A new chapter is being introduced into  the Local Government Service Victoria  about the responsibilities of councils for safety at level crossings and other road-rail interfaces, and the powers councils have to develop and implement transport plans and to procure, provide or enable transport services within their municipal districts.

These responsibilities came into effect on 1 July 2010. Prior to the introduction of these new provisions, local government’s transport powers were confined to land use planning, the care and management of roads and the management of road and pedestrian traffic.

The focus of the new chapter is on the responsibility of councils (in their role as “relevant road managers”, pursuant to Division 2 of Part 4 of the Rail Safety Act 2006) to seek to enter into “safety interface agreements” with rail operators (that is, rail infrastructure managers and rollingstock operators) and other bodies about managing risks to safety at railway interfaces such as at railway, tram and light rail level crossings and bridges.