About

National transportation safety investigation bodies fulfil a highly important role both domestically and internationally. The loss of an airliner, for instance, is likely to have safety implications the world over. Systemic and independent investigations that seek the truth offer the hope that lessons will be learned and similar tragedies avoided in the future so getting to the bottom of contributing factors in transportation accidents is a critical task, as is the legal support of this endeavour. Patrick Hornby, manager for legal and governance, leads the legal team of the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) and has spearheaded a huge expansion in the function’s abilities, having ‘progressively expanded the team’s expertise to cover commercial contracting, administrative law advice, preparation for litigation, drafting international legal instruments, advising on corporate governance, amending legislation, negotiating agreements between governments, preparing submissions for government inquiries, and providing representation in inquests’. Hornby singles out colleague Genevieve Butler for particular praise in this long-term project, explaining that her ‘skillsets have enhanced the team’s research and advice capability in the area of government law, particularly administrative law and statutory interpretation’. The ATSB has lately been front and centre of global news coverage since the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight 370 in March 2014, with the ATSB leading the search for the aircraft. Hornby details the significant input the ATSB’s legal team have provided the search: ‘the team led the development of commercial contracts and procurement documentation for the underwater search for MH370, and the team advised on and handled key aspects of the negotiations with preferred suppliers. In-house legal also provided negotiation and drafting expertise to develop the terms for arrangements between Australia and Malaysia for Australia to lead the search for the missing airliner. We are honoured to have provided support to the dedicated search team who have worked in unprecedented and challenging conditions. The interests of the family members of those on board MH370 and the interests of the travelling public in future safety have always been at the forefront of the minds of those involved in the search effort’. Regardless of the level of media interest, every investigation can have valuable safety lessons. Hornby outlines other cases that the team has been involved in over recent years: ‘The team represents in the ATSB to advocate for the ATSB’s findings at coronial inquests into deaths of persons involved in aviation, marine and rail accidents that the ATSB has investigated’. Among these coronial inquests, Hornby mentions the 2017 inquest into the in-flight breakup of a fire-fighting aircraft in Ulladulla New South Wales in which the pilot was killed. The Coroner advanced a number of the ATSB’s findings around aircraft maintenance and the safe life of an aircraft. Hornby notes the expansion of the legal team’s remit at the ATSB, and how this empowers its lawyers to have a greater impact on the direction of the organisation. ‘In 2016 the ATSB legal team expanded to include governance’, he explains, ‘and the change in responsibilities gives the legal team greater remit for influencing the strategic direction of the agency, including through drafting the ATSB’s corporate plan and conducting enterprise risk assessments. Importantly, the team’s engagement in strategic planning has enhanced the ability of it to deliver advice that supports the in-house client’s objectives’.