About the Australian Transport Council

• Composition
• Chairing Arrangements
• Frequency of Meetings
• Associated meetings of Officials
• Secretariat Arrangements
• Secretariat
• Organisation Chart

ATC's decision making processes involve both a consensus model for general issues, and a voting model (prescribed in the National Transport Commission Act) for National Transport Commission (NTC) issues.  The NTC is an independent statutory body that develops regulatory reform recommendations for ATC's consideration.

Composition

ATC comprises Commonwealth, State, Territory and New Zealand Ministers responsible for transport, roads and marine and ports issues. The Papua-New Guinea Minister responsible for transport matters and the Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) have formal "observer" status on the Council.

Chairing Arrangements

Chairing responsibility resides with the Commonwealth.

Frequency of Meetings

ATC meetings are generally held bi-annually with venues rotating among the States, Territories and New Zealand.

Out-of-session processes are also used to progress issues through the Council.

Associated Meetings of Officials

The ATC's work program is supported by transport agency chief executives, who meet as the Standing Committee on Transport (SCOT). In carrying out its responsibilities, the SCOT:

1. provides policy advice, as necessary, to the ATC;
2. coordinates and supervises the work of six Standing Sub-Committees (SSCs), who undertake work across a range of outcomes areas. These Committees are
   1. Productivity and Efficiency SSC;
   2. Environment SSC;
   3. Safety SSC;
   4. Network Performance SSC;
   5. Security SSC; and
   6. Australian Maritime Group (Maritime SSC).
3. provides the Chair(s) of each of the agreed SSCs.  Secretariat support for each SSC is provided by the Chair's(s') jurisdiction(s) unless otherwise agreed;
4. monitors the reporting of all SSCs;
5. manages and coordinates jurisdictions funding contributions to any nationally agreed projects/initiatives involving such arrangements; and
6. meets in advance of each ATC meeting to preview agenda items; agrees wording of recommendations; carries out follow-up actions (arising from previous meetings); and monitors collaborative activities across systems/jurisdictions.

SCOT also shares information and makes administrative decisions not requiring Ministerial involvement, and as an "executive board" is responsible for:

1. ensuring that Ministerial priorities are implemented;
2. advising on a focused agenda in which Ministers can invest their time to maximum value;
3. identifying the strategic drivers impacting on transport systems in Australia and whether (and what) national approaches can create measurable improvement; and
4. resolving at a policy and strategy level those issues that need to be dealt with nationally (including those that impact on funding, ownership, and/or regulatory dimensions of members' responsibilities).

Secretariat Arrangements

The Commonwealth Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government provides secretariat support for ATC and its structure. The contact is:

Secretary
Australian Transport Council
GPO Box 594
CANBERRA ACT 2601

Email: atc@infrastructure.gov.au

Last Updated: 23 February, 2010.