Law Internet Resources

Transport Law

This resource guide contains links to federal (and some State) legislation, national organisations and publications relevant to transport law. Links to guides and directories giving access to international and State and Territory information are also provided

• General Transport Information
• Air
• Rail
• Roads
• Sea
• Space

General Transport Information

Legislation

• Transport bills currently before Parliament
• Australian Land Transport Development Act 1988
• Inspector of Transport Security Act 2006
• Transport Safety Investigation Act 2003

National Bodies

•  Australia. Parliament. House of Representatives. Standing Committee on Transport and Regional Services
  Information about the Committee, full text copies of reports and hearings (after 1996) and details of reports published before 1997
• Australia. Parliament. Senate. Standing Committee on Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport
  Information about the Committee and full text copies of reports and hearings (after 1995)
• Australian Transport Council
  Council of Federal, State and Territory transport ministers
• Australian Transport Safety Bureau
• Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government
  • Portfolio legislation
    Links to the text of acts administered by the Dept
• National Transport Commission
  Formerly, the National Road Transport Commission (NRTC), the NTC was established in 2004 to promote uniform regulatory aspects of land transport (road and rail) networks

Publications

• The Laws of Australia (Law Book Co). Title 34. Transport
  Commercial publication. Not available outside Parliament
• Blake Dawson law firm
  Select “Publications” to view Trade & Transport Alert, a regular summary of transport law issues
• DLA Phillips Fox law firm
  Select “Publications” and then “Transport” to view transport law newsletters

Links to Other Australian Sites (State organisations, Pathfinders, Directories etc)

• Links to State and Territory Departments of Transport (via Australian Transport Council)
• Commonwealth Parliamentary Library Science, Technology, Environment and Resources Group links to general transport sites
• Commonwealth Parliamentary Library Economics, Commerce and Industrial Relations Group links to transport sites

Overseas Sites

• Catalaw Maritime and Transport Law
  Basic list of links to Canada, South Africa, Mexico, United Kingdom, United States and various international sites
• Cargolaw
  Advertised as “Your Internet portal to international transportation” this site is the home page of Countryman & McDaniel, US Customs Broker Attorneys. Includes essays on various aspects of transport law as well as many links to air and sea law organisations
• European Union. Directorate-General for Energy and Transport. Legislation and Policy Instruments
• Forwarderlaw
  Deals with international aspects of freight forwarding
  • Article on Forwarderlaw and its features by P. Jones
• Hieros Gamos Transportation Law page
  A patchy directory covering international instruments and national legislation, with a United States bias
• United States Department of Transport
• United States Federal Transit Administration. Legal materials

Air

Aviation Legislation

Federal Legislation

• Legislation and Regulation (Civil Aviation Safety Authority)
  Includes: Civil Aviation Act and Regulations, Civil Aviation Orders
• Airspace Act 2007
• Guide to the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations 1998
• Overview of Civil Aviation Safety Legislation (CASA)
  Chapter 2 of the Regulatory Development Management Manual
• Aviation Policy and Regulation (Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government)
• Airworthiness Directives (Civil Aviation Safety Authority)

  Other Legislation

• Air Services Act 1995
• Aviation Transport Security Act 2004
• Crimes (Aviation) Act 1991

National Aviation Bodies

• Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association of Australia
• Airservices Australia
  Provides air traffic services; the design, creation and maintenance of airways systems; and aviation rescue and firefighting services
• Australian Transport Safety Bureau. Aviation page
  Formerly Bureau of Air Safety Investigation (BASI)
• Civil Aviation Safety Authority
  CASA was established as an independent statutory authority on 6 July 1995 by an amendment to the Civil Aviation Act 1988. The powers and functions of CASA are defined in Section 9 of the legislation. Its primary function is to regulate aviation safety to the Australian public
• Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government Aviation Planning and Regulation page
• International Air Services Commission
  Processes applications by existing and prospective Australian airlines for capacity and route entitlements available under air services arrangements
  • IASC Determinations and Decisions

Aviation Publications

• Halsburys laws of Australia. Title 35. Aviation
  Commercial publication. Not available outside Parliament
• Australian Aviation Safety in Review (Australian Transport Safety Bureau)
• Aviation safety regulation chronology 1982-2006 (M. James, Commonwealth Parliamentary Library)
• Airspace 2000 and Related Issues: Report (Senate Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport References Committee)
• Airports Bill 1996 and the Airports (Transitional) Bill 1996: Report by the Senate Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Legislation Committee, August 1996
• Intrastate aviation (Industry Commission report no. 25, 1992)

Links to Other Australian Aviation Sites

• Via AustlII

Overseas Aviation Sites

• Via WorldLII
• United States Aviation Law Sites (Cornell University)

Rail

Rail Legislation

• Australian National Railways Commission Sale Act 1997
• National Railway Network (Financial Assistance) Act 1979
• Railway Agreement (Western Australia) Act 1961
• Railway Standardization (New South Wales and Victoria) Agreement Act 1958
• National Transport Commission Rail Safety

National Rail Bodies

• Australasian Railway Association
  Administers issues relating to the Inter-Government Agreement on Rail Operational Uniformity. Site includes conference papers and a section on uniform regulation but access to codes of practice for railways is limited to members
• Australian Transport Safety Bureau. Rail page

Rail Publications

• Halsburys laws of Australia. Title 425. Chapter 2. Rail Transport
  Commercial publication. Not available outside Parliament
• Compliance and Enforcement Policy for Rail Safety: Consultation Draft; March 2007 (National Transport Commission)

Links to Other Australian Rail Sites

• via National Transport Commission

Overseas Rail Sites

• via Railpage

Roads

Roads Legislation

Federal and Uniform Laws

• Australian Land Transport Development Act 1998
• Interstate Road Transport Act 1985
• Interstate Road Transport Charge Act 1985
• Motor Vehicles Standards Act 1989
  Click on ‘Enables’ tab to view Motor Vehicle Standards Regulations, Determinations and Australian Design Rules
• Road Transport Reform (Dangerous Goods) Act 1995
• Road Transport Reform (Heavy Vehicles Registration) Act 1997
• Road Transport Reform (Vehicles and Traffic) Act 1993
• Roads to Recovery Act 2000
• Australian Design Rules
  Set out design standards for vehicle safety and emissions.
• National Environment Protection (Diesel Vehicle Emissions) Measure (National Environment Protection Council)
• Australian Road Rules
• Advertising for Motor Vehicles: Voluntary Code of Practice (Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, 2002)

State and Territory Road Legislation

• New South Wales
• South Australia
• Victoria
• Western Australia

Road Court Decisions, Law Reports etc

• Motor vehicle reports
  Table of contents and index to current issue

National Road Bodies

• Australian Local Government Association. Transport page
  Local government information mainly relating to technical and economic aspects of road transport
• ARRB Transport Research
  Formerly the Australian Road Research Board
• Australian Transport Safety Bureau. Roads page
• Austroads
  The association of Australian and New Zealand road transport and traffic authorities
• Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government. Roads page
• Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government. Land Transport of Dangerous Goods page
• Inter-State Commission
  Although provided for in the Constitution, the Commission no longer exists. In 1975 it was reconstituted by the Inter-State Commission Act to inquire into national transport issues. In 1989 the Commission was abolished. This extract from the Report on federalism: the role of the States gives background information on the Commission