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97-717: The Rail Safety Act 2006 is a law enacted by the Parliament of the State of Victoria , Australia , and is the prime statute regulating the safety of rail operations in Victoria . The Act was developed as part of the Transport Legislation Review conducted by the Department of Transport between 2004 and 2010 and is aimed at preventing deaths and injuries arising from rail operations. The Act

194-479: A lawsuit or own property as a legal person. Usually a natural person perpetrates a crime , but legal persons may also commit crimes . In the U.S., animals that are not persons under U.S. law cannot commit crimes. In Germany, legal entities ( Rechtssubjekt ) such as natural persons ( Natürliche Person ) have the capacity to be bearers of rights and obligations; they possess legal capacity . The point in time at which this legal capacity begins and ends

291-733: A "seamless national economy" proposal being pursued by the Commonwealth Government and COAG . The proposal envisages the establishment of an applied laws scheme and a central rail safety regulation bureaucracy for Australia located in Adelaide in South Australia and the abolition of the current rail safety regulators in the States and the Northern Territory. Negotiations are currently underway between

388-756: A child, 307 convicts, 17 convicts' wives, and seven children). They had been sent from England in HMS ; Calcutta under the command of Captain Daniel Woodriff , principally out of fear that the French, who had been exploring the area, might establish their own settlement and thereby challenge British rights to the continent. In 1826, Colonel Stewart, Captain Samuel Wright, and Lieutenant Burchell were sent in HMS  Fly (Captain Wetherall) and

485-521: A comprehensive and integrated management system..." setting out all risks and control measures. In essence, the SMS is the key safety plan for those parties who have ground level operational responsibilities in the rail sector. Compliance -related provisions to support the Rail Safety Act scheme were not included in that Act and instead were included in the then Transport Act 1983 (since renamed,

582-794: A cooler, mountain climate in the centre of the state. Winters along the coast of the state, particularly around Melbourne , are relatively mild ( see chart ). The coastal plain south of the Great Dividing Range has Victoria's mildest climate. Air from the Southern Ocean helps reduce the heat of summer and the cold of winter. Melbourne and other large cities are located in this temperate region. The Mallee and upper Wimmera are Victoria's warmest regions with hot winds blowing from nearby semi-deserts. Average temperatures exceed 32 °C (90 °F) during summer and 15 °C (59 °F) in winter. Except at cool mountain elevations,

679-428: A further review which led to a detailed report on the subject. The review examined governance arrangements for safety regulation in the public transport sector drawing on Australian and overseas models. Recommendations were made aimed at improving the governance , accountability and methodology of the then public transport regulator which at that time obtained its powers to regulate safety through delegation from

776-649: A human hearth excavated in 1971 was radiocarbon-dated to about 31,000 years BP , making Keilor one of the earliest sites of human habitation in Australia. A cranium found at the site has been dated at between 12,000 and 14,700 years BP . Archaeological sites in Tasmania and on the Bass Strait Islands have been dated to between 20,000 to 35,000 years ago when sea levels were 130 metres below present level allowing First Nations Peoples to move across

873-570: A kangaroo hunting ground. Creation stories describe how Bunjil was responsible for the formation of the bay, or the bay was flooded when the Yarra River was created. Victoria, like Queensland , was named after Queen Victoria , who had been on the British throne for 14 years when the colony was established in 1851. After the founding of the colony of New South Wales in 1788, Australia was divided into an eastern half named New South Wales and

970-462: A local regulatory presence under service level agreements. Jurisdictions which choose to operate under service level agreements may do so through their existing regulators operating in conjunction with the Adelaide-based national regulation bureaucracy and under centrally determined policy and operational directions. Victoria (Australia) Victoria , commonly abbreviated as Vic ,

1067-446: A national pool of knowledge and resources". Advocates of the project have also suggested that the cost savings that might accrue as a result of more centralised rail safety laws and bureaucracy will result in better safety results because rail operators will use any monetary savings to improve their safety systems. In addition, smaller jurisdictions generally see the rail safety regulation function as expensive and wish to shift costs to

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1164-583: A new multi-member proportional representation system. The State of Victoria was divided into eight electorates with each electorate represented by five representatives elected by Single Transferable Vote . The total number of upper house members was reduced from 44 to 40 and their term of office is now the same as the lower house members—four years. Elections for the Victorian Parliament are now fixed and occur in November every four years. Prior to

1261-543: A number of overarching policy principles relating to shared responsibility, accountability for managing safety risks, integrated risk management , enforcement , transparency , consistency and stakeholder involvement. The Act establishes a regulatory scheme with the following key elements: The Act also established the State's first dedicated public transport safety regulator - the Director, Public Transport Safety - which

1358-543: A rate of 8,227 per 100,000 people, up 4.4% on the previous year. While there have been some dips along the way, the rate of recorded offences have increased year on year since 2011, when the figure was 6,937.7 offences per 100,000 people. Victoria has a parliamentary form of government based on the Westminster System . Legislative power resides in the Parliament consisting of the Governor (the representative of

1455-428: A safety duty specifies that persons in this category must ensure the safety of things for which they are responsible "so far as is reasonably practicable" although the formulation varies according to the party. Rail infrastructure managers and rolling stock operators, for example, are also required to provide or maintain systems of rail safety work that are, so far as is reasonably practicable, safe. Penalties for breach of

1552-471: A single rail safety regulator. Some stakeholders have criticised the safety credibility of the centralisation proposal, observing that the proposal is more directed at economic benefits rather than safety improvements and that, as a result, it has the potential to increase rail safety risks. Several stakeholders have also raised the prospect of any new regulator becoming subject to regulatory capture . The centralisation proposal remains unresolved although

1649-519: A western half named New Holland , under the administration of the colonial government in Sydney. The first British settlement in the area later known as Victoria was established in October 1803 under Lieutenant-Governor David Collins at Sullivan Bay on Port Phillip. It consisted of 402 people (five government officials, nine officers of marines, two drummers, and 39 privates, five soldiers' wives and

1746-401: Is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state (after Tasmania ), with a land area of 227,444 km (87,817 sq mi); the second-most-populated state (after New South Wales ), with a population of over 6.9 million; and the most densely populated state in Australia (30.6 per km ). Victoria's economy is the second-largest among Australian states and

1843-438: Is a projection of the intimate, psychic personality of each person; it is a social projection of the psychic personality, with legal consequences". However, and in addition, the law also gives personality to other entities, formed by groups of people or assets: these are called legal person . A non-citizen is a natural person In many cases, fundamental human rights are implicitly granted only to natural persons. For example,

1940-518: Is at 39°12' S, which passes through Boundary Islet in the Bass Strait for 85 metres. Victoria contains many topographically, geologically and climatically diverse areas, ranging from the wet, temperate climate of Gippsland in the southeast to the snow-covered Victorian alpine areas which rise to almost 2,000 m (6,600 ft), with Mount Bogong the highest peak at 1,986 m (6,516 ft). There are extensive semi-arid plains to

2037-627: Is disputed in German case law and jurisprudence . According to section 1 of the German Civil Code (BGB), a person acquires legal capacity on completion of their birth. However, in certain conditions, fetuses also have certain legal rights, for example, that of becoming an heir . The question of whether a fetus may have legal capacity as well has been left open by the Federal Court of Justice , although there are indications of

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2134-399: Is divided into distinct geographic regions , most commonly for the purposes of economic development , while others for land management (agriculture or conservation) and for censusing (statistical or meteorological) or electoral purposes. The most commonly used regions are those created by the state government for the purposes of economic development . In addition to Greater Melbourne ,

2231-828: Is heavier. Rainfall is most reliable in Gippsland and the Western District , making them both leading farming areas. Victoria's highest recorded daily rainfall was 377.8 mm (14.87 in) at Tidal River in Wilsons Promontory National Park on 23 March 2011. At March 2024 Victoria had a population of 6,959,200. The Australian Bureau of Statistics estimates that the population may well reach 10.3 million by 2051. Victoria's founding Anglo-Celtic population has been supplemented by successive waves of migrants from Southern and Eastern Europe , Asia and, most recently, Africa and

2328-541: Is highly diversified, with service sectors predominating. Victoria is bordered by New South Wales to the north and South Australia to the west and is bounded by the Bass Strait to the south (with the exception of a small land border with Tasmania located along Boundary Islet ), the Great Australian Bight portion of the Southern Ocean to the southwest, and the Tasman Sea (a marginal sea of

2425-425: Is located 10 km (6 mi) south of Bendigo . Due to its central location and the region's historical ties to the gold rush, the town is widely regarded as the "Heart of Gold". The state's capital, Melbourne, contains about 70% of the state's population and dominates its economy, media, and culture. For other cities and towns, see list of localities (Victoria) and local government areas of Victoria . Victoria

2522-459: Is particularly strong in Bendigo and its environs. In 1854 at Ballarat, an armed rebellion against the government of Victoria was made by miners protesting against mining taxes (the " Eureka Stockade "). This was crushed by British troops, but the confrontation persuaded the colonial authorities to reform the administration of mining concessions (reducing the hated mining licence fees) and extend

2619-471: The Australian Bureau of Statistics as being a population cluster of 1,000 or more people. The below figures broadly represent the populations of the contiguous built-up areas of each city: Victoria has a varied climate that ranges from semi-arid temperate with hot summers in the north-west, to temperate and cool along the coast. Victoria's main land feature, the Great Dividing Range, produces

2716-708: The Australian Senate . At state level, the Parliament of Victoria consists of the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council . The Labor Party , led by Jacinta Allan as premier , has governed Victoria since 2014. The Governor of Victoria , the representative of the monarch in the state, is currently Margaret Gardner . Victoria is divided into 79 local government areas , as well as several unincorporated areas which

2813-524: The Commonwealth Government and States and Territories on this centralisation proposal. Final approval and adoption of legislation and other arrangements is still to occur. There has been both support for and opposition to the full centralised regulatory proposal since it was first raised. The Overland is a passenger train between Melbourne , Victoria and Adelaide , South Australia . Operated by private company, Great Southern Rail ,

2910-537: The European Union and Canada , where countries and provinces retain strong local control of rail safety regulation and administration, especially in relation to urban and metro systems. Some concerns raised in this context have reflected on the lack of subsidiarity consideration evident in the national proposal. Concerns have also been expressed about the single mode aspect of the national centralisational proposal which would remove rail safety regulation from

3007-600: The Middle East . Victoria's population is ageing in proportion with the average of the remainder of the Australian population. About 72% of Victorians are Australian-born. This figure falls to around 66% in Melbourne but rises to higher than 95% in some rural areas in the north west of the state. Less than 1% of Victorians identify themselves as Aboriginal . More than 75% of Victorians live in Melbourne, located in

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3104-617: The New South Wales and Victorian regulators. Critics argue that the national proposal militates against the contemporary integrated transport directions evident in these larger jurisdictions in recent years. These directions have seen transport safety regulators becoming increasingly multi modal and covering modes such as rail, tram, bus and maritime in the one agency as a way of sharing safety expertise, reducing duplication and minimising opportunities for regulatory capture . The national proposal would reverse this modern trend and create

3201-698: The Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution , which states a person cannot be denied the right to vote based on their sex, or Section 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms , which guarantees equality rights, apply to natural persons only. Another example of the distinction between natural and legal persons is that a natural person can hold public office, but a corporation cannot. A corporation or non-governmental organization can, however, file

3298-561: The Secretary of the Department of Infrastructure. Particular concerns were expressed about the lack of independence of the regulator function and the perceived lack of clarity about its charter and accountabilities as well as conflict of interest concerns. Ultimately, the review recommended the creation of an independent statutory office with a clearer charter and accountability arrangements. The governance review also examined

3395-727: The South Pacific Ocean ) to the southeast. The state encompasses a range of climates and geographical features from its temperate coastal and central regions to the Victorian Alps in the northeast and the semi-arid northwest. The majority of the Victorian population is concentrated in the central-south area surrounding Port Phillip , and in particular within the metropolitan area of Greater Melbourne , Victoria's state capital and largest city and also Australia's second-largest city , where over three-quarters of

3492-473: The Transport (Compliance and Miscellaneous) Act 1983 ). The compliance support scheme centres on provisions enabling the appointment of authorised officers, conferral of coercive powers and a range of administrative and court-based sanctions. The key elements are: The Director, Transport Safety , who operates as Transport Safety Victoria, is the responsible regulator for the application and enforcement of

3589-609: The Victoria State Government has divided Victoria into five regions covering all parts of the state. The five regional Victoria divisions are: The Australian Bureau of Meteorology defines regions for its own purposes, some of which share names with the economic regions, even though the exact boundaries may not correlate. As of November 2014, they are: This is a list of places in the Australian state of Victoria by population. Urban centres are defined by

3686-627: The Yorta Yorta . There were more than 30 Aboriginal languages spoken in the area prior to European colonisation. In 1770 James Cook claimed the east coast of the Australian continent for the Kingdom of Great Britain . The first European settlement in the area occurred in 1803 at Sullivan Bay . Much of Victoria was included in 1836 in the Port Phillip District of New South Wales. Named in honour of Queen Victoria , Victoria

3783-674: The electoral franchise . The following year, the Imperial Parliament granted Victoria responsible government with the passage of the Colony of Victoria Act 1855. Some of the leaders of the Eureka rebellion went on to become members of the Victorian Parliament. In 1857, reflecting the growing presence of Irish Catholic immigrants, John O'Shanassy became the colony's second Premier with the former Young Irelander , Charles Gavan Duffy as his deputy. Melbourne's Protestant establishment

3880-749: The lower house of the Victorian Parliament , the Victorian Legislative Assembly , as the Rail Safety Bill. The Bill was introduced at the same time as the Transport Legislation (Safety Investigations) Bill , a proposal to establish an independent public transport and marine safety investigator in Victoria, and the Bills were debated together. The responsible Minister for both Bill proposals

3977-505: The pink heath (state flower), Leadbeater's possum (state animal) and the helmeted honeyeater (state bird). Ecological communities include Victorian Volcanic Plain grasslands , Northern Plains Grassland and Gippsland Plains Grassy Woodland , all of which are critically endangered. According to Geoscience Australia , the geographic centre of Victoria is located in Mandurang at 36° 51' 15"S, 144° 16' 52" E. The small rural locality

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4074-546: The population growth peak of 1969–72. In 2017, Victoria recorded a TFR of 1.724. The "average Victorian" according to the demographic statistics may be described as follows: In the year ending September 2020, the statistics were skewed by the introduction of six new public safety offences relating to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia . Total offences numbered 551,710, with 32,713 of these being breaches of Chief Health Officer Directions. The total offences occurred at

4171-510: The 2006 election, the Legislative Council consisted of 44 members elected to eight-year terms from 22 two-member electorates. Natural person According to Maria Helena Diniz , an individual or natural person "is the human being considered as a subject of rights and obligations". Every human being is endowed with legal personality and, therefore, is a subject of law. According to Sílvio de Salvo Venosa, "legal personality

4268-410: The 2016 census, 72.2% of Victorians speak English at home. Speakers of other languages include Mandarin (3.2%), Italian (1.9%), Greek (1.9%), Vietnamese (1.7%), and Arabic (1.3%). In the 2016 Census, 47.9% of Victorians described themselves as Christian , 10.6% stated that they followed other religions and 32.1% stated that they had no religion or held secular or other spiritual beliefs. In

4365-440: The 2016 census, the most commonly nominated ancestries were: 0.8% of the population, or 47,788 people, identified as Indigenous Australians ( Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders ) in 2016. At the 2016 census, 64.9% of residents were born in Australia. The other most common countries of birth were England (2.9%), India (2.9%), Mainland China (2.7%), New Zealand (1.6%) and Vietnam (1.4%). As of

4462-632: The Act include railways in mines, amusement and theme park railways and slipways . Part 3 of the Act sets out a number of performance based safety duties which are required to be observed by designated rail industry participants including: "Rail contractor" is defined broadly by the Act to include a range of persons including those involved in design, construction, manufacture, supply, installation, maintenance, repair and modification who knows or ought reasonably to know that things were to be used as rail infrastructure or rolling stock . The typical formulation of

4559-616: The Act, and the regulation of safety performance of the rail sector in Victoria . The office was created by the Transport Integration Act 2010 . It commenced on 1 July 2010 and subsumed the former office of the Director, Public Transport Safety within a broader transport safety office. The Director is part of the Department of Transport, but is functionally independent of the department and responsible Ministers, except in limited circumstances. The Director reports to

4656-510: The Bass Strait islands became separated from mainland Australia around 12,000 BP, when the sea level was approximately 50m below present levels. Port Phillip was flooded by post-glacial rising sea levels between 8,000 and 6,000 years ago. Oral history and creation stories from the Wada wurrung , Woiwurrung and Bun wurrung languages describe the flooding of the bay. Hobsons Bay was once

4753-484: The Commonwealth Government. Concerns have also been expressed about the progress of harmonisation across Australia , including since the approval of the national model Rail Safety Bill. The centralised regulator proposal has been opposed at times by New South Wales , Victoria and the Western Australian rail safety regulator who have pointed to a lack of quantitative or qualitative evidence of impacts of

4850-721: The Department of Infrastructure and the National Transport Commission. The Rail Safety Bill was passed by the Legislative Assembly on 1 March 2006 and was introduced into the Victorian Legislative Council on 2 March 2006. Second reading was moved in the council on 28 March and the Bill was ultimately passed without further amendment on 29 March 2006. The Rail Safety Bill received Royal Assent on 4 April 2006 to become

4947-596: The King), the executive (the Government), and two legislative chambers. The Parliament of Victoria consists of the lower house Legislative Assembly , the upper house Legislative Council and the monarch . Eighty-eight members of the Legislative Assembly are elected to four-year terms from single-member electorates. In November 2006, the Victorian Legislative Council elections were held under

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5044-464: The Melbourne tram system from the national proposal; however Victoria and New South Wales in particular have indicated ongoing difficulties with ceding safety control over the large Melbourne and Sydney suburban rail systems to an entity located in Adelaide. Some jurisdictions and stakeholders have contrasted the more decentralised regulatory position in other large rail federations , particularly

5141-554: The Northern Territory (2010) and Queensland (2010). Once it was clear that a majority of other jurisdictions had implemented the new framework, the Victorian Rail Safety Act was amended to acknowledge that the Victorian statute forms part of the nationally consistent rail safety scheme A further national proposal emerged in 2008 at the instigation of the Rudd Government . This followed soon after

5238-546: The Parliament's consideration of the Bill pending the approval of a national model Rail Safety Bill which had adopted the Victorian policy framework but which was being developed on a later timetable by the National Transport Commission. Mulder stated: In response, the Minister observed that: The Government moved a series of amendments to the Bill during the latter stages of its passage in the Legislative Assembly largely to give effect to national alignment matters agreed between

5335-527: The Rail Safety Act 2006. The Act was ultimately proclaimed to commence on 1 August 2006. The Rail Safety Regulations 2006 which were required to support the operation of the Act also operated from the same date thereby formally commencing the new rail safety regulation scheme. The Act has been subject to some significant amendments since it was passed in 2006. These include requirements on rail infrastructure managers and road managers since 1 July 2010 to enter into "safety interface agreements". The scheme pursues

5432-665: The Rail Safety Regulators' Panel. The original centralisation concept has been supported by interstate rail interests and jurisdictions such as Tasmania , Queensland , South Australia , the Commonwealth and the Northern Territory . Those parties have argued that having separate rail safety regulators in each jurisdiction is inefficient and costly for the rail industry, particularly cross border operators, and also for Governments. Supporters of

5529-677: The States and the Northern Territory . The regulatory framework in the national model Bill adopted the scheme set out in the Victorian Act. Accordingly, the Victorian legislation satisfied the core national scheme requirements and required small changes only to be compatible with the national draft. Adoption of the model national Bill was gradual. The national proposal was subsequently adopted by legislation in South Australia (in 2007), New South Wales (2008) and Tasmania (2009) and eventually in Western Australia (2010),

5626-569: The approval of the national model Rail Safety Bill and before most States and the Northern Territory were able to embed the model Bill into their local laws. The Australian Transport Council and the Council of Australian Governments are pursuing a centralisation proposal (sometimes called the "single national rail safety regulator") to establish a safety regulator for all rail operations in Australia including interstate railways and domestic state and territory urban systems (heavy rail, light rail and tram) and shortlines. The proposal forms part of

5723-414: The brigs Dragon and Amity , took a number of convicts and a small force composed of detachments of the 3rd and 93rd regiments. The expedition landed at Settlement Point (now Corinella ), on the eastern side of Western Port Bay, which was the headquarters until the abandonment of Western Port at the insistence of Governor Darling about 12 months afterwards. Victoria's next settlement was at Portland , on

5820-444: The case for merging the public transport regulator with the then Victorian marine safety regulator, the Director of Marine Safety. While not recommended at that time, the review found that integration of the functions could be examined in two to three years time once the public transport regulatory schemes had been settled and further examination of marine safety regulation had occurred. The Victorian Government ultimately pursued

5917-428: The centre of Victoria. Average temperatures are less than 9 °C (48 °F) in winter and below 0 °C (32 °F) in the highest parts of the ranges. The state's lowest minimum temperature of −11.7 °C (10.9 °F) was recorded at Omeo on 15 June 1965, and again at Falls Creek on 3 July 1970. Temperature extremes for the state are listed in the table below: Rainfall in Victoria increases from south to

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6014-423: The country's first federal capital. Victoria's northern border follows a straight line from Cape Howe to the start of the Murray River and then follows the Murray River as the remainder of the northern border. On the Murray River, the border is the southern bank of the river. This precise definition was not established until 1980, when a ruling by Justice Ninian Stephen of the High Court of Australia settled

6111-410: The culturally diverse population live (35.1% of inhabitants being immigrants ). The state is also home to four of Australia's 20 largest cities : Melbourne , Geelong , Ballarat and Bendigo . Victoria is home to numerous Aboriginal groups, including the Boonwurrung , the Bratauolung , the Djadjawurrung , the Gunai , the Gunditjmara , the Taungurung , the Wathaurong , the Wurundjeri , and

6208-447: The current jurisdiction-based national system on operator costs, particularly in light of the predominance of intrastate urban rail movements in Australia over interstate movements. These jurisdictions have also pointed to the good performance of rail safety regulation in Australia in recent years which has seen long-term trends point to reductions in deaths and injuries from rail operations. Agreement has already been reached to excise

6305-446: The current proposal suggests a start up date of 1 January 2013 for a new system which is still in evolution. Recent developments suggest that a centralised regulator will be established to take over the rail safety regulation functions of a majority of jurisdictions but that the most populous jurisdictions such as New South Wales and Victoria and potentially other large rail States such as Queensland and Western Australia may retain

6402-416: The direct operation of railways in Victoria , rail infrastructure managers and rolling stock operators, are not permitted to operate under the Act unless they are granted accreditation by the regulator. The purpose of accreditation is to attest to an operator's competence and capacity to manage the risks to safety associated with their rail operations. Matters applicants are required to demonstrate under

6499-410: The full integration of its public transport and marine safety regulators five years later as part of its Transport Integration Act proposal. Ultimately, the proposals for both a new rail safety regulation scheme and new public transport safety governance arrangements were presented to the Victorian Parliament as proposed legislation in early October 2005. The Rail Safety Act was introduced into

6596-436: The identification and management of risks to safety at road/rail crossings, particularly level crossings , as one means of improving safety outcomes at those locations. The development and passage of the Rail Safety Act in Victoria in March 2006 was followed by policy and legislation developments at the national level. In June 2006, the Australian Transport Council approved a model Rail Safety Bill for adoption in law by

6693-437: The inland monthly temperatures are 2–7 °C (4–13 °F) warmer than around Melbourne (see chart). Victoria's highest maximum temperature of 48.8 °C (119.8 °F) was recorded in Hopetoun on 7 February 2009, during the 2009 southeastern Australia heat wave . The Victorian Alps in the northeast are the coldest part of Victoria. The Alps are part of the Great Dividing Range mountain system extending east–west through

6790-412: The issues paper were requested from industry parties and other interested stakeholders. Comments received from industry, government and other stakeholders resulted in the refinement of the proposal and changes to its design. The proposal for a new public transport regulator was developed separately but concurrently with the development of the rail safety regulatory scheme. The department commissioned

6887-409: The national capital in 1927. The state continued to grow strongly through various periods of the 20th and 21st centuries due to high levels of international and interstate migration. Melbourne hosts a number of museums, art galleries, and theatres; in 2016 a sports marketing company named it the world's sporting capital. Victoria has 38 seats in the Australian House of Representatives and 12 seats in

6984-574: The northeast, with higher averages in areas of high altitude. Mean annual rainfall exceeds 1,800 millimetres (71 inches) in some parts of the northeast but is less than 280 mm (11 in) in the Mallee. Rain is heaviest in the Otway Ranges and Gippsland in southern Victoria and in the mountainous northeast. Snow generally falls only in the mountains and hills in the centre of the state. Rain falls most frequently in winter, but summer precipitation

7081-412: The proposal have also asserted that Australia's regulatory system for rail needs to be modernised to reflect a national approach to transport policy planning and to support the safe, efficient and sustainable growth of the railway industry. It has also been suggested that the establishment of a national rail safety administration will "...deliver better rail safety outcomes for Australia, as it will draw on

7178-561: The question as to which state had jurisdiction in the unlawful death of a man on an island in the middle of the river. The ruling clarified that no part of the watercourse is in Victoria. The border also rests at the southern end of the Great Dividing Range , which stretches along the east coast and terminates west of Ballarat. It is bordered by South Australia to the west and shares Australia's shortest land border with Tasmania . The official border between Victoria and Tasmania

7275-580: The region of southern Victoria and onto the land bridge of the Bassian plain to Tasmania by at least 35,000 years ago. During the Ice Age about 20,000 years BP , the area now the bay of Port Phillip would have been dry land, and the Yarra and Werribee rivers would have joined to flow through the heads then south and south west through the Bassian plain before meeting the ocean to the west. Tasmania and

7372-589: The relevant Ministers. The development of the proposal for the Act was managed by the former Department of Infrastructure in Victoria as part of its Transport Legislation Review project. The department released an issues paper outlining the broad policy outline for rail safety scheme legislation in May 2004. The paper outlined a series of concerns about the former rail safety regulation framework in Victoria including concerns about safety trends and outcomes and comparisons with schemes in overseas jurisdictions. Comments on

7469-481: The relevant Ministers. The responsible Minister for the Act is the Minister for Public Transport, currently Jacinta Allan . The stated purpose of the Act is "...to provide for safe rail operations in Victoria ". The objects of the Act center on the safety of rail operations, management of safety risks, continuous improvement in rail safety management, public confidence in the safety of rail transport and appropriate stakeholder involvement . The Act also contains

7566-462: The safety duties are substantial and vary among natural person and body corporate offenders. The framework of safety duties in the Act seeks to give practical effect to the so-called "chain of responsibility" concept in the rail safety sector. That concept seeks to identify the parties who are in a sufficient position of control over risks, in this case to safety, and to allocate responsibility by law accordingly. Two key parties responsible for

7663-457: The scheme are that their safety management system complies with the Act, that they have sufficient financial capacity or insurance to meet potential accident liabilities, and other matters. Certain rail operators, that is infrastructure managers and rolling stock operators, are required to have a safety management system (SMS) to ensure the safe management of their rail operations. A safety management system must be documented and "...provide

7760-622: The south west coast of what is now Victoria. Edward Henty settled Portland Bay in 1834. Melbourne was founded in 1835 by John Batman , who set up a base in Indented Head , and John Pascoe Fawkner . From settlement, the region around Melbourne was known as the Port Phillip District, a separately administered part of New South Wales. Shortly after, the site now known as Geelong was surveyed by Assistant Surveyor W. H. Smythe, three weeks after Melbourne. And in 1838, Geelong

7857-493: The state administers directly. The state of Victoria was home to many Aboriginal Australian nations that had occupied the land for tens of thousands of years before European settlement . According to Gary Presland , Aboriginal people have lived in Victoria for about 40,000 years, living a semi-nomadic existence of fishing, hunting and gathering, and farming eels. At the Keilor Archaeological Site ,

7954-666: The state's south. The greater Melbourne metropolitan area is home to an estimated 5,207,145 people. Urban centres outside Melbourne include Geelong , Ballarat , Bendigo , Shepparton , Mildura , Warrnambool , Wodonga and the Latrobe Valley . Victoria is Australia's most urbanised state: nearly 90% of residents living in cities and towns. State Government efforts to decentralise population have included an official campaign run since 2003 to encourage Victorians to settle in regional areas, however Melbourne continues to rapidly outpace these areas in terms of population growth. At

8051-523: The survey, 31.7% of Victorians stated they had no religion, Roman Catholics were 23.2%, 9.4% did not answer the question, 9% were Anglican and 3.5% were Eastern Orthodox . In 2017 the proportion of couples marrying in a civil ceremony in Victoria was 77.3%; the other 22.7% were married in a religious ceremony. The government predicts that nearly a quarter of Victorians will be aged over 60 by 2021. The 2016 census revealed that Australian median age has crept upward from 35 to 37 since 2001, which reflects

8148-465: The train operates between the Melbourne terminal of Southern Cross , and Adelaide Parklands Terminal in Adelaide, and covers 828 kilometres between capitals.]. When in Victoria, the train operates under the Victorian Rail Safety Act and in South Australia under the companion South Australian Act of the same name. Coordinated regulatory activity is ensured by the regulators of each State and by

8245-566: The treaty is unknown, although it is believed to have been by the Merri Creek . According to historian Meyer Eidelson, it is generally believed to have occurred on the Merri near modern-day Rushall Station. On 1 July 1851, writs were issued for the election of the first Victorian Legislative Council, and the absolute independence of Victoria from New South Wales was established proclaiming a new Colony of Victoria. Days later, still in 1851 gold

8342-581: The west and northwest. There is an extensive series of river systems in Victoria. Most notable is the Murray River system. Other rivers include: Ovens River , Goulburn River , Patterson River , King River , Campaspe River , Loddon River , Wimmera River , Elgin River, Barwon River , Thomson River , Snowy River , Latrobe River , Yarra River , Maribyrnong River , Mitta River , Hopkins River , Merri River and Kiewa River . The state symbols include

8439-496: The world" and the largest gold nugget . In the decade 1851–1860 Victoria produced 20 million ounces of gold, one-third of the world's output. In 1855 the Geological Survey collected and determined the major ion chemistry for groundwater in Victoria. Immigrants arrived from all over the world to search for gold, especially from Ireland and China. By 1857, 26,000 Chinese miners worked in Victoria, and their legacy

8536-437: Was briefly Premier. In 1893 widespread bank failures brought to an end a sustained period of prosperity and of increasingly wild speculation in land and construction. Melbourne nonetheless retained, as the legacy of the gold rush, its status as Australia's primary financial centre and largest city. In 1901, Victoria became a state in the Commonwealth of Australia . While Canberra was being built, Melbourne served until 1927 as

8633-616: Was created as an independent statutory office. The Act is divided into ten parts: The Act regulates the safety compliance of most rail transport in Victoria including heavy and light rail systems, public and private sidings, tramways and tourist and heritage rail operations. The main railways regulated by the Act include the Melbourne heavy rail system , the Melbourne tram and light rail network , Victoria's regional standard and broad gauge rail networks and regional tourist and heritage railways . Railways excluded from coverage under

8730-523: Was declared void as Batman did not have permission from the Crown to establish Melbourne. Today, the meaning and interpretation of this treaty is contested. Some argue it was a pretence for taking Aboriginal land in exchange for trinkets, while others argue it was significant in that it sought to recognise Aboriginal land rights . The exact location of the meeting between Batman and the Kulin men with whom he made

8827-434: Was discovered near Ballarat , and subsequently at Bendigo . Later discoveries occurred at many sites across Victoria. This triggered one of the largest gold rushes the world has ever seen. The colony grew rapidly in both population and economic power. In 10 years, the population of Victoria increased sevenfold from 76,000 to 540,000. All sorts of gold records were produced, including the "richest shallow alluvial goldfield in

8924-531: Was ill-prepared "to countenance so startling a novelty". In 1858–59, Melbourne Punch cartoons linked Duffy and O'Shanassy to the terrors of the French Revolution . In 1862 Duffy's Land Act attempted, but failed, through a system of extended pastoral licences, to break the land-holding monopoly of the so-called "squatter" class . In 1871, having led, on behalf of small farmers, opposition to Premier Sir James McCulloch 's land tax , Duffy, himself,

9021-657: Was officially declared a town, despite earlier European settlements dating back to 1826. On 6 June 1835, just under two years before Melbourne was officially recognised as a settlement, John Batman, the leader of the Port Phillip Association presented Wurundjeri Elders with a land use agreement. This document, now referred to as the Batman treaty , was later given to the British government to claim that local Aboriginal people had given Batman access to their land in exchange for goods and rations. The treaty itself

9118-459: Was passed in early 2006 and commenced on 1 August of that year. The Act also established Victoria's first independent transport safety regulator, the Director, Public Transport Safety . In 2010 the statutory office of Director, Public Transport Safety was replaced by the Director, Transport Safety . Though functionally independent, the Director is part of the Department of Transport and reports to

9215-466: Was separated from New South Wales and established as a separate Crown colony in 1851, achieving responsible government in 1855. The Victorian gold rush in the 1850s and 1860s significantly increased Victoria's population and wealth. By the time of Australian Federation in 1901, Melbourne had become the largest city in Australasia , and was the seat of Federal government until Canberra became

9312-515: Was the State's first dedicated statute on the subject and replaced provisions in the former Transport Act 1983 . The Act forms part of the transport policy and legislation framework in Victoria set by the Transport Integration Act 2010 , and its provisions are subject to the overarching transport system vision, transport system objectives and decision making principles set out in the Transport Integration Act . The Act

9409-415: Was the then Minister for Transport, Peter Batchelor . The Minister moved the second reading of the Rail Safety Bill on 6 October 2005 and set the context for the Bill in his speech in support as follows: The Rail Safety Bill was the subject of a reasoned amendment moved by the then Opposition shadow Transport Minister Terry Mulder on 1 March 2006 in the Legislative Assembly. The amendment sought to defer

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