Rail Industry Reference Committee (IRC)
The Rail IRC is made up of industry leaders and experts and acts as a conduit between the Rail industry and the Australian Industry and Skills Committee (AISC).
Australia’s rail industry provides mobility to millions of passengers and vital freight services on over 33,000km of railway track across the country. The Rail IRC are responsible for ensuring the TLI (Rail) Transport and Logistics Training Package meets the needs of the industry and provides nationally recognised Vocational Education and Training (VET) qualifications for occupations involved in:
- Rail Infrastructure
- Track Protection
- Shunting
- Rail Track Vehicle Driving
- Customer Service
- Rail Driving
- Rail Track Surfacing
- Signaling
- Passenger Train Guard
- Track Protection
- Heritage Locomotive Assistant or Steam Locomotive Fireman
- Train Driving
- Safety Investigation
- Network Control
- Safety Management
- Rail Operations Management
- Mechanical Rail Signalling
- Terminal Train Driving
- Rail Yard Coordinator
- Rail Structures

The Committee
Chair: Victoria Kent, Rio Tinto
Deputy Chair: Fiona Love, Australasian Railway Association
Committee members:
Caitlan Ryan, Level Crossing Removal Authority (Victoria)
Roisin O’Reilly, Transport for NSW
Brian Appleby, Public Transport Authority – Government of Western Australia
Gary Talbot, Rail, Tram and Bus Union Australia (RTBU)
Vicky Smith, Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC)
Graham Jackson, Rail Industry Safety and Standards Board (RISSB)
Kay Yates, John Holland
Carol Hedrick, Queensland Rail
Caron Bryan, Pacific National

Victoria Kent
Rail Industry Reference Committee Chair
Victoria Kent has worked in the Rail Industry for the last 24 years in various roles, from guard to driver. Vicky works for Rio Tinto as a specialist to develop training resources for rail including new technologies and autonomous operations. She is the Chair of the Rail IRC and has been on the working groups that developed the first units of competence for autonomous operations in the rail and mining industries.
IRC Meeting Minutes
Summary minutes are shared for all IRC meetings to provide a high level summary of key issues discussed.

Ron Horne
Industry Skills Manager - Rail & Transport and Logistics