May 2013
MANUAL
Trainer’s manual
Model training course for drug and alcohol testing
authorised persons appointed by rail transport
operators accredited in NSW
The training material contained in this model training course is not an official ONRSR operational guideline.
This material is made available for the assistance of rail transport operators in NSW to facilitate the training of
suitably experienced staff for appointment as ‘authorised persons’ to conduct drug and alcohol tests for or on
behalf of accredited rail transport operators in NSW.
This material may not be suitable for all rail transport operators in NSW. Rail transport operators should
ensure they develop and implement a training program that is appropriate and satisfactory for their purpose,
having regard to the particular railway operations for which they are accredited and their obligations under the
relevant legislation and guidelines.
ONRSR accepts no responsibility for any errors or omissions in the attached course material and makes no
warranty as to the appropriateness of this model course for any particular rail transport operator. ONRSR
reserves the right to change the course content without prior notice.
Copyright in this course material vests in the ONRSR. The course may be used for training purposes without
reference to ONRSR, provided copyright is acknowledged and this disclaimer is attached.
CONTENTS
PART 1- INTRODUCTION TO THE COURSE
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Training information
Development of Model Training Course
Learning outcomes
Delivery modes
Trainer requirements
Using the training package
Symbols
Course outline
Mapping Matrix for model training course for drug and alcohol testing authorised persons
PART 2 – TRAINING COURSE
Module 1: Course overview and legislative requirements
Module 2: Rights, roles and responsibilities
Module 3: Planning the use of equipment and communicating about testing
Module 4: Random testing
Module 5: “For cause/on suspicion” testing
Module 6: Post-incident testing
Module 7: Managing notification responsibilities, record keeping and other testing issues;
course conclusion
PART 3 – TRAINER RESOURCES
1. PowerPoint / Overhead transparency originals
2. Participant Certificate of Attainment
PART 4 – PARTICIPANT’S WORKBOOK
DRUG AND ALCOHOL TESTING AUTHORISED PERSONS’ TRAINING COURSE – TRAINER’S MANUAL | PAGE 2 OF 68
Part 1
INTRODUCTION
DRUG AND ALCOHOL TESTING AUTHORISED PERSONS’ TRAINING COURSE – TRAINER’S MANUAL | PAGE 3 OF 68
INTRODUCTION
Welcome to the Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator’s model training course for drug and
alcohol testing authorised persons in NSW.
Accredited rail transport operators are responsible for ensuring that risks to health and safety in the
workplace are identified and assessed, then eliminated or controlled. These risks include those posed
by the use of alcohol and other drugs. Individual rail safety workers are under an obligation to take
reasonable care for the health, safety and welfare of others and to cooperate with employers in their
efforts to comply with the requirements of the Rail Safety National Law.
The Rail Safety National Law in NSW comprises:

Rail Safety National Law (NSW) No 82a (RSNL (NSW))

Rail Safety National Law National Regulations 2012 (the National Regulations)

Rail Safety (Adoption of National Law) Regulation 2012 (the NSW Regulation)
The Rail Safety National Law (NSW) aims to promote the safety of the NSW rail industry and to
contribute to the effective prevention and management of risks posed by drug and alcohol use within
the workforce.
The aim of drug and alcohol testing authorised person training is to ensure that authorised persons
have sufficient skills and knowledge to carry out the drug and alcohol testing functions of an
authorised person as outlined in the Rail Safety National Law (NSW) and the accredited rail transport
operator’s drug and alcohol management program.
This model training course has been developed so that accredited rail transport operators can use
and /or modify the package for on-site training of their drug and alcohol testing authorised persons,
with reference to their drug and alcohol management program.
TRAINING INFORMATION
1.1
Title
Model training course for drug and alcohol testing authorised persons appointed by rail transport
operators accredited in NSW
1.2
Target Group
The training course is designed for accredited rail transport operators to train people who have been
selected to become drug and alcohol testing authorised persons.
1.3
Service delivery outcomes
The course has been developed to enhance the standard of drug and alcohol testing practice across
the rail industry for rail transport operators and their drug and alcohol testing authorised persons.
Participants will look at drug and alcohol testing as a process aimed to strengthen safety and
decrease risks to safety due to rail safety worker drug and alcohol use.
1.4
Principles
The main purpose of the Rail Safety National Law is to provide for safe railway operations in
Australia.
DRUG AND ALCOHOL TESTING AUTHORISED PERSONS’ TRAINING COURSE – TRAINER’S MANUAL | PAGE 4 OF 68
The model training course supports and promotes the following principles:
 Rail safety worker well-being, health and safety and early identification of drug and alcohol issues
are to be promoted;
 A heightened awareness of alcohol and drug issues and individual responsibility in relation to
alcohol and drug use will support a responsible, accountable workforce;
 Situations where drug and alcohol related behaviour puts at risk the safety of rail safety workers,
customers or other members of the public are unacceptable;
 Rail transport operators’ drug and alcohol management programs and approach to drugs and
alcohol should focus on education and training, rehabilitation and support, and appropriate
monitoring and disciplinary procedures to reduce the risk of alcohol and drug abuse; and
 Rail transport operators’ drug and alcohol management programs must comply with obligations
under the Rail Safety National Law (NSW).
1.5
Appointment
Successful completion of this training program leads to the appointment of the drug and alcohol
testing authorised person, which is a requirement under the Rail Safety National Law (NSW). A
template for a Certificate of Attainment is included in the trainer’s resources in this package.
DEVELOPMENT OF MODEL TRAINING COURSE
2.1
Development
The course is based on a course that was developed in 2006 by Eleonora De Michele and Robyn
Tranter, consultants.
2.2
Adult learning principles
The program incorporates adult learning principles, including:
- recognising and utilising the experience of participants; and
- providing opportunities for the application of learning to a relevant context.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
3.1
Overall learning outcomes
On successful completion of the training program participants should be able to:
 Outline the legislative requirements for drug and alcohol testing, including the offences under the
Rail Safety National Law (NSW),
 Outline their organisation’s requirements and obligations for drug and alcohol testing,
 Describe the respective rights, roles and responsibilities of rail transport operators, rail safety
workers engaged in rail safety work, and those involved in the drug and alcohol testing process,
 Detail best practice principles that ensure privacy and confidentiality, duty of care, provision of
information, fairness and gender and cultural sensitivity,
 Plan and conduct appropriate testing activities and respectful communications about testing
activities and outcomes,
 Explain their organisation’s required procedures for random, targeted (eg “for cause/on
suspicion”) and post-incident testing,
 Apply appropriate assessment tools and techniques to support testing and to facilitate selfdisclosure by rail safety workers,
DRUG AND ALCOHOL TESTING AUTHORISED PERSONS’ TRAINING COURSE – TRAINER’S MANUAL | PAGE 5 OF 68
 Respond effectively to testing and assessment challenges, including responding to positive test
results, providing testing in remote locations, dealing with refusal or failure to undergo testing,
and collecting and validating additional assessment information, and
 Outline notification and record keeping requirements for drug and alcohol testing.
3.2
Context
This training package was drafted in 2006, but was updated in line with the NSW Rail Safety Act 2008
and subsequently the Rail Safety National Law (NSW) passed in 2012.
DELIVERY MODES
4.1
Duration of training
The training program is approximately five hours face-to-face training. Trainers may need to extend
the time required, depending on the need to brief authorised persons on their organisation’s drug and
alcohol management program and the participants’ level of drug and alcohol testing experience.
4.2
Training Delivery Modes
The course accommodates a range of learning styles through:
 Case studies
 Practical exercises, quizzes and role plays
 Provision of reference materials and information sheets
The training may be delivered using a one-on-one or small group approach and modules can be
conducted separately or in combination.
Each module takes approximately 30 – 45 minutes.
4.3
Resource requirements
The program requires the following:
 One presenter with both training skills (eg Certificate IV in Training and Assessment or
equivalent) and knowledge of the Rail Safety National Law (NSW)
 A room with space for individual and/or small group work
 Overhead projector and/or laptop and projector and screen
 Overhead transparencies copied from overhead masters in this package and/or disc to use with a
laptop
 Whiteboard and markers or butchers’ paper, pens and blue tac
 Participant’s workbook for each participant and a copy of the ONRSR Occurrence Notification
Form, ONRSR Notification Form - Drug and Alcohol Testing undertaken in NSW and ONRSR
form – Periodic Information Monthly Return
 A copy of the legislation.
4.4
Assessment of learners
 There is no formal assessment task within this course. However, there are opportunities for the
trainer to discuss the application of the training in the work context.
TRAINER REQUIREMENTS
5.1
Trainer’s competencies
The trainer conducting this program needs to be able to:
DRUG AND ALCOHOL TESTING AUTHORISED PERSONS’ TRAINING COURSE – TRAINER’S MANUAL | PAGE 6 OF 68
 Use respectful questioning to challenge participants’ attitudes surrounding drug and alcohol
testing;
 Demonstrate familiarity with the Rail Safety National Law (NSW) (available at
www.legislation.nsw.gov.au);
 Demonstrate familiarity with the issues relating to the different types of drug and alcohol testing
approaches; and
 Demonstrate cultural and gender sensitivity.
USING THE TRAINING PACKAGE
6.1
Package contents
The package includes:
 Trainer’s manual complete with course structure and outline, detailed curriculum and PowerPoint
presentation
 Additional support materials including a copy of the ONRSR Occurrence Notification Form,
ONRSR Notification Form - Drug and Alcohol Testing undertaken in NSW and ONRSR form –
Periodic Information Monthly Return
 Participant’s workbook
 A template “Certificate of Attainment”
6.2
Using the package
First read the whole trainer’s manual, including module notes and participant’s workbook. If possible,
discuss the program with someone who has conducted it with a previous group or individual.
For each module, make sure you are familiar with:
 Running the module;
 The learning outcomes of each module;
 The course content and exercises; and
 The participants’ material in the workbook.
6.3
Key assumptions
The training program:
 is designed for a wide target group which includes both heritage operators and other rail
transport operators;
 builds on information issued by the Regulator;
 is user friendly and includes practical exercises. Where possible, practical exercises are used to
take into account a diverse group of trainees in the industry and some with limited literacy skills or
from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds; and
 includes terminology and explanations of terminology which are consistent with similar training
being provided by other agencies.
6.4
Pre-reading requirements
There is a lot of content to be covered in this program. Consequently, participants should be provided
with a copy of their rail transport operator’s drug and alcohol management program prior to the
training so they have an opportunity to read the document before they attend. This will enable the
course content to be covered more effectively and be practically applied to the operator’s drug and
alcohol management program.
DRUG AND ALCOHOL TESTING AUTHORISED PERSONS’ TRAINING COURSE – TRAINER’S MANUAL | PAGE 7 OF 68
SYMBOLS
7.1
Symbols
The following symbols are used throughout the package:



 





FAQ

Participant’s Workbook
PowerPoint or Overhead Transparency
Drug and Alcohol Testing Equipment
Write in workbooks
Group discussion
Lecture
Flip chart or whiteboard
Pose question
Information sheet
Frequently Asked Question
Paired discussion
DRUG AND ALCOHOL TESTING AUTHORISED PERSONS’ TRAINING COURSE – TRAINER’S MANUAL | PAGE 8 OF 68
COURSE OUTLINE
Module 4: Random testing
Module 1: Course Overview and legislative
requirements
 Course overview, program aims and learning
outcomes
 Key requirements of accredited rail transport
operator drug and alcohol management programs
 Legal obligations of accredited rail transport
 operators under the Rail Safety National Law
(NSW)Who can require rail safety workers to
submit to testing?
 Who is to be tested?
 Offences for Rail Safety Workers
 Understanding alcohol and other drugs (optional)
Module 2: Rights, roles and responsibilities
 Principles of good practice - ensuring privacy and
confidentiality, duty of care, provision of
information, fairness and gender and cultural
sensitivity
 The obligations of the accredited rail transport
operator
 The rights and obligations of rail safety workers
who are tested:
 the requirement to submit to testing
 the desirability to disclose the use of
prescription drugs
 advice of outcomes of testing
 the consequences of failure or refusal to
undergo testing
 the availability of support and assistance
 The role and powers of authorised persons and
restrictions on testing
 The role and powers of the ONRSR
 Rail transport operator’s requirement to
implement a drug and alcohol management
program
Module 3: Planning the use of equipment and
communicating about testing
 Planning the use of alcohol breath testing,
breath analysis and urine drug testing
devices and/or accessing third party testing
service providers
 Selecting and informing rail safety workers of
random testing
 Planning for random testing, including
procedures and documentation
 Random testing scenarios
Module 5: “For cause/on suspicion” testing
 Assessing reasonable belief: techniques,
including sobriety assessment
 Receiving and responding to information
about rail safety workers allegedly under the
influence
 Assessment challenges - misreading the
cues
 Self-disclosure of medications in the
workplace
 Testing in remote locations (optional)
 Additional recording requirements for “for
cause/on suspicion” testing
Module 6: Post-incident testing
 The types of incidents for which post-incident
testing is required
 Identifying who should be included in postincident testing
 Procedures for post-incident testing including
testing in remote locations and restrictions on
testing due to serious medical conditions
Module 7: Managing notification responsibilities,
record keeping and other testing issues; course
conclusion
 Record keeping requirements for
documenting testing events and results
 Notification and documentation requirements
for reporting to ONRSR
 Safety issues for authorised persons
 Concluding the course
 Communicating with rail safety workers about
testing requirements, procedures and outcomes
in a respectful and non-adversarial way
 Communicating positive test results, including
confirmatory testing
 Responding to failure or refusal to undergo
testing
 The role of third party testing service providers
DRUG AND ALCOHOL AUTHORISED PERSON TRAINING COURSE – TRAINER’S MANUAL | PAGE 9 OF 68
MAPPING MATRIX FOR MODEL TRAINING COURSE FOR DRUG AND ALCOHOL TESTING AUTHORISED
PERSONS
Approved training requirements
plus additional topics
(a) Legal requirements
(i) the obligations of rail transport operators under the
Rail Safety National Law (NSW) to implement a
drug and alcohol management program in accordance
with the National Regulations;
 who is to be tested?
(ii) an overview of the drug and alcohol management
program of the operator that has appointed the
authorised person;
(iii) the nature of and penalties for the offences contained
in the Rail Safety National Law (NSW).
(b) The role & powers of authorised persons
(i) powers given to authorised persons under the Rail
Safety National Law (NSW) to require persons to
submit to random, targeted (eg “for cause/on
suspicion”) or post-incident testing, including
restrictions on when testing may be required;
 Principles of good practice - ensuring privacy and
confidentiality, duty of care, provision of information,
fairness, and gender and cultural sensitivity
(ii) the requirement for authorised persons to produce
their identity card if requested by a person who is
required to submit to testing;
(iii)ONRSR’s powers to audit testing procedures and to
revoke the appointment of authorised persons
(c) The rights and obligations of rail safety workers
who are tested
The procedures for informing rail safety workers who are
subject to drug and/or alcohol testing of their rights and
obligations, including:
(i) the requirement to submit to drug and/or alcohol
testing when required by an authorised person to do
so;
(ii) the desirability of disclosing the use of prescription
drugs that may be detected during drug and/or alcohol
testing;
(iii) the consequences under the operator’s drug and
alcohol management program and the Rail Safety
National Law (NSW) for failing or refusing to undergo
a drug and/or alcohol test;
(iv) processes for advising rail safety workers of the
outcomes of their drug and/or alcohol tests;
(v) availability of any appropriate support and assistance
Module
number
Module 1
Method used to convey content
 Information Sheet and trainer’s
discussion questions
Module 1
 Information Sheet and quiz 1
Module 1
 Information Sheet and quiz 1
Module 2
 Information Sheet and quiz 2
Module 2
 Information Sheet and quiz 2
Module 2
 Information Sheet and quiz 2
Module 2
Organisation D&A management
program;  Information sheet;
problem solving case study
Organisation D&A management
program;  Information sheet;
problem solving case study
Organisation D&A management
program;  Information sheet;
problem solving case study
Module 2
Module 2
Module 2
Module 2
Organisation D&A management
program;  Information sheet;
problem solving case study
Organisation D&A management
DRUG AND ALCOHOL AUTHORISED PERSON TRAINING COURSE – TRAINER’S MANUAL | PAGE 10 OF 68
to rail safety workers with drug and/or alcohol
problems or workers who use prescription drugs; and
(vi) the obligations of the operator to protect the
confidentiality of personal information obtained in the
course of drug and/or alcohol testing and related
processes.
(d)Drug and alcohol testing procedures
(i) procedures for informing rail safety workers they are
required to undergo drug and/or alcohol testing;
 Communicating with workers about testing
requirements, procedures and outcomes in a
non-adversarial way
 Planning the use of alcohol breath testing,
breath analysis, and urine drug testing devices
and/or accessing testing service providers
 Planning and responding to failure or refusal to
undergo testing and positive test results
(ii) procedures for the correct use of alcohol breath testing
devices used under the operator’s drug and alcohol
management program, including the role of any
contracted testing service provider;
(iii) procedures for assessing sobriety in circumstances
where a breath testing device is unavailable;
(iv) procedures for accessing and/or operating breath
analysis devices in the circumstances of a positive
breath test, including any liaison with police officers;
(v) procedures for conducting urine drug testing under the
operator’s drug and alcohol management program,
including the role of any contracted testing service
provider;
(vi) processes for removing from rail safety work, rail
safety workers who fail or refuse to undergo drug
and/or alcohol testing; and
(vii) procedures for collecting information and making
records of drug and/or alcohol tests, including
procedures for the security and protection of
confidential personal information obtained during the
conduct of drug and/or alcohol testing.
(e) Procedures for random testing
The procedures under the operator’s drug and alcohol
management program for conducting random drug and/or
alcohol testing, including:
(i) procedures for selecting rail safety workers who are
required to undergo drug and/or alcohol testing and
determining the type of testing to be conducted, ie
breath or urine; and
 Planning for random testing events and outcomes
 Alcohol random testing processes and
documentation
 Random drug testing processes and
documentation
(ii) arrangements for accessing testing equipment and
Module 2
program;  Information sheet;
problem solving case study
Organisation D&A management
program;  Information sheet;
problem solving case study
Module 3
Organisation D&A management
program;  Information sheet; review
scripts; multiple choice scenarios;
positive test result flowchart.
Module 3
Off-site trainer or supplier instruction &
demonstration;  Information sheet
Module 5
Case studies & trigger questions;
practice role play
Organisation D&A management
program; flow chart
Module 3
Module 3
Organisation D&A management
program; “What to do?” short answer
exercise
Module 3
Organisation D&A management
program; discussion; role play
Module 7
Organisation D&A management
program; exercise
Module 4
Planning checklist; selection process
and problem solving scenarios;
information sheet
Module 3
Organisation D&A management
DRUG AND ALCOHOL AUTHORISED PERSON TRAINING COURSE – TRAINER’S MANUAL | PAGE 11 OF 68
liaising with testing service providers.
(f) Procedures for “for cause/on suspicion” testing
The procedures under the operator’s drug and alcohol
management program for conducting drug and/or alcohol
testing of rail safety workers where there is a reasonable
belief they are under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol,
including:
(i) procedures for receiving and responding to information
regarding rail safety workers being under the influence
of drugs and/or alcohol; and
 Assessing reasonable belief: techniques, including
sobriety assessment
 Assessment challenges- misreading the cues
Working in remote locations
 Additional recording requirements for “for
cause/on suspicion” testing
(ii) arrangements for accessing testing equipment and
liaising with testing service providers.
(g) Procedures for post-incident testing
The procedures under the operator’s drug and alcohol
management program for conducting drug and/or alcohol
testing after an incident, including:
(i) the types of incidents after which drug and alcohol
testing is required;
(ii) the identification of rail safety workers who should be
tested after incidents; and
 Making appropriate assessments after
incidents
 Working in remote locations
(iii) arrangements for accessing testing equipment and
liaising with testing service providers.
program
Module 5
 Information sheets; case studies
Module 3
Organisation D&A management
program
Module 6
Legislation excerpt;  Information
sheets; case studies
Legislation excerpt;  Information
sheets; case studies
Module 6
Module 3
Organisation D&A management
program
DRUG AND ALCOHOL AUTHORISED PERSON TRAINING COURSE – TRAINER’S MANUAL | PAGE 12 OF 68
Part 2
TRAINING COURSE
DRUG AND ALCOHOL AUTHORISED PERSON TRAINING COURSE – TRAINER’S MANUAL | PAGE 13 OF 68
MODULE 1 OUTLINE
Course overview and legislative requirements
Content







Course overview, program aims and learning outcomes
Key requirements of accredited rail transport operator drug and alcohol management programs
Legal obligations of accredited rail transport operators under the Rail Safety National Law (NSW)
Who can require rail safety workers to submit to testing?
Who is to be tested?
Offences for Rail Safety Workers
Understanding alcohol and other drugs (optional)
Learning Outcomes
At the end of the module, participants should be able to:
 summarise the key requirements of their rail operator’s drug and alcohol management program
 outline the legal obligations for rail transport operators in implementing a drug and alcohol
management program
 describe who is to be tested as a rail safety worker
 explain what prescribed concentration of alcohol in breath or blood and “under the influence” of
alcohol or a drug mean under the Rail Safety National Law (NSW)
 describe the offences for rail safety workers under the legislation
 explain the effects of alcohol and drug use (optional exercise).
What you will need


Participant’s Workbook
PowerPoint or Overhead Transparencies

Slide 1: Model training course for drug and alcohol testing authorised persons
appointed by rail transport operators appointed in NSW





Slide 2: Module 1: Course overview and legislative requirements

Slide 10: Exercise 1: Key requirements of your rail transport operator’s drug and
alcohol management program




Slide 11: When is testing required?
Slide 3: Aims of the training course
Slide 4: Summary of content of authorised person training
Slides 5-6: Overall learning outcomes
Slide 7-9: Key requirements of accredited rail transport operator D&A management
programs
Slide 12: Requirements for authorised persons
Slide 13:Requirements for authorised persons (cont)
Slide 14: Who is to be tested?
DRUG AND ALCOHOL AUTHORISED PERSON TRAINING COURSE – TRAINER’S MANUAL | PAGE 14 OF 68






Slide 15: Rail safety work is…
Slides 16: Offences for rail safety workers under the Rail Safety National Law (NSW)
Slides 17: Exercise 2: What are the legislative requirements for testing?
Slide 18: Exercise 3: Understanding alcohol and other drugs (optional exercise)
Slide 19: Module 1 Summary
Flip chart or whiteboard
Points for Trainers
This is the foundation module for this course. It provides participants with an understanding of three
fundamental aspects of the work of authorised persons: the legislation, their organisation’s drug and alcohol
management program and the role and responsibilities of drug and alcohol testing authorised persons. Some
participants may view the authorised person’s role as exclusively a policing or enforcement function. However,
organisations are encouraged to model their drug and alcohol management programs on “healthy lifestyles”
principles. Discussion on how to balance this potential conflict may need to occur early in the program. Also,
some operator’s programs require all employees to be tested, not just those engaged in rail safety work.
Distinction must be made between statutory requirements and limitations under the Rail Safety National Law
(NSW) and the requirements set by the operator’s drug and alcohol management program.
DRUG AND ALCOHOL AUTHORISED PERSON TRAINING COURSE – TRAINER’S MANUAL | PAGE 15 OF 68
DETAILED OUTLINE OF MODULE 1
1. Welcome and introductions
 Welcome participants and conduct an introduction exercise, if needed. Introduce yourself giving
relevant information about your professional background, particularly in the area of rail safety work.
2. Module 1 overview, program aims and learning outcomes

Explain:
-
this training course was developed as a means of enabling accredited rail transport
operators to fulfil their obligation to train their own authorised persons.
this training course also enables authorised persons the opportunity to explore the
legislative issues that impact on their role in the context of their operator’s drug and alcohol
management program.
 Screen PowerPoint slides 1 – 6: Module 1 Overview and Learning Outcomes to describe the course’s
aims and learning outcomes.
 Invite participants to ask as many questions as they need to enable them to increase their confidence
in undertaking the role of an authorised person.
 Describe how the course will be presented. For example, whether the training course will run in its
entirety for five hours or for a number of shorter sessions.
3. Key requirements of accredited rail transport operator drug and alcohol management programs
 Screen PowerPoint slide 7: Key Requirements of accredited rail transport operator D&A management
programs, and note the three pieces of legislation that comprise the Rail Safety National Law in NSW.
 Discuss the key requirements of accredited rail transport operator drug and alcohol management
programs, using PowerPoint slides 7 – 9: Key requirements of accredited rail transport operator D&A
programs, ensuring to stress the following:
- Drug and alcohol management programs in organisations are strongly promoting the issue
of healthy lifestyles, education about the impact of alcohol and drugs in the workplace and
support to address any alcohol and drug issues that may affect the worker, both at work
and in social settings.
- This element needs to be balanced with the essential requirement to promote safety in the
workplace for employees, customers and the public. Focussing exclusively on this aspect,
however, may promote a belief that authorised persons have an exclusively policing role.
This is not the intention. The balance is between health, well-being and safety.
 Screen PowerPoint slide 10 Exercise 1: Key requirements of your rail transport operator’s drug and
alcohol management program and ask the participants to review their rail transport operator’s DAMP
and discuss the following questions:
Read  Information Sheet 1 What are the key requirements for accredited rail transport
operator drug and alcohol management programs?
DRUG AND ALCOHOL AUTHORISED PERSON TRAINING COURSE – TRAINER’S MANUAL | PAGE 16 OF 68

What are three key requirements of your rail transport operator’s drug and alcohol
management program?

What are the implications of these requirements for you as an authorised person?
4. Legal obligations of accredited rail transport operators under the Rail Safety National Law (NSW)
 Screen PowerPoint slides 11 – 13: When is testing required? and Requirements for authorised
persons, and discuss the requirements:
- Testing may be conducted on a random, targeted (eg “for cause/on suspicion”) or
post-incident basis. (Requirements for authorised persons.
- Note that:
(i)
authorised persons may be appointed by rail transport operators
under delegation from the National Rail Safety Regulator
(ii)
only authorised persons may require a rail safety worker to submit to
testing.
5. Who is to be tested?
 Screen PowerPoint slides 14 -15: Who is to be tested? and Rail safety work is…

Explain that the question “Who is to be tested?” may have more than one answer. Stress
-
-
The legislation makes clear who is to be tested.. A “rail safety worker” is defined in the Rail
Safety National Law (NSW) as an individual who has carried out, is carrying out or is about
to carry out rail safety work, and may include employees, contractors or volunteers who
perform rail safety work.
The authority of an authorised person may be limited by the relevant instrument of
appointment to a particular part of a participating jurisdiction, to a particular railway or to
particular rail safety workers, or otherwise.
In addition, the rail transport operator’s drug and alcohol management program may also
cover who else is to be tested. Some rail transport operator’s programs have universal
drug and alcohol testing of all employees, whether or not they engage in rail safety work.
 Ask participants to turn to their rail transport operator’s drug and alcohol management program and
determine who is to be tested in their organisation.

Discuss the implications for authorised persons of any difference between the Rail Safety National
Law (NSW) and their rail transport operator’s expectations on this issue.
 Advise participants to seek advice about program expectations and the implications for authorised
persons from the relevant manager.
6. Offences for rail safety workers

State that the Rail Safety National Law (NSW) is very specific regarding positive results and the
offences.
DRUG AND ALCOHOL AUTHORISED PERSON TRAINING COURSE – TRAINER’S MANUAL | PAGE 17 OF 68
 Screen PowerPoint slide 16: Offences for rail safety workers under the Rail Safety National Law
(NSW), ensuring participants are clear about the limits set in the Rail Safety National Law (NSW).
Invite participants to turn to their operator’s drug and alcohol management program and read
the section that addresses positive test results and the consequences for rail safety workers.

Discuss what the implications might be of any differences between the Rail Safety National Law
(NSW) requirements and the rail transport operator’s program.
 Summarise the content covered so far in this module by undertaking the following exercise.
 Screen PowerPoint slide 17: Exercise 2: What are the legislative requirements for testing? and allow 10
minutes.
Read  Information Sheet 2 What the legislation says about drug and alcohol testing
Read  Information Sheet 3 What are the main offences and penalties relating to alcohol or
drugs?

Turn to the Worksheet: Module 1: Exercise 2: “Quiz questions: What are the legislative
requirements for testing” in your workbook
Answer the quiz questions:

Yes or No
 This exercise can be conducted with some liveliness to increase energy levels. For example, use
game-show techniques to inject some fun.
 Debrief the answers, using the summary sheet provided below and process any questions or issues
that remain unclear for participants.
 What are the Legislative Requirements for Testing?
Read each example to decide whether or not it is a legislative requirement for drug or alcohol testing.
Write down your reasoning for discussion.
1. Heritage rail transport operators are required to conduct their own random testing
program each year?
No, although accredited rail transport operators (except for heritage operators) are required
to conduct random testing of not less than 25% of their rail safety workers in each year,
heritage operators may be targeted by ONRSR’s random testing program. Heritage
operators have been exempted from conducting their own random testing program as it may
impose considerable costs on these operators, many of which have small numbers of rail
safety workers or limited operations.
2. Drug and alcohol testing is mandatory for “prescribed” incidents?
Yes. Rail transport operators’ drug and alcohol management programs must include
arrangements for testing rail safety workers involved in an accident or irregular incident in
NSW. Unless the rail transport operator provides a “reasonable excuse” for not testing,
testing must take place after the following types of prescribed incidents:
 a collision between rolling stock
 a collision betweenrolling stock and a person
 a collision between rolling stock and a road vehicle or plant equipment
Yes
No
Yes
No
DRUG AND ALCOHOL AUTHORISED PERSON TRAINING COURSE – TRAINER’S MANUAL | PAGE 18 OF 68



the derailment of rolling stock
a breach of the railway infrastructure manager’s network rules or
any other incident that the Regulator may declare in writing to be a type of
prescribed incident in respect of the operator’s railway operations.
NB Both drug and alcohol testing is required after a prescribed incident.
Rail transport operators may also test rail safety workers involved in a prescribed notifiable
occurrence or an accident or irregular incident.
3. Accredited rail transport operators are required to do all their own testing, and
appointment and training of authorised persons?
No. Rail transport operators may appoint and train their own authorised persons, but may
use a third party training provider. In addition:
(a) they may use third party testing service providers to conduct some or all of their testing
activities, or
(b) their rail safety workers may be tested by another accredited operator’s authorised
persons if they are engaged in rail safety work on that operator’s railway; or
(c) they may make an arrangement with another accredited operator to provide authorised
persons, eg. to provide for testing if an incident occurs on that other operator’s railway in a
remote area.
NB. Accredited rail transport operators should consider limiting the authority of their
authorised persons (in their instruments of appointment) to only test their own rail
safety workers, unless they have made an arrangement with the relevant rail transport
operator.
4. All rail safety workers who perform rail safety work may be tested under the
legislation?
Yes, rail safety workers including employees, contractors or volunteers who perform rail
safety work may be tested. Section 8 of the Rail Safety National Law (NSW) defines rail
safety work as:
 driving or despatching rolling stock or any other activity which is capable of controlling or
affecting the movement of rolling stock,
 signalling (and signalling operations), receiving or relaying communications or any other
activity which is capable of controlling or affecting the movement of rolling stock,
 coupling or uncoupling rolling stock,
 maintaining, repairing, modifying, monitoring, inspecting or testing:
(i)
rolling stock, including checking that the rolling stock is working properly before
being used, or
(ii)
rail infrastructure,
 installation of components in relation to rolling stock,
 work on or about rail infrastructure relating to the design, construction, repair,
modification, maintenance, monitoring, upgrading, inspection or testing of the rail
infrastructure or associated works or equipment, including checking that the rail
infrastructure is working properly before being used,
 installation or maintenance of:
(i)
a telecommunications system relating to rail infrastructure or used in
connection with rail infrastructure, or
(ii)
the means of supplying electricity directly to rail infrastructure, any rolling stock
using rail infrastructure or to a telecommunications system,
 work involving certification as to the safety of rail infrastructure or rolling stock or any
part or component of rail infrastructure or rolling stock,
 work involving the decommissioning of rail infrastructure or rolling stock or any part or
component of rail infrastructure or rolling stock,
 work involving the development, management or monitoring of safe working systems for
railways,
 work involving the management or monitoring of passenger safety on, in or at any
railway,
Yes
No
Yes
No
DRUG AND ALCOHOL AUTHORISED PERSON TRAINING COURSE – TRAINER’S MANUAL | PAGE 19 OF 68
 any other work that is prescribed by the regulations to be rail safety work.
5. Refusing or failing to undertake a drug or alcohol test is considered an offence under
the legislation?
Yes, refusal or failure to undergo testing is regarded very seriously under the Rail Safety
National Law (NSW). Any rail safety worker fails to submit to a breath test, breath
analysis, a drug screening test, urine screening test, oral fluid analysis or blood test is guilty
of an offence. Refusal or failure to submit to a sobriety assessment is an offence, unless the
worker was unable to comply on medical grounds.
Yes
No
ONRSR is to be notified when there are positive test results or refused drug and alcohol
tests. Rail transport operators are also required to notify ONRSR of any breaches or
potential breaches of clauses 22 or 24 of the NSW Regulations, which deal respectively with
interfering with test results, or interfering or tampering with or destroying samples, eg
providing false samples, such as synthetic urine.
6. It is an offence for a rail safety worker to perform rail safety work with a prescribed
concentration of 0.01 alcohol in the breath or blood?
Yes. A rail safety worker who carries out, or attempts to carry out, rail safety work while the
prescribed concentration of alcohol is present in the worker’s breath or blood is guilty of
an offence under section 128(1)(a) . The prescribed concentration means any concentration
of alcohol in breath or blood. The amount of alcohol present may be expressed as the
amount in grams in 210 litres of breath or 100 millilitres of blood. The incidence of a positive
test must be reported to ONRSR and prosecution action is considered.
Yes
No
7. Double jeopardy means that a rail safety worker who performs rail safety work
cannot be convicted on more than one offence arising out of a drug or alcohol
related test?
Yes
No
The offence of failing to be tested by undergoing a preliminary breath test or breath analysis
may result in a maximum penalty of $10,000, failing to submit to a drug screening test, urine
screening test, oral fluid analysis or blood test may result in a maximum penalty of $10,000,
refusing or failing to submit to a sobriety assessment (clause 21(1) of the NSW Regulation)
may result in 10 penalty units (currently set at $110 per penalty unit).
Yes.
7. Understanding alcohol and other drugs (optional exercise)
 The next exercise is optional and can be used when participants are unclear about the impact of alcohol
and drug use and the implications for safe work practices. Use only when time permits.
 Invite participants to undertake the following exercise by screening PowerPoint slide 18 Exercise 3:
Understanding alcohol and other drugs (optional exercise)
 Allow ten minutes.


Read  Information Sheet 4 Understanding alcohol and other drugs
What are three of the most significant impacts of alcohol and/or drug overuse on:
- the individual?
- the workplace?
 Summarise the discussion, stressing the following:
DRUG AND ALCOHOL AUTHORISED PERSON TRAINING COURSE – TRAINER’S MANUAL | PAGE 20 OF 68
-
-
For the individual: drug and alcohol overuse may result in both physical and mental health
problems, including fatigue and depression; problems in the person’s relationships both at
work and at home; poor work performance and shortened lifespan due to the increased
susceptibility to disease.
For the workplace: drug and alcohol overuse may result in unsafe work practices that
expose the individual and colleagues to risks to safety and may result in lost hours through
illness or time-off and lost efficiency.
8. Summary of Module 1

 Using PowerPoint slide 19 “Module 1: summary”

State the following topics were covered:
 Key requirements of accredited rail transport operator drug and alcohol management
programs
 Legal obligations of accredited rail transport operators under the Rail Safety National Law
(NSW)
 Who can require rail safety workers to submit to testing?
 Who is to be tested?
 Offences for rail safety workers
 Understanding alcohol and other drugs (optional)

Ask participants if they have any further questions about the main learning points and close this
module.
DRUG AND ALCOHOL AUTHORISED PERSON TRAINING COURSE – TRAINER’S MANUAL | PAGE 21 OF 68
MODULE 2 OUTLINE
Rights, roles and responsibilities
Content
 Principles of good practice - ensuring privacy and confidentiality, duty of care, provision of
information, fairness and gender and cultural sensitivity
 The obligations of the accredited rail transport operator
 The rights and obligations of rail safety workers who are tested:
o the requirement to submit to testing
o the desirability to disclose the use of prescription drugs
o advice of outcomes of testing
o the consequences of failure or refusal to undergo testing
o the availability of support and assistance
 The role and powers of authorised persons and restrictions on testing
 The role and powers of the ONRSR
 Rail transport operators’ requirement to implement a drug and alcohol management program
Learning Outcomes
At the end of the module, participants should be able to:
 apply best practice principles of privacy and confidentiality, duty of care, provision of information,
fairness, and gender and cultural sensitivity
 clarify the rights, powers and responsibilities of accredited rail transport operators in drug and
alcohol testing
 apply understanding of the rights and obligations of rail safety workers being tested
 clearly articulate their role and powers as authorised persons and restrictions placed on testing
 describe the powers and role of the ONRSR
 identify the rights, roles and obligations under their rail transport operator’s drug and alcohol
management program
What you will need


Participant’s Workbook
PowerPoint or Overhead Transparencies






Slide 20 Module 2: Rights, roles and responsibilities

Slide 40: Module 2: Summary
Slides 21 - 27 Principles of good practice
Slides 28-29: Exercise 1: Duty of Confidentiality on Authorised Persons (RSNL s244)
Slide 30- 37: Obligations, rights and responsibilities
Slide 38 Exercise 2: What are the rights and obligations of those involved in testing?
Slide 39 Exercise 3: Rights, roles and obligations: rail transport operator’s drug and
alcohol management program
DRUG AND ALCOHOL AUTHORISED PERSON TRAINING COURSE – TRAINER’S MANUAL | PAGE 22 OF 68
Points for Trainers
The information in this module outlines the roles and responsibilities of all those involved in alcohol and drug
testing. It also covers principles of good practice authorised persons should consider when undertaking testing
activities.
DRUG AND ALCOHOL AUTHORISED PERSON TRAINING COURSE – TRAINER’S MANUAL | PAGE 23 OF 68
DETAILED OUTLINE OF MODULE 2
1. Principles of good practice - ensuring privacy and confidentiality, provision of information, duty of
care, fairness and gender and cultural sensitivity
 Screen PowerPoint slide 20 Module 2: Rights, roles and responsibilities to introduce this module.

Introduce the topic of good practice by stating that authorised persons need to conduct their
testing activities in a way that ensures workers willingly participate in testing.
 Referring to PowerPoint slides 21 - 27 Principles of good practice, briefly cover the main points relating
to the five principles of good practice relating to drug and alcohol testing.
Privacy and Confidentiality
It is generally accepted that all employees have a right to confidentiality when addressing personal or sensitive
issues. This means that information relating to results of testing activities or personal health information is
shared with other people only for lawful purposes. It is important that rail safety workers who perform rail safety
work are given clear information about the drug and alcohol management program and how testing occurs from
the beginning of the program. This should include information about the way the rail transport operator and the
authorised person deal with employee information and also the limits on confidentiality. In this regard, it should
be noted that rail transport operators are required to notify ONRSR of any of the matters specified in clause
28(2)(b) of the National Regulations, including positive tests, and that this information could ultimately lead to
prosecution. In addition, under section 244 of the Rail Safety National Law (NSW), it is an offence to disclose
without lawful authority any information or document obtained while exercising any power or function under the
RSNL.
Duty of Care
Rail transport operators and rail safety workers need to be aware of their responsibility to take reasonable steps
to prevent injury and to ensure the safety of railway operations. They have a duty of care to other employees,
customers and the public.
Provision of information
It is important that rail safety workers are given clear information about the drug and alcohol management
program and how testing occurs.
Fairness
Fairness means taking into account the interests of all parties, treating them impartially and giving due weight
and consideration to the individual’s rights, interests and legitimate expectations.
Gender and cultural sensitivity
Gender and cultural sensitivity takes into account the diversity in the workplace to provide services which
enable all employees to be treated equitably, in a non-discriminatory, non-threatening manner and with respect.
For rail transport operators, their drug and alcohol management programs need to take into account religious,
cultural and gender issues and authorised persons must conduct their testing in ways that reflect these
requirements.

 Ask participants to review the “Principles of good practice in testing” and review their rail transport
operator’s drug and alcohol management program, and identify how the document addresses the five
principles of good practice and what this means for their roles as authorised persons.
DRUG AND ALCOHOL AUTHORISED PERSON TRAINING COURSE – TRAINER’S MANUAL | PAGE 24 OF 68
 Examples of the implications for good practice could include:
- How urine collection facilities provide privacy for the donor in drug testing activities,
particularly when there is a mix of genders in the workplace.
- How results of testing will be reported, both to the rail transport operator and to the rail
safety workers, taking into account the public nature of most testing activities.
- Who the results will be reported to and the need to maintain confidentiality.
- How the results are stored, for how long and by whom.
- The method by which rail safety workers are required to present to a police station when a
positive breath test results.
- How samples are transferred to a laboratory for confirmatory testing.
Duty of Confidentiality on Authorised Persons (under RSNL s244)
 State to the group that the RSNL is most clear about the obligations for rail transport operators and the
duty of authorised persons to maintain confidentiality about all aspects of testing, including disclosing
any information, giving access to documentation or using the information or documentation for any
purpose under s244.
 Under section 244 of the Rail Safety National Law (NSW), it is an offence to disclose without lawful
authority any information or document obtained while exercising any power or function under the
RSNL.
 S244 clearly sets out the limits on the disclosure of information and describes lawful disclosure only in
the following circumstances:
(a) about a person, with the person's consent; or
(b) that is necessary for the exercise of a function or power under this Law; or
(c) that is made or given by ONRSR, a member of ONRSR, or a person authorised by ONRSR, if
ONRSR reasonably believes the disclosure, access or use—
(i) is necessary for administering, or monitoring or enforcing compliance with, this Law; or
(ii) is necessary for the administration or enforcement of an Act prescribed by the national
regulations; or
(iii) is necessary for the administration or enforcement of an Act or other law, if the disclosure,
access or use is necessary to lessen or prevent a serious risk to public health or safety; or
(d) that is required by any court, tribunal, authority or person having lawful authority to require the
production of documents or the answering of questions; or
(e) that is required or authorised under a law; or
(f) to a Minister of a participating jurisdiction.
 Invite participants to undertake the following group exercise by screening slides 28 - 29 Exercise 1:
Duty of Confidentiality on Authorised Persons (RSNL s244).
Group Exercise: Turn to the scenario described in your workbooks.
Tanya is a person authorised to undertake drug and alcohol testing under RSNL. She conducts drug and
alcohol tests on a rail safety worker, Dan, the driver of a train involved in a spectacular derailment in which
miraculously no one is killed or injured.
DRUG AND ALCOHOL AUTHORISED PERSON TRAINING COURSE – TRAINER’S MANUAL | PAGE 25 OF 68
Dan tests positive for alcohol. He is fully cooperative but during the testing breaks down sobbing. He tells
Tanya he was drinking heavily the night before the accident. He was depressed because his wife has left
him and his teenage son has been charged with a drug-related offence.
There is intense media interest in the incident. Dan is subsequently charged. Tanya gives evidence of the
test results at the hearing. Dan is convicted and fined.
Undertake the following task.
Discuss the scenario and decide whether the following scenarios are lawful or prohibited:
Part 1
Before the court hearing:
Tanya’s husband says, “I heard the driver was drunk – is that right?”
ANSWER: Discussion is prohibited under RSNL.
Part 2
Before the court hearing:
ONRSR investigators ask for the test results.
ANSWER: This is acceptable – an exception under RSNL.
Part 3
Dan is convicted. The same night the conviction is reported on the TV news. Tanya’s husband says,
“That’s the bloke you tested – Gee – he got off lightly – people could’ve been killed.” Tanya then tells
her husband about Dan’s wife and son.
ANSWER: Discussion is generally prohibited under RSNL – but possibly allowed if this information
is now in the public domain as a result of the court hearing.
2. Rights, roles and obligations: Rail Safety National Law (NSW)
 Introduce the following topics about the rights and obligations of rail transport operators, authorised
persons and rail safety workers under the drug and alcohol management program and ONRSR’s
powers, using PowerPoint slides 30 – 37.
Trainer’s note: Keep this presentation short, providing an overview only. The following two exercises will
enable participants to gain a more thorough understanding of the requirements.
2.1 The obligations of the accredited rail transport operator
 Screen PowerPoint slides 30, 31 and 32: The obligations of accredited rail transport operators to
conduct random testing, targeted (eg “for cause/on suspicion”) testing and post-incident testing - to give
an overview of the operator’s obligations.
2.2 The rights and obligations of rail safety workers who perform rail safety work, when tested
 Screen PowerPoint slides 33-34: Rail safety workers’ rights and obligations to give an overview of rail
safety workers’ obligations.
DRUG AND ALCOHOL AUTHORISED PERSON TRAINING COURSE – TRAINER’S MANUAL | PAGE 26 OF 68
 Note that:
- All rail safety workers who are about to carry out, are carrying out, are attempting to carry out, are
-
still on railway premises after carrying out rail safety work, or are involved in a prescribed notifiable
occurrence, or are involved in an accident or irregular incident while carrying out rail safety work,
may be required to submit to testing.
“About to carry out rail safety work” means the rail safety worker has left home or a temporary
residence for work but has not yet commenced work (ie pre-sign-on).
Under clause 6 of the NSW Regulation, results of testing for a rail safety worker who was about to
carry out rail safety work are not admissible as an offence under section 128 of the Rail Safety
National Law (NSW).
2.3 The role and powers of authorised persons and the restrictions on testing
 Screen PowerPoint slides 35 and 36 Authorised person powers, roles and responsibilities to give an
overview of the authorised person’s obligations.
2.4 The role of the ONRSR
 Screen PowerPoint slide 37 What is the main role of ONRSR? and discuss any concerns participants
may have about ONRSR’s power to appoint authorised persons.
 Conduct the following exercise to enable participants to develop a better grasp of the rights and
obligations of all those involved in drug and alcohol testing.
 Screen PowerPoint slide 38 Exercise 2: What are the rights and obligations of those involved in
testing? Keep this exercise moving quickly but clarify any concerns participants may have in
understanding rights and obligations.


Refer participants to  Information Sheet 5: What are the rights and obligations of those
involved with drug and alcohol testing? Allow 5 minutes for reading.
Ask participants to turn to Module 2: Exercise 2: Quiz Questions: What are the rights and
obligations of those involved in testing?
Conduct a round robin quiz, asking participants at random for their answers and seeking
group input for any incorrect answers.
 What are the rights and obligations of those involved in testing?
Read each example to decide whether or not it is a legislative requirement for drug and alcohol testing.
Write down your reasoning for discussion.
1. Rail safety workers who perform rail safety work can only be tested when they are on
duty?
No. All rail safety workers who are about to carry out, are carrying out, are attempting to carry
out, are still on railway premises after carrying out rail safety work, or are involved in a prescribed
notifiable occurrence, or are involved in an accident or irregular incident while carrying out rail
safety work, may be required to submit to testing.
About to carry out rail safety work means that the worker has left home or a temporary
Yes
No
DRUG AND ALCOHOL AUTHORISED PERSON TRAINING COURSE – TRAINER’S MANUAL | PAGE 27 OF 68
residence for work but has not yet commenced work.
The results of testing for a rail safety worker who was about to carry out rail safety work are
not admissible as an offence under the Rail Safety National Law (NSW).
2. Authorised persons have the power of arrest?
No, authorised persons do not have the power of arrest. The NSW Regulation clearly gives
the power of arrest to the police and not to authorised persons. In clauses 11 and 15 of the
NSW Regulation, a police officer can require a rail safety worker to submit to a breath
analysis or to provide a sample of blood and may arrest without a warrant. The police officer
may take the rail safety worker with such force as may be necessary to a police station or
other suitable place for breath analysis or to the hospital to obtain a blood sample.
Yes
No
Yes
No
Yes
No
Yes
No
The authorised person’s role is to require the rail safety worker who performs rail safety work
to undertake testing and to direct them to attend the nearest police station or another place
deemed desirable for breath analysis and in the case of blood or urine testing direct them to
the nearest hospital.
3. Is a rail safety worker who performs rail safety work required to submit to testing
3 ½ hours after a prescribed incident has occurred?
No. The onus is on the rail transport operator to ensure that prescribed incident testing is
conducted within a 3 hour limit unless there is a reasonable excuse (as per clause
28(2)(a)(ii) of the National Regulations). In addition, under clause 8 of the NSW Regulations,
an authorised person must not require a rail safety worker to undergo testing after the
expiration of 3 hours from the time of the incident.
4. Testing is not required if there is a breach of the rail infrastructure manager’s network
rules but no-one was hurt?
No, unless the rail transport operator provides a “reasonable excuse” for not testing, testing
must take place after the following:
 a collision between rolling stock
 a collision between rolling stock and a person
 a collision between rolling stock and a road vehicle or plant equipment
 the derailment of rolling stock
 a breach of a railway infrastructure manager’s network rules or
 other incidents that ONRSR may declare in writing to be a type of prescribed incident
in respect of the operator’s railway operations.
NB Both drug and alcohol testing is required after a prescribed incident.
Rail transport operators may also test rail safety workers involved in a prescribed notifiable
occurrence or an accident or irregular incident.
5. Authorised persons cannot require a rail safety worker who performs rail safety work to
undergo a blood test in hospital if the attending doctor states that this would compromise
the worker’s care and medical treatment?
Yes. An authorised person must not require a rail safety worker to undergo a breath test,
assessment, breath analysis or provide a blood or urine sample, if:
 admitted to hospital, unless the attending medical practitioner or registered nurse (if
no medical practitioner is available) has been notified and they do not object that
testing would be prejudicial to the worker’s proper care or treatment (clause 13(2) of
the NSW Regulation), or
 it appears because of the rail safety worker’s injuries that testing would be
dangerous to the rail safety worker’s medical condition (clause 8 of the NSW
Regulation).
6. An authorised person can drug or alcohol test rail safety workers who are working on
DRUG AND ALCOHOL AUTHORISED PERSON TRAINING COURSE – TRAINER’S MANUAL | PAGE 28 OF 68
rail safety work for another rail transport operator on the authorised person’s railway?
Yes. An authorised person may test any rail safety workers performing rail safety work on
the accredited operator’s railway (specified in the accreditation of that rail transport
operator). However, accredited rail transport operators should consider limiting the authority
of their authorised persons (in their instruments of appointment) to only test their own rail
safety workers, unless they have made an arrangement with the relevant rail transport
operator.
7. Are authorised persons required to produce their identity cards if requested by a rail
safety worker who is required to submit to testing?
Yes. Section 125 of the Rail Safety National Law (NSW) states that an authorised person
must,produce his or her identity card for inspection on request to a person required by the
authorised person to submit to a test.
8. ONRSR has the power to revoke the appointment of an authorised person appointed by
an accredited rail transport operator.
Yes. ONRSR does have the power to revoke authorisation.
9. Can a worksite supervisor direct a rail safety worker to submit to a drug
or alcohol test?
No. Only authorised persons may require a rail safety worker to submit to testing.
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
No
3. Rights, roles and obligations: Rail transport operator’s drug and alcohol management program

Ask participants to refer to their rail transport operator’s drug and alcohol management program
and locate the sections that address the rights and obligations of the rail transport operator, the rail
safety worker and the authorised person. Allow 5 - 6 minutes for reading, if required.

Introduce the next exercise by stating that authorised persons need to ensure they engage in
practices that are in keeping with their powers and with the rights of employees. There may possibly be
a view in the organisation that the authorised person role is purely a punitive, policing function. This
issue needs to be addressed wherever it arises.
 Facilitate the next exercise. It focuses on practice situations that might arise. Screen slide 39 Exercise
3: Rights, roles and obligations: rail transport operator’s drug and alcohol management program.



Refer participants to Module Two Exercise 3 Worksheet: Whose rights, roles and obligations?
Using their organisation’s drug and alcohol management program, ask participants to read the
three case studies and answer the question:
Is this good practice or poor practice?
 Allow 10 minutes and debrief the exercise, inviting comment on each scenario. Ensure any practices
that breach the rights of employees are addressed and good practice solutions provided.
 Use the information provided below to generate discussion, if clarification is required.
DRUG AND ALCOHOL AUTHORISED PERSON TRAINING COURSE – TRAINER’S MANUAL | PAGE 29 OF 68
 Whose rights, roles and obligations?
Using your organisation’s drug and alcohol management program as your guide, read the three case
studies and answer the questions:

1.
Is this good practice or poor practice?
How would you manage this situation in your workplace?
The rail safety worker who performs rail safety work does not speak English very well. The
authorised person asks him to undergo a random breath test and he looks confused. The
authorised person says “Look, just count into the machine until I say stop, will you?” The rail
safety worker walks away.
Good or Poor
Poor. The authorised person has disregarded a number of the rail safety worker’s rights. These include:
(i)
he has not been treated fairly with regard to his language difficulties: and
(ii)
the worker’s response of walking away could be construed as a failure to undergo testing which is an
offence.
2.
The rail safety worker who engages in rail safety work refuses to supply a urine sample during a
“for cause/on suspicion” test. The authorised person explains to the rail safety worker his
obligations to provide a sample, what may happen if he continues to refuse to comply and the
rail transport operator’s obligations to conduct testing.
Good or Poor
Good. The authorised person has the right to request the rail safety worker to undertake the test and the rail
safety worker is obliged to provide a sample. The authorised person also provides information about the
consequences of refusing to undergo the test. The authorised person should also inform the relevant managers
of the incident, whether testing was consented to and whether an offence has been committed, the outcome of
the test, if known, and a report made to ONRSR.
3.
A rail safety worker reported that another employee, the clerk from the site office, was seen
drinking at the hotel during the lunch break. It was reported that he had drunk 6 schooners of
beer at 1:00pm. It is now 4:30 pm and the clerk is in the process of signing off work. The
authorised person instructs the clerk to undertake a breath test. The clerk refuses.
Good or Poor
Poor. Although there appears to be reasonable cause to test the employee, the issue of whether or not the clerk
is a rail safety worker who performs rail safety work, needs to be considered. An assessment of the role would be
needed to determine this answer. Unless the rail transport operator’s drug and alcohol management program
expressly covers all employees of the organisation, authorised persons only have the legislative mandate to test
rail safety workers engaged in rail safety work.
DRUG AND ALCOHOL AUTHORISED PERSON TRAINING COURSE – TRAINER’S MANUAL | PAGE 30 OF 68
4. Summary of Module 2



 Using PowerPoint slide 40 “Module 2: summary”
State the following topics were covered:
 Principles of good practice – ensuring privacy and confidentiality, duty of care, provision of
information, fairness and gender and cultural sensitivity
 Obligations of accredited rail transport operators in drug and alcohol testing
 Rights and obligations of rail safety workers who are tested
 The role and powers of authorised persons and restrictions on testing
 The role and powers of the ONRSR
 Rail transport operators’ requirement to implement a drug and alcohol management
program
Ask participants if they have any further questions about the main learning points and close this
module.
DRUG AND ALCOHOL AUTHORISED PERSON TRAINING COURSE – TRAINER’S MANUAL | PAGE 31 OF 68
MODULE 3 OUTLINE
Planning the use of equipment and communicating about testing
Content
 Planning the use of breath testing, breath analysis, and urine drug testing devices and/or accessing
testing service providers
 Communicating with rail safety workers about testing requirements, procedures and outcomes in a
respectful and non-adversarial way
 Communicating positive test results, including confirmatory testing
 Responding to failure or refusal to undergo testing
 The role of third party testing service providers such as medical practitioners, nurses and
contracted testing service providers
Learning Outcomes
At the end of the module, participants should be able to:
 outline appropriate procedures for the set-up and operation of breath testing, breath analysis and
urine drug testing devices and services
 establish effective planning checklists for conducting testing
 communicate with rail safety workers in a respectful and non-adversarial way
 describe appropriate approaches to managing positive test results
 describe when confirmatory testing must be conducted
 deal appropriately with rail safety worker refusal or failure to undergo testing
 confirm the role of other relevant parties who may be involved in testing such as the police, medical
practitioners, nurses and contracted testing service providers
What you will need


Participant’s Workbook
PowerPoint or Overhead Transparencies





Slide 41 Module 3: Planning the use of equipment and communicating about testing

Slide 46 Common steps that the authorised person may be required to implement after
a positive test result; Exercise 3: Scripts for responding to positive test results


Slide 47 Exercise 4: Scripts- responding to refusal or failure to undergo testing


Slide 52 Certificates of Evidence
Slide 42 Drug & alcohol testing equipment and services
Slide 43 Exercise 1: Drug and alcohol testing equipment and procedures scenarios
Slide 44 Exercise 2: Scripts for introducing testing to rail safety workers
Slide 45 Flowchart resource – procedures for a positive breath test or sobriety
assessment
Slide 48 – 51 Legal requirements – authorised persons and third party testing service
providers
Slide 53 Module 3: summary
DRUG AND ALCOHOL AUTHORISED PERSON TRAINING COURSE – TRAINER’S MANUAL | PAGE 32 OF 68

Testing equipment
Points for Trainers
This module addresses the steps and issues authorised persons must consider when planning testing activities.
Issues to highlight are the respective roles and responsibilities of the authorised person and rail safety workers
and managers also involved in oversighting, planning and implementing testing. This session will provide an
overview only of the standards required for equipment used and third party testing service providers accessed.
Rail transport operators will need to provide participants with the opportunity to thoroughly familiarise
themselves with any testing equipment they are required to use. Rail transport operators will also need to
familiarise participants with the third party testing service providers being accessed and any formal agreements
or arrangements that have been made.
DRUG AND ALCOHOL AUTHORISED PERSON TRAINING COURSE – TRAINER’S MANUAL | PAGE 33 OF 68
DETAILED OUTLINE OF MODULE 3
1. Planning the use of alcohol breath testing, breath analysis, and urine drug testing devices and/or
accessing third party testing service providers

Introduce module 3 by screening PowerPoint slide 41 Module 3: Planning the use of equipment
and communicating about testing


Inform participants of the following:
-
This session will provide an overview only of the standards required for equipment used
and third party testing service providers accessed. Rail transport operators will need to
provide participants with the opportunity to thoroughly familiarise themselves with any
testing equipment they are required to use. This may be relevant for both breath and drug
testing equipment and apparatus. If rail transport operators require authorised persons to
undertake urine sample collection, then the appropriate training for this process needs to
be accessed elsewhere.
-
Rail transport operators will also need to familiarise participants with the third party testing
service providers being accessed and any formal agreements or arrangements that have
been made. Participants will also need the opportunity to observe, understand and assess
the procedures used by any third party testing service providers accessed to ensure
standards are being maintained.
 Introduce the topic of testing equipment standards and third party testing service providers’
standards by screening PowerPoint slide 42 Drug & alcohol testing equipment and services.
 Screen PowerPoint slide 43 Exercise 1: Drug and alcohol testing equipment and procedures scenarios
and direct participants to the exercise sheet in their workbooks Module 3: Exercise 1: Drug and Alcohol
Testing Equipment and Procedures: multiple choice scenarios.
 Provide the following instructions:
 Read:
FAQ (i) Frequently Asked Question 4 “How do you resource drug and alcohol testing? Do testing
officers undertake all forms of testing? Can you use contracted testing services, particularly
for drug testing?” and
(ii)  Information Sheet 6 – “What are the requirements for drug and alcohol testing
equipment and services?” Allow 5 minutes.

Study the questions and decide which response is the most appropriate.
Write down your reasoning for discussion.
 Process scenarios, using the answer sheet below, facilitating any queries and ensuring participants are
fully aware of the testing standards they and their operators are required to maintain.
DRUG AND ALCOHOL AUTHORISED PERSON TRAINING COURSE – TRAINER’S MANUAL | PAGE 34 OF 68
 Module 3: Exercise 1: Drug and alcohol testing and equipment procedures: Multiple Choice
Scenarios
1. Read:
(i) Frequently Asked Question 4 How do you resource drug and alcohol testing? Do authorised
persons undertake all forms of testing? Can you use contracted testing services, particularly for
drug testing? and
(ii)  Information Sheet 6 – What are the requirements for drug and alcohol testing equipment and
services?
2. Study the questions and decide which response is the most appropriate.
3. Write down your reasoning for discussion.
You must choose either A, B, C, or D as a response.
1.
A)
B)
C)
D)
For breath alcohol testing, an authorised person is able to use the following equipment….?
Any equipment that has an approved filter gadget on it.
Testing devices that have been approved by the police for breath testing on the roads.
Any breath testing device which complies with the Australian Standard.
Any equipment that the rail transport operator authorises as acceptable.
B) and C) is the most appropriate response. Any breath testing device which complies with the
Australian Standard AS3547-1997, Breath alcohol testing devices for personal use may be used for
testing, or a device of a type approved by the Governor by order published in the Gazette for the
purposes of the Road Transport (Safety and Traffic Management) Act 1999. Rail transport operators
should reflect this requirement in their drug and alcohol management program.
2. The initial on-site screening of a urine sample indicates the presence of a drug and the
authorised person is required to….?
A) Ask a police officer to intervene.
B) Refer the sample to an approved laboratory to undertake confirmatory testing.
C) Discuss the findings with management and take appropriate disciplinary action.
D) Ensure that the rail safety worker has the right to have the sample independently analysed.
B) is the most appropriate response.
C) and D) may also take place in conjunction with response B) depending upon the rail transport
operator’s drug and alcohol management program requirements.
All accredited rail transport operators must conduct confirmatory laboratory testing of urine samples in
the event that urine screening testing indicates the presence of drugs.
Confirmatory testing of the sample must be conducted by an analyst at an approved laboratory in
accordance with the Australian/New Zealand Standard AS/NZS 4308:2008, Procedures for specimen
collection and the detection and quantitation of drugs of abuse in urine.
The authorised person will also need to work in accordance with their operator’s drug and alcohol
management program, so they may need to discuss the situation with management and implement
disciplinary provisions depending upon what the program guides them to do.
DRUG AND ALCOHOL AUTHORISED PERSON TRAINING COURSE – TRAINER’S MANUAL | PAGE 35 OF 68
Rail safety workers who perform rail safety work and who test positive to drugs may, within three
months after the test, request their urine sample be independently analysed by an approved laboratory.
Such analysis is to be conducted at the rail safety worker’s own expense.
3. A rail safety worker who performs rail safety work may be required to submit to a sobriety
assessment when….?
A) The device to conduct a breath test is broken.
B) The worker appears unsteady on his feet and has slurred speech.
C) Another employee reports that the worker has had too much to drink at lunchtime.
D) The worker is in hospital injured and is unable to complete the breath test.
A) is the most appropriate response. If an authorised person requires a rail safety worker to undergo a
breath test and the device to carry out the breath test is not readily available, the officer may direct the
rail safety worker to submit to a sobriety assessment.
The requirement to submit to such an assessment is not open to challenge in any proceedings on the
basis that the device was readily available.
In situation B) there may be a whole range of reasons why the rail safety worker is unsteady and has
slurred speech and more information may be required before a reasonable belief can be formed as to
whether the worker might be under the influence of alcohol or a drug. Other forms of testing such as a
breath test may also be more appropriate to use in this situation than the sobriety assessment.
In situation C) there may be a case for “for cause/on suspicion” testing but again other forms of testing
such as a breath test may also be more appropriate to use in this situation than the sobriety
assessment.
If a rail safety worker is in hospital and is injured, generally a blood or urine sample may be taken.
4. A rail safety worker who performs rail safety work is required to submit to a breath analysis
when….?
A) The authorised person has a belief that the worker is under the influence.
B) A police officer has arrested the worker.
C) The worker is in hospital injured and is unable to complete the breath test.
D) The result of a breath test or sobriety assessment indicates that there may be the prescribed
concentration of alcohol present.
D) is the most appropriate response. Under clause 11 of the NSW Regulation, an authorised person
may require a rail safety worker to submit to a breath analysis:
 if it appears as a result of a preliminary breath test or sobriety assessment that the prescribed
concentration of alcohol may be present in the worker’s breath or blood, or
 if the rail safety worker required to undergo a breath test or sobriety assessment has refused or
failed to do so.
If a worker is in hospital and is injured, generally a blood or urine sample may be taken.
An authorised person who has a reasonable belief that the rail safety worker might be under the
influence of a drug, may require the rail safety worker to provide a blood or urine sample, if:
 the rail safety worker has undergone a preliminary breath test, and
 the test result does not require the rail safety worker to submit to a breath analysis, and
DRUG AND ALCOHOL AUTHORISED PERSON TRAINING COURSE – TRAINER’S MANUAL | PAGE 36 OF 68

the rail safety worker refuses to submit to a sobriety assessment or after the assessment, the officer
has a reasonable belief that the rail safety worker is under the influence of alcohol or a drug.
Note also that under section 126 of the Rail Safety National Law (NSW), a rail safety worker may be breath
tested or required to undergo a breath analysis whether or not there is any suspicion that the worker has
recently consumed alcohol.
5. An authorised person or police officer must detain the rail safety worker for the purposes of
breath analysis or providing a blood sample when…?
A) The worker has been involved in a prescribed incident
B) The worker admits to being intoxicated
C) The worker refuses to co-operate with the testing procedure
D) None of the above
D) is the most appropriate response. It is only the police officer and not the authorised person who has
the power to detain the worker. The authorised person may direct the worker to attend the nearest
police station, or such other place as the authorised person may require, to submit to a breath analysis.
However, if a police officer requires the rail safety worker to submit to a breath analysis or a blood
sample, the officer may:
 arrest the rail safety worker without a warrant, and
 take the rail safety worker with such force as deemed necessary to a police station or such other
place in the case of breath analysis or a hospital in the case of blood sampling and detain the rail
safety worker for the purposes of testing.
Detaining a rail safety worker is not a first action in testing but arises when other steps in the testing
process and means to achieve co-operation have been unsuccessful.
-oOo2. Communicating with rail safety workers who perform rail safety work about testing obligations,
procedures and outcomes in a respectful and non-adversarial way

Stress to participants that:
-
the main focus of rail transport operators’ drug and alcohol management programs
revolves around safety and a healthy lifestyle.
-
communication about testing obligations, procedures and outcomes should be respectful
and non-threatening. It also requires authorised persons to use language that is
understandable to all workers, particularly for those who come from culturally and
linguistically diverse backgrounds. This may mean changing the more formal language
used into plain English.
Start the following short exercise to illustrate the points above by screening PowerPoint slide 44
Exercise 2: Scripts - Scripts for informing rail safety workers about testing

Ask participants to turn to their workbooks and provide the following instructions:
(i) refer to the rail transport operator’s drug and alcohol management program for guidance
DRUG AND ALCOHOL AUTHORISED PERSON TRAINING COURSE – TRAINER’S MANUAL | PAGE 37 OF 68
FAQ

(ii) read Frequently Asked Question 5 “How do you explain to rail safety workers the different
types of testing requirements?”
(iii) turn to the Worksheet: Scripts for informing rail safety workers about testing.
Ask participants to get into pairs to undertake the following practice role play.
(i) One participant is to role play the part of a rail safety worker.
(ii) One participant is to role play an authorised person, using either the script for “Introduction
to requiring a breath test” or the script for “Introduction to requiring a urine sample”
(iii) Allow 2-3 minutes for the role play
(iv) Allow 2-3 minutes for participants to debrief the role play, using the “Debrief of scripts for
authorised persons sheet, assessing how they might improve on the scripts.
Seek comments and suggestions from the group.
3. Communicating positive test results, including confirmatory testing

Introduce the possibility of a positive drug test. Ask participants to review the section in their
operator’s drug and alcohol management program dealing with positive test results, identifying the main
steps and responsibilities for authorised persons and managers. Allow 2-3 minutes.
 Discuss the process described in the program and identify whether there are any gaps in procedure.
Suggest that these identified gaps should be fed back to the relevant manager in the organisation.

Emphasise that the procedures and consequences will vary from rail transport operator to rail
transport operator in communicating positive results of urine tests for drugs.
- Authorised persons will need to know and be able to follow their operator’s drug and
alcohol management program requirements for positive testing, particularly disciplinary
procedures.
- Common steps that the authorised person may be required to implement include:
 notifying designated managers of the positive test result
 obtaining full details and documentation of the positive test result
 notifying the rail safety worker in a private and confidential manner
 advising the rail safety worker of the right to have the urine sample independently
analysed
 arranging for the rail safety worker to discuss their test result with the rail transport
operator, their manager and/ or HR manager
 maintaining appropriate records of the positive test result, in accordance with the
operator’s procedures
 preparing a written statement, where required
 notifying the ONRSR in accordance with their procedures of a positive test result
 Screen PowerPoint slide 45: Flow chart resource: procedures for a positive breath test or sobriety
assessment to summarise the main points of the process.

Ask participants to refer to their rail transport operator’s drug and alcohol management program
and locate the section dealing with positive test results. Discuss steps the authorised person must
undertake in these circumstances.
DRUG AND ALCOHOL AUTHORISED PERSON TRAINING COURSE – TRAINER’S MANUAL | PAGE 38 OF 68
 Debrief the discussion using PowerPoint slide 46 Common steps that the authorised person may be
required to implement after a positive test result.

 Alert participants to Module 3: Exercise 3: “Scripts for responding to positive test results” and
invite participants to study them for 1- 2 minutes. The sheet documents forms of responding to a rail
safety worker who tests positive to the prescribed concentration of alcohol in the breath or blood or who
may have drugs in their body.
 Invite comments on whether additional information is required in the scripts to address additional issues
in their rail transport operator’s drug and alcohol management program.
IMPORTANT NOTE: As a positive test is an offence under the legislation, it is important that authorised
persons give appropriate directions to the rail safety worker concerned. Where a positive breath test or
assessment is obtained from a rail safety worker who is performing rail safety work, the rail safety worker
MUST be told:
“I direct you to attend the nearest available police station at <specific location, if possible> for the
purpose of a breath analysis”.
In the case of a breath analysing instrument not being available at the nearest police station then:
“I direct you to attend the nearest hospital <specific location, if possible> for the purpose of
supplying a sample of your blood or urine”.
 Discuss the implications of a positive test for rail safety workers and authorised persons. Issues to
cover include:
- Possible removal of the rail safety worker from rail safety work or the work place
- Possible disciplinary action
- Possible dismissal from rail safety work
- Possible action by ONRSR
- Authorised persons are to record their observations accurately (including whether or not
the rail safety worker was carrying out, or attempting to carry out, rail safety work) and
must report the positive result to managers and /or HR immediately.
4. Responding to failure or refusal to undergo testing

 Ask participants to spend 1-2 minutes reviewing their operator’s drug and alcohol management
program to establish what directions have been provided for responding to refusal or failure to submit to
testing. Remind participants that refusal or failure constitutes an offence under the Rail Safety National
Law (NSW), and there may also be consequences under the rail transport operator’s program.

Discuss the directions amongst the group for a few minutes, clarifying any queries.
Trainer’s note: Non-compliance by rail safety workers with the direction of an authorised person is a
serious offence. The aim of this exercise is to provide participants with some ideas on how to approach a
rail safety worker who refuses or fails to comply with their direction.
DRUG AND ALCOHOL AUTHORISED PERSON TRAINING COURSE – TRAINER’S MANUAL | PAGE 39 OF 68
Screen PowerPoint slide 47 Exercise 4: Scripts – responding to refusal or failure to undergo
testing.

Refer participants to their workbooks and Module 3: Exercise 4: Scripts for responding to
refusal or failure to undergo testing.
Ask participants to review the scripts and to compare the information contained in them with
their rail transport operator’s drug and alcohol management program.

Ask participants to note any additional information they will need to include in the scripts, based
on their operator’s program.
Allow 5-6 minutes
 Debrief any ideas that emerge.
5. The role of third party testing service providers

Introduce the topic of third party testing service providers by stating that the most common third
party testing service providers are the NSW Police Force, collecting agencies and hospitals.

Undertake the following discussion:
Ask participants to return to their operator’s drug and alcohol management program and
determine:
(i) which third party testing service providers are used by the organisation for alcohol testing


and for drug testing?
(ii) what their role is?
(iii) what arrangements or access agreements exist between their operator and the service?
State: The arrangements operators make with third party testing services are dependent on a
number of issues such as:
- The model of testing used i.e. whether the organisation is able to undertake all or part of
the testing or whether the organisation has outsourced the entire program to a third party
testing service provider;
- Resources available within the organisation i.e. breath testing and breath analysing
equipment;
- Resources available external to the organisation i.e. location of police station, local
hospital.

State: The Rail Safety National Law (NSW) is detailed in what is expected from third party testing
service providers, e.g. police, medical practitioners and collecting agencies.
 Screen PowerPoint slides 48, 49, 50 and 51 Legal requirements – authorised persons and third party
testing service providers as a summary of the main points.
DRUG AND ALCOHOL AUTHORISED PERSON TRAINING COURSE – TRAINER’S MANUAL | PAGE 40 OF 68

Stress that when there is a positive result determined by a breath analysing instrument, the police
(or authorised person) operating the breath analysing instrument must issue a Certificate of Evidence.
 Screen PowerPoint slide 52 Certificates of Evidence and summarise the certificates.
 Request participants to turn to their workbooks and study the sample pro-forma:
“Certificate under clause 28 of the Rail Safety (Adoption of National Law) Regulation 2012” – to
be signed by the police officer.
This form is provided by the police when undertaking a breath analysis of a rail safety worker.
6.
Summary of Module 3

 Using PowerPoint slide 53 Module 3: summary, summarise the discussion covered in the module.

State the following topics were covered:
 Planning the use of breath testing, breath analysis and urine drug testing devices and/or
accessing testing service providers
 Communicating with rail safety workers about testing requirements, procedures and
outcomes in a respectful and non-adversarial way
 Communicating positive test results, including confirmatory testing
 Responding to failure or refusal to undergo testing
 The role of third party testing service providers such as the police, medical practitioners,
nurses and contracted testing service providers

Ask participants if they have any further questions about the main learning points and close this
module.
DRUG AND ALCOHOL AUTHORISED PERSON TRAINING COURSE – TRAINER’S MANUAL | PAGE 41 OF 68
MODULE 4 OUTLINE
Random testing
Content
 Selecting and informing rail safety workers of random testing
 Planning for random testing, including procedures and documentation
 Random testing scenarios
Learning Outcomes
At the end of the module, participants should be able to:
 consider how best to select and inform rail safety workers who perform rail safety work of random
testing
 confirm and effectively plan their rail transport operator’s approach to random testing
 outline required procedures and documentation for random drug and alcohol testing
What you will need


Participant’s Workbook
PowerPoint or Overhead Transparencies






Slide 54 Module 4: Random testing
Slide 55 Issues to consider in planning random testing
Slide 56 Exercise 1: Planning random drug and alcohol testing activities (optional)
Slide 57 Exercise 2: Random drug and alcohol testing scenarios
Slide 58 Module 4: summary
Flip chart or whiteboard
Points for Trainers
This module provides an overview of the planning and procedures required for random drug and alcohol testing.
Heritage rail transport operators are not required to undertake random testing and do not need to cover the
material in this module. Heritage operators may be targeted by ONRSR’s random testing program. However,
some participants may want to cover the materials to develop a better understanding of the ONRSR’s
processes when random testing occurs within their organisation.
DRUG AND ALCOHOL AUTHORISED PERSON TRAINING COURSE – TRAINER’S MANUAL | PAGE 42 OF 68
DETAILED OUTLINE OF MODULE 4
1. Selecting and informing rail safety workers of random testing
 Introduce module 4 by screening PowerPoint slide 54 Module 4: Random testing

 State to the groups that:
-
-
-
-
Rail safety workers who:
- are about to carry out rail safety work; or
- are carrying out rail safety work; or
- are attempting to carry out rail safety work; or
- are still on railway premises after carrying out rail safety work; or
- are involved in a prescribed notifiable occurrence; or
- are involved in an accident or irregular incident while carrying out rail safety work,
may at any time be required by an authorised person to undergo a breath test or breath
analysis, or submit to a drug screening test (ie oral fluid), urine screening test, oral fluid
analysis or blood test.
Clause 28(2)(a)(i) of the National Regulations requires accredited rail transport operators in
NSW (except heritage rail transport operators) to randomly test not less than 25% of their
rail safety workers in each year, using risk management principles to select the workers
and determine the type of test (breath or urine) to be conducted.
Who selects the rail safety workers for random testing is determined by the individual rail
transport operator’s drug and alcohol management program. Some rail transport operators
themselves determine the schedule of random testing while other rail transport operators
delegate that responsibility to the authorised person or a combination of both.
How the rail safety workers are selected for random testing will also be determined by the
individual rail transport operator. Some operators may use a ballot system, a random draw
or use a random number generator, while others may target all their employees or focus on
the risk level associated with particular job functions.
 Invite participants to review their rail transport operator’s drug and alcohol management program and
identify who and how rail safety workers who perform rail safety work are selected in their organisation.
 Discuss any issues or questions that may arise.
2. Planning for random testing, including procedures and documentation

Introduce the topic by covering the following points:
-
-
One of the critical aspects of any drug and alcohol management program involves planning
the various testing activities a rail transport operator may need to undertake. This planning
may be solely the responsibility of the authorised person or shared with other designated
employees or managers.
Random drug and alcohol testing requires a significant degree of planning, particularly for
larger rail transport operators.
Who plans the random testing program depends on how the drug and alcohol
management program is managed within your organisation. There are many things that
dictate who, where, when, and how many are tested.
DRUG AND ALCOHOL AUTHORISED PERSON TRAINING COURSE – TRAINER’S MANUAL | PAGE 43 OF 68
 Screen PowerPoint slide 55 Issues to consider when planning random testing, and discuss the
following issues:
- deciding on how people will be selected e.g. either by worksite, by random numbers or by
occupation
- deciding whether higher risk job categories may need to be tested more often than other
lower risk job categories;
- the impact of testing on the organisation’s operations;
- the resources you have available to do the testing i.e. breath testing equipment; access to
third party testing service providers for urine sample collection in drug testing; access to
breath analysis devices in the case of a positive breath test;
- the amount of time each test requires;
- the number of people your organisation needs to test per year. Remember the National
Regulations require not less than 25% of an organisation’s rail safety workers to be tested
in each year; and
- what and how testing information is to be recorded.
Trainer’s note: The following exercise is an optional exercise and should only be undertaken if relevant to the
participants’ responsibilities as authorised persons and if time permits. It will explore some of the aspects that
will need to be considered during the planning phase of random testing activities.
 Screen PowerPoint slide 56 Exercise 1: Planning random drug and alcohol testing activities (optional)

Refer participants to:
(i) their operator’s drug and alcohol management program directions for random testing
(ii)  Information Sheet 7: Planning and organising issues for authorised persons
FAQ (iii) Frequently Asked Questions 8: “How is the random testing program planned” and
9 “What set-up arrangements are involved in random testing?
(iv) Module 4: Worksheet: Exercise 1: Checklist for planning random drug and alcohol testing
activities

Using these documents, ask participants to complete an outline of the steps required in
planning either a random drug testing activity or a random breath testing activity for their
organisation.
 Debrief the exercise, emphasising the importance of:
- Clarity of roles and responsibilities
- Adequate resourcing and arrangements being in place e.g. accessing third party service
providers for drug testing, liaising with police in cases of positive breath tests
- Communication with all persons involved: rail safety workers, managers, worksite
supervisors.
 Also add that the amount and type of documentation required will be determined by the rail transport
operator’s drug and alcohol management program and by other external organisations e.g. the
ONRSR.
DRUG AND ALCOHOL AUTHORISED PERSON TRAINING COURSE – TRAINER’S MANUAL | PAGE 44 OF 68
3. Random testing scenarios

State that in their work as an authorised person undertaking random testing for their operator, a
range of situations may arise that require managing. Although most rail safety workers would agree
with the principles of the drug and alcohol management program, i.e. promoting safety and healthy
lifestyles, some rail safety workers may be reluctant to or have difficulty in participating in testing.
 Introduce the next exercise by screening PowerPoint slide 57 Exercise 2: Random drug and alcohol
testing scenarios.


Invite participants to turn to the scenarios exercise “Random drug and alcohol testing practice
scenarios”.
Ask participants to:
(i) Develop suitable responses to the following two scenarios.
(ii)Discuss your responses with your colleagues and the trainer. Allow 5 minutes.
Debrief the exercise, using the suggested responses.
Planning exercise: Authorised persons’ practice scenarios
1. You are undertaking drug testing at a country site and the rail safety worker you have selected for testing
states “I’ve just been to the toilet and can’t go.”
Factors to consider
You will need to assess whether
the rail safety worker is being
genuine or they are trying to
evade the testing process.
Particularly if this is the first time
that the rail safety worker is being
drug tested, they may be feeling
anxious.
Remember that failure or refusal
to provide a sample is regarded
as an offence under the Rail
Safety National Law (NSW) and a
breach of your operator’s drug
and alcohol management
program.
Suggested response
Try to calm the rail safety worker
down by fully explaining the process.
Ensure that the rail safety worker’s
privacy and confidentiality are
protected.
Keep appropriate records and
documentation.
You will need to assess and
document whether there is genuine
difficulty or not.
If the situation escalates, you need to
explain to the rail safety worker the
consequences of failing or refusing to
provide a sample.
Proposed actions
Offer a glass of water and explain that
they can take their time to provide a
sample.
Reschedule or make other arrangements
for those remaining to be tested.
Make a detailed note of all the attempts
by the rail safety worker to provide the
sample including times, what was said,
what was consumed (food or drink).
You may need to assess other courses
of action at this point such as
undertaking a sobriety assessment or
arranging alternative testing.
DRUG AND ALCOHOL AUTHORISED PERSON TRAINING COURSE – TRAINER’S MANUAL | PAGE 45 OF 68
2. In selecting rail safety workers for random drug testing at a large metropolitan site using a random draw
computer program, one of the selected railway contractors complains to you “I got tested last week at
another location. Why do I always get drawn out, when others here haven’t been tested?”
Factors to consider
Is the railway contractor working
solely for your operator or for
other operators which have their
own testing programs in place?
According to your operator’s risk
assessment is the railway
contractor engaged in a higher
risk category which needs to be
subjected to frequent testing?
Does this constitute a refusal?
4.
Suggested response
Explain to the railway contractor how
they have been selected for testing
using a random draw method and
that different testing programs are run
for separate operators.
Reinforce what random means in
terms of your operator’s program on
drug and alcohol testing.
Proposed actions
Follow up on your operator’s records of
drug testing to assess whether the
railway contractor has been tested
previously and when.
Depending upon the size of your
workforce and the objectives of your drug
and alcohol testing program, you may
need to more closely monitor your
random selection process and modify the
random draw method to take into
account where rail safety workers have
been recently drug tested.
Summary of Module 4



 Using PowerPoint slide 58 Module 4: summary, summarise the discussion covered in the module.
State the following topics were covered:
 Selecting and informing rail safety workers of random testing
 Planning for random testing, including procedures and documentation
 Random testing scenarios
Ask participants if they have any further questions about the main learning points and close this
module.
DRUG AND ALCOHOL AUTHORISED PERSON TRAINING COURSE – TRAINER’S MANUAL | PAGE 46 OF 68
MODULE 5 OUTLINE
“For cause/on suspicion” testing
Content






Assessing reasonable belief: techniques, including sobriety assessment
Receiving and responding to information about rail safety workers allegedly under the influence
Assessment challenges - misreading the cues
Self-disclosure of medications in the workplace
Testing in remote locations (optional)
Additional recording requirements for “for cause/on suspicion” testing
Learning Outcomes
At the end of the module, participants should be able to:
 apply useful techniques, including sobriety assessments and assessing information about rail
safety workers
 deal effectively with testing and assessment challenges such as providing testing in remote
locations and the possibility of misreading assessment cues
 outline required procedures for “for cause/on suspicion” drug and alcohol testing
What you will need



Participant’s Workbook
PowerPoint or Overhead Transparencies


Slide 59 Module 5: “For cause/on suspicion” testing



Slide 61 Exercise 1: Case studies – indicators of being under the influence

Slide 64 Exercise 3: Responding to information about rail safety workers allegedly
under the influence (optional)





Slide 65 Exercise 4: Assessment challenges – misreading the cues
Slide 60 Do I have reasonable belief that a worker might be under the influence of
alcohol or a drug?
Slide 62 Sobriety assessment
Slide 63 Exercise 2: “For cause/on suspicion” testing – drug and alcohol sobriety
assessment
Slide 66 Reasonable belief: self-disclosure of medications in the workplace
Slide 67 Exercise 5: Testing in remote locations (optional)
Slide 68 Additional recording requirements for “for cause/on suspicion” testing
Slide 69: Module 5: summary
Flip chart or whiteboard
DRUG AND ALCOHOL AUTHORISED PERSON TRAINING COURSE – TRAINER’S MANUAL | PAGE 47 OF 68
Points for Trainers
This module covers some of the issues that authorised persons may need to assess and manage while
undertaking “for cause/on suspicion” testing activities. These include making judgements about information
received from third party sources, undertaking a sobriety assessment when no testing equipment is available
and deciding whether illness plays a part in a rail safety worker’s presentation. Some authorised persons may
feel uncomfortable with these responsibilities. Process any concerns thoroughly.
DRUG AND ALCOHOL AUTHORISED PERSON TRAINING COURSE – TRAINER’S MANUAL | PAGE 48 OF 68
DETAILED OUTLINE OF MODULE 5
1. Assessing reasonable belief: techniques, including sobriety assessment
Trainer’s note: “For cause/on suspicion” testing is a form of targeted testing.
 Screen PowerPoint slide 59 Module 5: “For cause/on suspicion” testing to introduce the topics of
module 5.

Ask participants to review the rail transport operator’s drug and alcohol management program to
determine when and how “for cause/on suspicion” testing is required.

 State to the groups that:
- The rail transport operator’s drug and alcohol management program must require the testing
of rail safety workers who the operator has a reasonable belief that they are under the
influence of alcohol or any other drug.
- “For cause/on suspicion” testing is a form of targeted testing.
- The term “reasonable belief” requires rail transport operators and authorised persons to
have a reasonable belief or a suspicion that a rail safety worker is under the influence. This
means that there needs to be more than a hunch or hearsay before a rail safety worker can
be required to undergo “for cause/on suspicion” testing.

Stress:
-
The most common ways of forming a reasonable belief or a suspicion is through
observations and recognising possible indicators of being under the influence, and from
disclosures or allegations made.
Authorised persons should consider whether the behaviour is out of character or is that
person’s usual presentation.
Authorised persons should keep an open mind to possible alternative causes to rail safety
workers’ behaviour, such as an illness or other medical condition.
Authorised persons are not required to determine what type of drug may be in the rail
safety worker’s system as this is beyond their scope of expertise.
In recording testing results, the focus should be on recording how or why an authorised
person formed a reasonable belief that a rail safety worker was under the influence of
alcohol or a drug.
 Screen PowerPoint slide 60 Do I have a reasonable belief that a worker might be under the influence of
alcohol or a drug? to highlight these points.

Ask participants to turn to their workbooks and complete the following exercise.
 Screen PowerPoint slide 61 Exercise 1: Case studies – indicators of being under the influence, to
provide direction. The purpose of this exercise is to increase participants’ awareness of possible
indicators of being under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Refer participants to their workbooks:
(i) Exercise 1: Case studies: indicators of being under the influence
(ii)  Information Sheet 4 “Understanding Alcohol and Other Drugs”
DRUG AND ALCOHOL AUTHORISED PERSON TRAINING COURSE – TRAINER’S MANUAL | PAGE 49 OF 68


Ask participants to write down their answers to the questions.
Allow 3-4 minutes then debrief each case study.
State that how an authorised person approaches a rail safety worker in a “for cause/on suspicion”
testing situation will be decided by the operator’s drug and alcohol management program.


Refer to:
- the operator’s drug and alcohol management program and
- the sample scripts “Scripts for approaching a rail safety worker where you have a
reasonable belief that the worker might be under the influence of alcohol or a drug”
included in the workbook.

In pairs, invite participants to:
- discuss the scripts and make comments on their strengths
- briefly discuss what else an authorised person may say when there is a reasonable belief
to suspect a rail safety worker may be under the influence of alcohol or a drug.
 Ensure any suggestions conform to legal and program requirements.
Sobriety assessment
 Introduce the topic of sobriety assessment by screening PowerPoint slide 62 Sobriety assessment.

State the following about sobriety assessments:
-
-
-
Assessing sobriety means testing for being under the influence. The term being under the
influence includes drug effect so therefore sobriety assessments can be used for situations
where a rail safety worker who performs rail safety work is suspected of having alcohol or a
drug in their body.
Research shows that sobriety testing, on its own, is not a reliable form of testing. Therefore
this form of testing should be combined with other forms of testing such as breath analysis
or urine testing.
The Rail Safety National Law (NSW) allows an authorised person to require a rail safety
worker to submit to a sobriety assessment when a breath testing device is not available.
In the case where a breath testing device is not available, the authorised person may
require the worker to submit to a breath analysis if it appears, as a result of the
assessment of the worker’s sobriety, that the prescribed concentration of alcohol may be
present in the rail safety worker’s breath or blood.
The Rail Safety National Law (NSW) also allows an authorised person who has a
reasonable belief that, by the way in which a rail safety worker was acting, the worker
might be under the influence of a drug, to require the worker to provide a sample of blood
or urine if:
- the worker has undergone a breath test and the test result does not permit the
worker to be required to submit to a breath analysis, and
- the worker either refuses to submit to a sobriety assessment or, after the
assessment is made, the officer has a reasonable belief that the worker is under
the influence of a drug.
DRUG AND ALCOHOL AUTHORISED PERSON TRAINING COURSE – TRAINER’S MANUAL | PAGE 50 OF 68
 Screen PowerPoint slide 63 Exercise 2: “For cause/on suspicion” testing – drug and alcohol sobriety
assessment and undertake the following role play exercise. Keep this fast and up-tempo to inject
energy.

Ask participants to get into pairs.
One participant is to role play the part of being a person under the influence of alcohol or
drug/s.
The other participant is to use page 2 of the Drug and Alcohol Sobriety Assessment sheet
and interact with their colleague as if commencing a sobriety assessment.
They are to use the sheet to identify all the indicators demonstrated by their colleague, the
more indicators, the better.
Allow 1-2 minutes, then the pairs are to debrief the sheet together.
 Debrief the exercise in the large group and ask for any observations or learning points about sobriety
testing.
2. Receiving and responding to information about rail safety workers allegedly under the influence

 State: Managers, worksite supervisors and authorised persons may receive information and
allegations about rail safety workers who perform rail safety work at any point through the working day.
Some issues that need to be considered when receiving information includes:
- Confidentiality and privacy for the rail safety worker against whom the allegation was
made;
- When and how employees are to provide sensitive, confidential information about a rail
safety worker;
- Consequences of the disclosure and protection for the employee who made the allegation,
particularly if there is a potential or actual risk to that employee. This may require having a
strict “need-to-know” policy, based on the information being used for the lawful purpose for
which it was collected; and
- Recording and storing records that may reveal the identity of the notifier.
 Managers and authorised persons will also need to consider whether or not the information supports a
reasonable belief that the worker might be under the influence of alcohol or a drug .

Refer participants to their rail transport operator’s drug and alcohol management program and ask
participants to study the section on “for cause/on suspicion” testing that relates to disclosures or
allegations made by employees about rail safety workers who perform rail safety work.

 In pairs, invite participants to discuss the implications of these directions for their role as
authorised persons.
 Debrief the discussion, identifying any gaps in the program’s directions and the need to feed this back
to the relevant manager.
DRUG AND ALCOHOL AUTHORISED PERSON TRAINING COURSE – TRAINER’S MANUAL | PAGE 51 OF 68
Trainer’s note: The following exercise is optional. It is a useful exercise to encourage participants to
embrace a more pro-active approach to testing.
 Screen PowerPoint slide 64 Exercise 3: Responding to information about rail safety workers allegedly
under the influence (optional) and invite participants to complete the exercise:

In pairs, ask participants to read the worksheet, studying the questions and discussing
what issues may be covered in each one. Allow 1-2 minutes.

Now ask the pairs to select 2 – 3 questions and to think of:
(i) 2-3 pieces of information that would support an allegation of being under the influence and
(ii) 2-3 pieces of information that would challenge an allegation of being under the influence.
Allow 4-5 minutes then quickly debrief the exercise.
3. Assessment challenges - misreading the cues
 Introduce the topic by stating that one possible outcome of sobriety assessments is getting a “false
positive” result i.e. assessing that the rail safety worker is under the influence when in fact their
symptoms are due to an illness or other medical condition.

 Ask participants:
-
-

to recall Frequently Asked Questions 11 “Do authorised persons conduct sobriety
assessments and when? What are some of the pitfalls of undertaking sobriety
assessments?” and enquire about other common or less common illnesses and their
symptoms that may give a false positive.
to undertake the following exercise by screening PowerPoint slide 65 Exercise 4:
Assessment challenges –misreading the cues
Ask participants to turn to Module 5: Exercise 4: “For cause/on suspicion” testing scenario –
misreading the cues and read the scenario.
It is late afternoon on a hot summer day and it is reported by another rail safety worker that
Joe, a relatively new employee, appears to be vague, his speech is slurred and he seems to
be swaying on his feet. You know he returned to work after two days off with a bad bout of
the flu. His mate, Bob, a long term employee, tells you in confidence that Joe is an
insulin-dependent diabetic but Joe doesn’t want it to get around the workplace.
Ask participants to answer the following questions:

Do you have reasonable cause to test Joe? Justify your reasoning.
How would you manage this scenario if it occurred in your workplace?
Allow 3-4 minutes.
 Debrief the exercise, inviting as many ideas as possible. Ensure to cover the following:
- The need to assess what you know about the rail safety worker. Although Joe is new to the
organisation you may know some of the following:
(i) he has recently been off work with illness;
DRUG AND ALCOHOL AUTHORISED PERSON TRAINING COURSE – TRAINER’S MANUAL | PAGE 52 OF 68
-
(ii) the afternoon heat of summer days; and
(iii) the claim that Joe is diabetic;
The nature and source of the allegation would require assessment;
The possibility that the symptoms may be attributable to something else, like heat stroke,
dehydration, ongoing symptoms from flu illness or his diabetes;
The worker’s fitness for rail safety work on the day and any risks to safety posed by his
condition; and
The manager’s observations of the worker and any concerns held would need to be
considered.
4. Self-disclosure of medications in the workplace

State that another assessment challenge for authorised persons is the effect of prescription
medications on a rail safety worker’s fitness to work.
 Invite participants to search and read their operator’s drug and alcohol management program for advice
on how to manage situations where prescription medications may be an issue.

 Ask the group to discuss the following questions:
(i) What are the rail transport operator’s drug and alcohol management program instructions
about managing the possible impact of medications on fitness to undertake rail safety work?

(ii)How could authorised persons respond to situations where a rail safety worker is taking
prescription medications and they appear affected by them?
Allow 5 minutes, then debrief the exercise.
 Summarise the discussion by screening PowerPoint slide 66 Reasonable belief: self-disclosure of
medications in the workplace.
5. Testing in remote locations (optional exercise)
Trainer’s note: this short session is optional and is only required for rail transport operators who have
worksites in rural or remote areas. Some rail transport operators may use a third party testing service provider,
such as the police or a collecting agency, while others may use sobriety assessments in the first instance, if an
authorised person is available on site, but does not have a breath testing device available.

Introduce the topic by asking participants whether any had worked or undertaken testing activities
in rural remote areas. Discuss the issue of distance, resource scarcity and the time required to travel
between sites.
Rail transport operator drug and alcohol management programs should address the need for testing in
remote locations when an authorised person may not be available on site. For example, the program may
address this issue by appointing employees of a third party testing service provider as authorised persons
to conduct the testing.
 Invite participants to turn to their workbooks and complete Exercise 5 on PowerPoint slide 67 Testing in
remote locations (optional).
DRUG AND ALCOHOL AUTHORISED PERSON TRAINING COURSE – TRAINER’S MANUAL | PAGE 53 OF 68

Ask participants to:
(i) Refer to their rail transport operator’s drug and alcohol management program and read the
section on working in remote rural areas

(ii) In pairs, brainstorm a short list of challenges (2-3) that authorised persons may need to
manage when doing “for cause/on suspicion” testing in the left hand column of the table, e.g. 3 hour time
limit, no attended police station
(iii) Develop 1-2 plausible, workable solutions for each challenge
Allow 3-4 minutes then debrief the exercise.
 The solutions generated must be:
- plausible for the locations the authorised person is working in e.g. there may be no hospital
for 350 kilometres, or the local police station is only staffed 2-3 days per fortnight
- consistent with the rail transport operator’s drug and alcohol program and the Rail Safety
National Law (NSW).
6. Additional recording requirements for “for cause/on suspicion” testing
 Screen PowerPoint slide 68 Additional recording requirements for “for cause/on suspicion” testing and
cover the issues that must be incorporated into the operator’s drug and alcohol management program
recording procedures.
- There needs to be more than a hunch or hearsay before a rail safety worker can
be required to undergo “for cause/on suspicion” testing.
- The most common ways of forming a reasonable belief or a suspicion is through
observations and recognising possible indicators of being under the influence, and
from disclosures or allegations made.
- In recording testing results, the focus should be on recording how or why an
authorised person formed a reasonable belief that a rail safety worker was under
the influence of alcohol or a drug.
 Refer participants to their rail transport operator’s drug and alcohol management program and locate
and read the information about recording requirements. Undertake the following discussion to highlight
practice issues for testing officers.

 In pairs, ask participants to discuss:
(i) What documentation are you required to complete before, during and after reasonable
cause testing?
(ii) Where does this information need to go?
Allow 2-3 minutes and process discussions. Session 7 covers these issues more fully.
7. Summary of Module 5


 Using PowerPoint slide 69 Module 5: summary, summarise the discussion covered in the module.
State the following topics were covered:
 Assessing reasonable belief: techniques, including sobriety assessment
DRUG AND ALCOHOL AUTHORISED PERSON TRAINING COURSE – TRAINER’S MANUAL | PAGE 54 OF 68
 Receiving and responding to information about rail safety workers allegedly under the
influence
 Assessment challenges – misreading the cues
 Self-disclosure of medications in the workplace
 Testing in remote locations (optional)
 Additional recording requirements for “for cause/on suspicion” testing

Ask participants if they have any further questions about the main learning points and close this
module.
DRUG AND ALCOHOL AUTHORISED PERSON TRAINING COURSE – TRAINER’S MANUAL | PAGE 55 OF 68
MODULE 6 OUTLINE
Post-incident testing
Content
 The types of incidents for which post-incident testing is required
 Identifying who should be tested after incidents
 Procedures for post-incident testing including testing in remote locations and restrictions on testing
due to serious medical conditions
Learning Outcomes
At the end of the module, participants should be able to:
 explain the types of incidents or accidents for which post-incident testing is required
 outline who should be included in post-incident testing
 conduct post-incident testing, taking account of testing in remote locations and restrictions on
testing due to serious medical conditions
What you will need



Participant’s Workbook
PowerPoint or Overhead Transparencies



Slide 70 Module 6: Post-incident testing


Slide 73-76 Exercise 1: Case studies for post-incident testing
Slide 71 Post-incident testing requirements
Slide 72 What may be considered a reasonable excuse for failing to conduct postincident testing?
Slide 77 Module 6: summary
Flip chart or whiteboard
Points for Trainers
Emphasise in this session that the procedures for post-incident testing will be highly dependent upon the rail
transport operator’s drug and alcohol management program and its safe working practices. Rail transport
operators will need to ensure that their drug and alcohol testing arrangements provide for drug and alcohol
testing to take place within 3 hours of a prescribed incident. This may include arrangements for the
transportation of authorised persons, collectors and equipment to incident sites and/or the transportation of rail
safety workers who perform rail safety work and who are involved in incidents to sites where drug and/or
alcohol tests may be undertaken, such as police stations, pathology collection centres or hospitals.
DRUG AND ALCOHOL AUTHORISED PERSON TRAINING COURSE – TRAINER’S MANUAL | PAGE 56 OF 68
DETAILED OUTLINE OF MODULE 6
1. The types of incidents for which post-incident testing is required
 Introduce the module by screening PowerPoint slide 70 Module 6: Post-incident testing.

 State that the Rail Safety National Law (NSW) is explicit in the types of incidents that must be
followed by testing. Screen PowerPoint slide 71 Post-incident testing requirements to highlight this
point. Note that both drug and alcohol testing is required after a prescribed incident.

 State that the Rail Safety National Law (NSW) allows for a reasonable excuse for a rail transport
operator failing to conduct post-incident testing. Screen PowerPoint slide 72 What may be considered a
reasonable excuse for failing to conduct post-incident testing? to highlight this point. Note that distance
may not necessarily be regarded as a reasonable excuse, as contingency plans should address the
need for testing in remote locations.
 Rail transport operator drug and alcohol management programs should address the need for testing in
remote locations when an authorised person may not be available on site. For example, the program
may address this issue by appointing employees of a third party testing service provider as authorised
persons to conduct the testing.
 Note that authorised persons may also test rail safety workers involved in a prescribed notifiable
occurrence or an accident or irregular incident
 Refer participants to their rail transport operator’s drug and alcohol management program and ask
participants to read the section on post-incident testing and identify additional circumstances, according
to the program, where post-incident testing may be required.
 Expand on these issues by inviting participants to complete the following exercise. Screen PowerPoint
slides 73-76, Exercise 1: Case studies for post-incident testing, progressively unfolding the three
scenarios using the PowerPoint slides.


Ask participants to refer to the scenario 1 in their workbook and
Record their answers to questions 1 and 2.
Debrief the questions using the suggested responses below.
DRUG AND ALCOHOL AUTHORISED PERSON TRAINING COURSE – TRAINER’S MANUAL | PAGE 57 OF 68
Post-Incident Drug and Alcohol Testing
Scenario 1
A driver of many years experience with a sound safety record has passed a “signal at danger”
Question 1: On what grounds is this situation a prescribed incident which would require post-incident
drug and alcohol testing?
 Although a serious accident or incident involving a collision or derailment did not take place in this
situation, there was a breach of a railway infrastructure manager’s network rules.
 This means that post-incident drug and alcohol testing should take place, unless there was a
reasonable excuse not to do so.
 This is regardless of the experience level or safety record of the driver.

Question 2: Could there be any possible grounds for “reasonable excuse” in this situation?
 Whether there are grounds for a “reasonable excuse” for not conducting post-incident testing depends
upon the logistics of the situation.
 If the incident occurred in a remote location, and there was a difficulty with organising testing within
the 3 hour prescribed limit for testing, then there may technically be a case for a “reasonable excuse”.
 A rail transport operator would need to consider this situation in terms of their drug and alcohol
management program for post-incident testing
 If the authorised person was unable to organise alcohol breath and urine testing equipment or
services to be on-site within the 3 hour limit, then alternative testing arrangements would need to be
put in place, such as a sobriety assessment or breath analysis testing organised through the nearest
police station or blood or urine samples organised through the nearest hospital.
 It may be difficult to assess whether the incident was caused by factors other than rail safety workers
being under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol without an actual alcohol or drug test being
conducted.
 Conclude the exercise by highlighting the need for authorised persons to be aware of contingency
plans for the conduct of post-incident testing across all the locations they cover, including contingency
plans to address the need for testing in remote locations.
 This should include having an:
- awareness of breath analysis devices at designated police stations
- agreement with the police on post-incident testing to be provided
- agreed arrangements in place with local hospitals and third party testing service providers
- awareness of the required procedures when dealing with medical practitioners or
registered nurses at hospitals
2. Identifying who should be tested after incidents


Ask participants to refer to the scenario 2 in their workbook and
Record their answers to questions 3 and 4.
Debrief the questions using the suggested responses below.
DRUG AND ALCOHOL AUTHORISED PERSON TRAINING COURSE – TRAINER’S MANUAL | PAGE 58 OF 68
Scenario 2
A group of rail safety workers including some contractors for another rail transport operator are jointly
working on rail safety work. They are witnesses to an accident which occurs during the
performance of track work. One of the group of rail safety workers is injured as a result of the
accident. One of the rail safety workers shouts “what were you doing, are you drunk or something?”
at the contractor who appeared to have caused the accident.
Question 3: Is this a prescribed incident or not and why?
 Further details of the accident and how it occurred will need to be obtained to ascertain whether
it is a prescribed incident or not.
 In particular it needs to be determined whether there has been a breach of network rules or whether
under the rail transport operator’s drug and alcohol management program the incident is considered a
prescribed incident.
 Another alternative in this situation is to look to “reasonable belief” which was covered in the previous
session.
 The possibility of reasonable belief has been raised in this scenario due to the comments of one of the
rail safety workers “are you drunk or something?”
 This means that the manager/ supervisor of the gang should call in the authorised person to make an
assessment.
 If a breath testing device is not readily available then a sobriety assessment of the contractor
needs to be made.
Question 4: Who should be tested under the Rail Safety National Law (NSW) and why?
 Ideally all parties involved in this situation.
 Confirm as defined in the Rail Safety National Law (NSW), “rail safety worker” means an individual
who has carried out, is carrying out or is about to carry out rail safety work, which may include
employees, contractors or volunteers who perform rail safety work.
 There may, however, be some ambiguity in this situation as the contractors are working for
a different rail transport operator although participating in joint work. The nature of the incident, the
contractual working arrangements and the supervision and reporting relationships for the rail safety
work will need to be clarified.
With an allegation of one of the railway contractors being drunk, the authorised person needs to
closely follow their rail transport operator’s drug and alcohol management program for reasonable
belief and post-incident testing and check in which situations drug and alcohol testing is required.
Note: Some railway operators have included causing injury to a person as grounds for “for cause/on
suspicion” and post-incident testing in their drug and alcohol management program.
 Emphasise the definition of a “rail safety worker” includes contractors and the need for
review of the rail transport operator’s drug and alcohol policy to ascertain whether the situation
requires targeted (eg “for cause/on suspicion”) or post-incident testing.
3. Procedures for post-incident testing including testing in remote locations and restrictions on testing
due to serious medical conditions


Ask participants to refer to the next case study scenario in their Participant Workbook and
Record their answers to questions 5 and 6.
Debrief the questions using the suggested responses below.
DRUG AND ALCOHOL AUTHORISED PERSON TRAINING COURSE – TRAINER’S MANUAL | PAGE 59 OF 68
Scenario 3
A rail safety worker engaged in rail safety work has been injured and has been taken to hospital for
treatment following the derailment of a train.
Question 5: Could there be any possible grounds for not undertaking drug and alcohol testing of the
rail safety worker in this situation?
 Yes. An authorised person or police officer must not require a rail safety worker to undergo a breath
test, assessment, breath analysis or provide a blood or urine sample under clause 8 of the NSW
Regulation if:
- it appears because of the rail safety worker’s injuries that testing would be dangerous to
the rail safety worker’s medical condition, or
- admitted to hospital, unless the attending medical practitioner or registered nurse (if no
medical practitioner is available) has been notified and they do not object on the ground
that testing would be prejudicial to the worker’s proper care or treatment (clause 13(2)),.
Question 6: What are the procedures and documentation required for testing the rail safety worker in
hospital and who is responsible for the testing?
The procedures and documentation requirements include the following:
 An authorised person may require the rail safety worker to provide a blood or urine sample at a
hospital under the directions of the attending medical practitioner.
 If there is no medical practitioner present, the sample is to be taken by a registered nurse accredited
by a hospital to perform sampling.
 The medical practitioner or nurse must
- take the sample if informed by the authorised person to do so unless the grounds outlined
in question 5 apply.
- in relation to urine samples, place the sample into two sealed and labelled containers. in
relation to blood samples, place the sample into a sealed and labelled container, and give
a certificate with sufficient information to identify the sample, to the person from whom the
sample has been taken.
 The authorised person must arrange for the samples to be submitted to an approved laboratory for
analysis.
 As outlined above the authorised person, the medical practitioner and the nurse are jointly responsible
for the testing process in hospital.
 Debrief this exercise. If needed, refer back to Information Sheet 6: What are the requirements for
drug and alcohol testing equipment and services.
4. Summary of Module 6

 Using PowerPoint slide 77 Module 6: summary, summarise the discussion covered in the module.

State the following topics were covered:
 The types of incidents for which post-incident testing is required
 Identifying who should be tested after incidents
 Procedures for post-incident testing including testing in remote locations and restrictions on
testing due to serious medical conditions

Ask participants if they have any further questions about the main learning points and close this
module.
DRUG AND ALCOHOL AUTHORISED PERSON TRAINING COURSE – TRAINER’S MANUAL | PAGE 60 OF 68
MODULE 7 OUTLINE
Managing notification responsibilities, record keeping and other testing issues and
course conclusion
Content




Record keeping requirements for documenting testing events and results
Notification and documentation requirements for reporting to ONRSR
Safety issues for authorised persons
Concluding the course
Learning Outcomes
At the end of the module, participants should be able to:
 outline record keeping requirements for documenting testing events and results
 discuss notification and documentation requirements for reporting to the ONRSR
 describe safety issues for authorised persons and appropriate responses to workers who refuse to
co-operate with testing, including the involvement of the police
What you will need



Participant’s Workbook
PowerPoint or Overhead Transparencies

Slide 78 Module 7: Managing notification responsibilities, record keeping and other
testing issues








Slide 79 Why is record keeping important for drug and alcohol testing?
Slide 80 Exercise 1: Rail transport operator record keeping requirements (optional)
Slide 81 Notification to the ONRSR
Slide 82 Drug and Alcohol Testing Monthly Return
Slide 83 Summary of ONRSR’s role in drug and alcohol testing
Slide 84 Exercise 2: Safety issues for authorised persons
Slide 85 Module 7: summary
Slide 86 Course conclusion: summary of drug and alcohol testing authorised person
training
Flip chart or whiteboard
DRUG AND ALCOHOL AUTHORISED PERSON TRAINING COURSE – TRAINER’S MANUAL | PAGE 61 OF 68
Points for Trainers
In this session, emphasise the importance of meeting the rail transport operator’s record keeping requirements
as well as the requirements of the ONRSR for notification of a positive test result or a refusal or failure to submit
to testing and monthly reporting of testing activity. Without adequate records, it will be impossible to follow up
on rail safety workers who require disciplinary action by the rail transport operator or prosecution action by the
ONRSR. Accurate record keeping also protects those who have not recorded a positive test result and actively
demonstrates the rail transport operator’s commitment to its drug and alcohol management program.
DRUG AND ALCOHOL AUTHORISED PERSON TRAINING COURSE – TRAINER’S MANUAL | PAGE 62 OF 68
DETAILED OUTLINE OF MODULE 7
1. Record keeping requirements for documenting testing results and events
 Introduce this module by screening PowerPoint slide 78 Module 7: Managing notification
responsibilities, record keeping and other testing issues


Introduce this topic by posing the question:
Why is accurate record keeping important for ensuring the success of their rail transport operator’s drug
and alcohol management program?
 Screen PowerPoint slide 79 Why is record keeping important for drug and alcohol testing? to reinforce
the key issues.
Trainer’s note: There may be significant differences in the degree of detail required for record keeping for
breath tests versus that required for collecting urine samples for drug testing. Reinforce that this arises
because of the stringent requirements for drug testing under the Australian/New Zealand Standard AS/NZS
4308:2008, Procedures for specimen collection and the detection and quantitation of drugs of abuse in urine.
To ensure that participants become fully conversant with all the particular record keeping requirements for their
organisation, they should access, in their workplaces, a complete set of the forms or other documentation (both
hard and soft copy) which will need to be completed at the various stages of the testing process.
 Referring participants to the drug and alcohol management program, discuss the rail transport
operator’s overall requirements for drug and alcohol record keeping activities.

If time permits, explain:
-
each form or record that is kept,
when information is to be collected,
to where information is to be dispatched, who has access to the information and
how it is to be securely stored.
Trainer’s note: This is an optional exercise to explore the rail transport operator’s recording requirements in
greater detail. This exercise should only be conducted if this activity is part of the authorised person’s
responsibilities under their rail transport operator’s program and if time permits.
 Screen PowerPoint slide 80 Exercise 1: Rail transport operator record keeping requirements (optional)
and provide the following instructions:

In pairs discuss the overall drug and alcohol record keeping activities referring to their rail
transport operator’s drug and alcohol management program requirements.
Refer participants to the worksheet Module 7 Exercise 1: “Rail transport operator record
keeping requirements”
DRUG AND ALCOHOL AUTHORISED PERSON TRAINING COURSE – TRAINER’S MANUAL | PAGE 63 OF 68

Ask participants to complete notes under each of the appropriate headings for at least three
forms or records they are required to keep.
Note each form or record that is kept, when information is to be collected, to where
information is to be dispatched, who has access to the information and how it is to be
securely stored.

 Discuss where applicable, any records that are kept on spreadsheets or databases and check
whether the authorised person has the skills to use these or whether they will need some additional
training/ briefing.
 Emphasise the importance of having thorough and complete documentation for reporting the following
information to the ONRSR:
- positive test results
- situations where the rail safety worker who performs rail safety work has refused or failed
to comply with testing requirements
- where tampering or interference with test results or samples is suspected.
 Reinforce the important principles of ensuring confidentiality and privacy of personal information and
records, particularly in relation to disclosure and secure storage of information.
2. Notification and documentation requirements for reporting to the ONRSR
 Introduce and review the overall role of the ONRSR in the drug and alcohol testing process using
PowerPoint slide 81 Notification to the ONRSR, PowerPoint slide 82 Drug and Alcohol Testing Monthly
Return and PowerPoint slide 83 Summary of the ONRSR’s role in drug and alcohol testing.

 Ask participants to review the following forms:
-
Rail transport operators are required to notify the ONRSR of positive test results as a
Category B notifiable occurrence (see clause 57(1)(b)(xxi) of the National Regulations) on
the OCCURRENCE NOTIFICATION FORM.
-
Rail transport operators in NSW are also required to notify the ONRSR of:
- positive test results;
- refusal or failure to undertake a test; and
- any breaches of the NSW Regulation in relation to interfering with test results, or
interfering or tampering with or destroying samples
NOTIFICATION FORM - Drug and Alcohol Testing in NSW - is used.
-
These forms are to be completed within 72 hours of receiving test results.
-
Discuss the ONRSR process for assessing positive drug and alcohol test notifications (in
their workbooks).
DRUG AND ALCOHOL AUTHORISED PERSON TRAINING COURSE – TRAINER’S MANUAL | PAGE 64 OF 68
-
Explain that the purpose of the forms is to assist the ONRSR to monitor and enforce the
Rail Safety National Law (NSW) on each occasion that a positive test result occurs, or a
refusal or failure to submit to testing occurs.
-
ONRSR FORM - Periodic Information Monthly Return.
In order to comply with the ONRSR’s requirements, reinforce the importance of
collecting accurate information on the different types of rail safety workers who perform
rail safety work being tested, at the point of testing.

Discuss the following aspects of monthly return requirements to the ONRSR :
-


The forms can be downloaded from the ONRSR’s website.
Data is collected on the total number of drug and alcohol tests undertaken for a range of
different worker categories.
These categories include total pre-sign on, random, “for cause/on suspicion” or postincident tests conducted as alcohol or drug tests.

Outline:
Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator (ONRSR)
Contact details are:
P: (08) 8406 1500
F: (08) 8406 1501
E: contact@onrsr.com.au
Notifications should be emailed to occurrences@onrsr.com.au or faxed to (08) 8406 1501.
3.
Safety issues for authorised persons

Ask participants to consider the situation arising during testing when a rail safety worker becomes
violent towards an authorised person.
 Screen PowerPoint slide 84: Exercise 2: Safety issues for authorised persons and invite participants to
undertake the exercise.

 In pairs discuss the question:

What are helpful things to do or say if a rail safety worker becomes violent towards an
authorised person?
 Refer participants to the Workbook and review the checklist “What to do during an incident of violence
and aggression” which is based on WorkCover guidelines for managing workplace violence and
aggression.
DRUG AND ALCOHOL AUTHORISED PERSON TRAINING COURSE – TRAINER’S MANUAL | PAGE 65 OF 68
 Emphasise the following important safety issues:
- where a rail safety worker becomes violent, safety is the primary consideration;
- authorised persons, in this circumstance, should withdraw from the situation immediately
and not put themselves at risk or try to manage the situation on their own as this may make
the situation worse
- the police should be called in to deal with the rail safety worker as they have the power to
arrest and detain the rail safety worker for the purposes of testing.
 Address any further safety issues the participants may have, then summarise the discussion. These
issues may also be referred to the authorised person’s supervisor or the rail transport operator’s
Human Resources Manager.
4.
Summary of Module 7



 Using PowerPoint slide 85 Module 7: summary, summarise the discussion covered in the module.
State the following topics were covered:
 Record keeping requirements for documenting testing events and results
 Notification and documentation requirements for reporting to ONRSR
 Safety issues for authorised persons
Ask participants if they have any further questions about the main learning points and close this
module.
5.
Concluding the course
 Summarise the training program by screening PowerPoint slide 86 Summary of drug and alcohol
testing authorised person training.
 Explain to participants that they have now completed the training course for drug and alcohol testing
authorised persons. Confirm any further training activities which will be organised e.g. the operation of
testing equipment, observation and demonstration of testing activities, etc.
 Discuss the issuing of:
- a certificate of attainment for completing the training course
- the identity card for an authorised person to produce when requested by workers during
testing.
 Thank participants for their attendance and close the training course.
DRUG AND ALCOHOL AUTHORISED PERSON TRAINING COURSE – TRAINER’S MANUAL | PAGE 66 OF 68
Part 3
TRAINER RESOURCES
DRUG AND ALCOHOL AUTHORISED PERSON TRAINING COURSE – TRAINER’S MANUAL | PAGE 67 OF 68
Certificate of attendance
from
________________________
(Name of rail transport operator)
This is to certify that on <date>
<name>
successfully completed the
DRUG AND ALCOHOL TESTING AUTHORISED
PERSON
TRAINING COURSE
to conduct testing in accordance with the Rail
Safety National Law (NSW)
The topics covered were:
Legislative requirements
Rights, roles and responsibilities
Planning the use of equipment and
communicating about testing
Random testing
”For cause/on suspicion” testing
Post-incident testing
Managing notification responsibilities, record
keeping and other testing issues
______________________________________
Trainer
Signature:
DRUG AND ALCOHOL AUTHORISED PERSON TRAINING COURSE – TRAINER’S MANUAL | PAGE 68 OF 68
Part 4
PARTICIPANT’S WORKBOOK
DRUG AND ALCOHOL AUTHORISED PERSON TRAINING COURSE – TRAINER’S MANUAL | PAGE 69 OF 68