A freight train already built is approved to run from Melbourne to Brisbane

Rail safety was nationalised in 2013 and one regulator accredits the operator. What the vehicle must meet is still settled network by network, so the same evidence is assessed four times. The build is not modelled here — the approval alone is eighteen months.

infrastructureOne class of freight rolling stock, already designed and manufactured, entering service on the interstate corridor and its metropolitan approaches draft compare across jurisdictions

540 days elapsed
longest dependent chain

9 discrete steps
across 2 bodies

28% waiting on availability
scheduling or queue, not assessment

180 days saved by concurrency
vs. 720 if run end-to-end

Where the time goes

Critical-path days only. Steps that run alongside others are real work but do not lengthen the process, so counting them here would overstate the prize.

statutory	180d	A legislated period that must elapse regardless of readiness.
assessment	120d	Someone is genuinely evaluating the merits.
queue	90d	Waiting behind unrelated work in a backlog.
third party	60d	Waiting on an external body outside the regulator's control.
scheduling	60d	Waiting for a person or committee to become available.
applicant	30d	Waiting on the applicant to supply or fix something.

150 of 540 elapsed days are spent waiting for a person or a meeting rather than for a judgement to be formed. Removing that time changes no assessment standard and lowers no bar -- it is the cost of scheduling alone.

The process, step by step

Applies when: An operator has rolling stock and wants to run it across networks managed by more than one rail infrastructure manager.

#	Step	Who	Why it waits	Clock	Typical	Basis
1	Engineering design assurance against the first network's interface standards certification Gauge, axle load, clearance envelope, braking, coupling and signalling interface, assessed against one manager's standards.	Australian Rail Track Corporation	assessment	—	120 estimate	—
2	Accreditation, or variation of accreditation, granted application The national decision that the operator is competent and capable of managing the safety risks of the operation. after Engineering design assurance against the first network's interface standards 240d slack	Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator	statutory	180	180 legislated	Rail Safety National Law
3	Interoperability Management Plan prepared and incorporated certification A new requirement in full effect from 28 February 2026 for operators on the National Network for Interoperability. after Accreditation, or variation of accreditation, granted 210d slack	Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator	applicant	—	30 published	—
4	Certification and registration with the interstate network manager registration after Interoperability Management Plan prepared and incorporated 150d slack	Australian Rail Track Corporation	third party	—	60 estimate	—
5	Acceptance by the New South Wales metropolitan network manager registration after Certification and registration with the interstate network manager 60d slack	—	queue	—	90 estimate	—
6	Acceptance by the Victorian metropolitan network manager registration after Certification and registration with the interstate network manager 60d slack	—	queue	—	90 estimate	—
7	Acceptance by the Queensland network manager registration after Certification and registration with the interstate network manager 60d slack	—	queue	—	90 estimate	—
8	Crew route knowledge and network rules competency certification after Acceptance by the New South Wales metropolitan network manager, Acceptance by the Victorian metropolitan network manager, Acceptance by the Queensland network manager	—	scheduling	—	60 estimate	—
9	Vehicle in interstate service registration after Crew route knowledge and network rules competency	—	assessment	—	0 estimate	—

on the critical path scheduling/queue = delay not caused by the assessment itself

Proposed changes

This is what harmonisation actually costs when someone genuinely does it resequence
Rail interoperability was made a national priority in 2020. The first mandatory requirements took effect in February 2026. A mandatory national rolling stock approvals standard is scheduled for 2029-2030. Ten years, for a process standard.
The independent review blamed the proponent's own documents, not the regulator resequence
Inland Rail went from $16.4 billion to over $45 billion and 2036. A red tape database would expect to find environmental approvals at the centre of that. The Schott review found immature design and poor environmental impact statements requiring resubmission.
Automatic mutual recognition exists for people and not for trains merge ~90d
Rail safety was nationalised in 2013 and works: one law, one regulator, one accreditation. What a vehicle must meet was not, so the same test reports are assessed by four infrastructure managers against four sets of interface standards.

Sources

National Transport Commission: in Australia it can take less time to build a train than it does to get it approved to run across the country, which creates significant barriers to investment
ONRSR: must decide to grant or refuse an application for accreditation within six months of receiving it; a variation of accreditation is assessed in the same way as an accreditation
ONRSR: new requirements for the interoperability of railway operations took full effect on 28 February 2026; operators on the National Network for Interoperability must prepare an Interoperability Management Plan as part of their safety management system
NTC: variation in interface standards across jurisdictions creates cost and duplication; Stage 3 (2029-2030) develops a mandatory national standard for rolling stock approvals

Something wrong here?

This page is wrong in some way -- every page like it is. If you have run this process, the most useful thing you can do is tell us which step took longer than we say and why. Edit data/processes/au-rolling-stock-approval.toml and open a pull request, or send us the correction.