliners taking off over a closed section of runway at Melbourne Airport, which led to safety improvements being implemented or planned by Australia's aviation regulator and air traffic management provider, the International Civil Aviation Organization and both airlines involved.
In the marine sector we released the final report from our investigation into the collision of a container ship with the Leeuwin sail training ship in Fremantle, with important lessons for marine pilots, and safety action taken by the port and marine pilot operator.
And in rail, our final report from the investigation of a washaway and derailment of a freight train at Traveston, near Gympie in Queensland, emphasised the importance of serviceable environmental monitoring equipment.
All of these significant investigations were supported by ATSB‑produced digital content in the form of educational videos that used graphics, animations and interviews with ATSB investigators to explain the nature of the occurrences, our findings, and broader safety lessons for industry. On social media platforms our videos can generate 10s, and even 100s of thousands of views. (The screenshot above is from an animation created to explain the Melbourne Airport runway investigation.)
In recent years we have invested heavily in producing digital content, as using footage, animations and graphics has proven to be very effective in sharing safety information in a time‑poor, information-rich world.
Occurrence briefs are another platform where the ATSB has increased investment to highlight safety messaging. Briefs are short reports into occurrences that may not justify investigation under the Transport Safety investigation Act, but still offer important safety lessons. Shared on our social media accounts, the 74 briefs published in 2025 (up from 27 in 2024 and 9 in 2023) generated a high level of engagement, increased awareness and discussion.
Also driving the year's increased publication output was the ATSB's renewed focus on preliminary and interim reports. For significant accidents and incidents the ATSB aims to publish a preliminary report within 8 weeks of the occurrence, while all investigations that extend beyond a year in length will now have an comprehensive investigation update, typically in the form of an interim report, published every 12 months.
That way industry and key stakeholders are kept updated and informed, and safety information is shared even before an investigation is completed and the ATSB's findings are fully developed.
The critical role the ATSB plays in receiving and processing confidential reports, through our REPCON system, provides another platform to influence transport safety. REPCON is a voluntary and confidential reporting scheme where industry participants can raise transport safety concerns. After assessing those concerns and approaching involved parties for input and facilitating safety action, a summary REPCON report is published on our website for broader industry awareness.
Other ATSB publications in 2025 included 7 safety advisory notices, a safety study into passenger-carrying hot air ballooning, and 3 reports providing assistance to other Australian agencies conducting their own safety investigations. In addition, 7,636 aviation safety occurrences reported to the ATSB in 2025 were processed and added to our searchable online database.
Beyond Australia, the ATSB continues to engage with and support our equivalent transport safety agencies in the Asia Pacific. For example, long standing partnerships with our counterparts in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea in 2025 continued to see investigators from these nations undertake tertiary level investigator training under the ATSB's partnership agreement with RMIT University (training that is also available to industry participants).
In addition, in 2025 the ATSB also delivered transport safety investigation training and specific investigation assistance to our colleagues in Tonga and Vanuatu - important capacity-building activities that were supported by funding from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT).
More broadly our international responsibilities continued to extend to our participation in key United Nations transport agencies, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), where we play leading roles in shaping best practice transport safety investigation globally.
But that ability to influence transport safety investigation internationally is only because the ATSB has built and sustained a reputation for high quality, timely investigation reports and safety information products - a reputation that is critical to our ability to effectively influence safety action and foster safety awareness.
