Australia National Standard for Health Assessment of Rail Safety Workers 2024 2.2.7: Validity of certificates and scheduling: no worker performs rail safety work without a current fitness for duty report; reports expire at the end of the period stated and must be dated and signed by the assessing health professional; a Chief Medical Officer may extend validity by up to one month where safety is not adversely affected, recording the new date; periodic assessments may follow a fixed anniversary date if conducted no more than 2 months early, otherwise the assessment date becomes the new anniversary

What does 2.2.7 require?

A rail safety worker without a current fitness for duty report cannot undertake rail safety work. Every medical report expires at the end of the period noted on it by the Authorised Health Professional, who dates and signs it for the date the assessment was conducted. With the operator's support a Chief Medical Officer may extend the period a report remains in force by up to one month where satisfied that this will not adversely affect the safety of railway operations, entering the new date on the report or giving written notice of the extension to the worker and the operator. Operators may schedule periodic assessments on a fixed anniversary date provided the assessment occurs 2 months or less before the due date; an assessment more than 2 months early, or after the due date or after expiry, resets the anniversary to the date of the assessment. In scheduling triggered assessments the date of the last specialist report is considered.