1. travel
2. transports
3. public transport

Under section 24 of the Transport
Integration Act 2010 (TIA), a
“transport body” must have
regard to:
Towards an
integrated
and
sustainable
transport
system
Documenting your
thinking: A guide for
transport bodies
Transport Integration Act 2010
•The transport system objectives
in exercising its powers and
performing its functions under
any transport legislation;
•The decision making principles
in making decisions under any
transport legislation; and
•A statement of policy
principles, if applicable.
The purpose of this guide is to
assist “transport bodies” to comply
with their TIA obligations when
exercising powers, performing
functions or making decisions
under “transport legislation”.
The Department of Transport has
published the guide as a tool for
use by management and staff of
DOT and other transport bodies
when making significant or high
risk decisions.
The guide is a suggested
framework for your decision
making notes which will help you
record how you applied the Act to
a particular decision. It is intended
to provide a flexible tool to assist
in recording your thinking at the
time of making your decision,
and to refresh your memory if in
future you need to provide formal
reasons for your decision.
page 1
page 1
Decision makers are encouraged
to tailor the framework in this
guide on a case-by-case basis.
The amount of detail required for a
given decision will be determined
by several factors including: the
size, importance and complexity
of the decision; and the urgency
of the decision. The framework
may need to be expanded or
reduced to reflect such factors.
The guide provides for relative
weighting of the factors being
considered in making decisions.
This recognises that the transport
system objectives and decision
making principles in the TIA
will vary in their application to
each particular transport or
land-use decision.
Creating an enduring record of
how you considered the TIA in
reaching your decision will assist
in compliance with the Act while
also meeting new benchmarks
in transparency.
For more information, go to
www.transport.vic.gov.au/
legislation
Note: this document is not a statement
of reasons for the purposes of the
Administrative Law Act 1978 (Vic), or
for the purposes of any other statutory
obligation to give reasons. It is a
suggested form of contemporaneous
record by the decision maker, and as
such it can be used by the decision
maker to compile a statement of
reasons which meets all legislative
requirements, if such a statement is
subsequently required.
Instructions for completing this form
a) The decision maker herself or himself should complete this document.
b)Before you complete this document, you must check whether you are in fact a decision maker for a transport body
acting under transport legislation. If:
• you are not making a decision for a transport body, or
• the relevant legislation is not transport legislation,
the obligations in section 24 of the TIA do not apply, and you do not need to use this document.
c)The size and importance of the decision should be taken into account when considering how much detail to include
in this document.
d)These notes should go further than merely expressing your conclusions. They should explain those conclusions and
disclose a reasoning process. A good way of checking this is to ask ‘Do these notes enable a reader to understand
how and why I made the decision I did?
Note: This document is not a statement of reasons for the purposes of the Administrative Law Act 1978 (Vic), or for the purposes of any other statutory obligation to
give reasons. It is a suggested form of contemporaneous record by the decision maker, and as such it can be used by the decision maker to compile a statement
of reasons which meets applicable legislative requirements if such a statement is subsequently required
Question 1: Overview of Decision
What is your name?
What is your title?
On behalf of which ‘transport body’ are you making this decision?
(go to www.transport.vic.gov.au/legislation for a list of transport bodies under Section 3 of the TIA).
If known, what is the relevant ‘transport legislation’?
(go to www.transport.vic.gov.au for a list of transport legislation under Section 3 of the TIA).
Are you making this decision in your capacity as a delegate? (If yes, provide details of the delegation).
Provide the date on which you completed this document.
What is the purpose of making this decision?
Summarise your decision in one or two sentences.
Transport Integration Act 2010
page 2
Question 2: Explain how you have had regard to
the transport system objectives and decision making
principles by using the following outline.
Tip: Under sections 26 and 27 of the TIA, a transport body may determine the weight to give to each transport system objective and decision making principle.
Transport System Objectives (Division 2, Part 2, TIA)
Social and economic inclusion (section 8, TIA):
The transport system should provide a means by which persons can access social and economic opportunities to support
individual and community wellbeing including by:
(a)minimising barriers to access so that so far as is possible the transport system is available to as many persons as wish to use it;
(b) providing tailored infrastructure, services and support for persons who find it difficult to use the transport system.
Have you used this objective in making this decision? If so, how? If not, briefly indicate why.
Economic prosperity (section 9, TIA)
The transport system should facilitate economic prosperity by:
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
enabling efficient and effective access for persons and goods to places of employment, markets and services;
increasing efficiency through reducing costs and improving timeliness;
fostering competition by providing access to markets;
facilitating investment in Victoria;
supporting financial sustainability.
Have you used this objective in making this decision? If so, how? If not, briefly indicate why.
Environmental sustainability (section 10, TIA):
The transport system should actively contribute to environmental sustainability by—
(a)protecting, conserving and improving the natural environment;
(b)avoiding, minimising and offsetting harm to the local and global environment, including through transport-related
emissions and pollutants and the loss of biodiversity;
(c)promoting forms of transport and the use of forms of energy and transport technologies which have the least impact
on the natural environment and reduce the overall contribution of transport-related greenhouse gas emisisons;
(d)improving the environmental performance of all forms of transport and the forms of energy used in transport;
(e) preparing for and adapting to the challenges presented by climate change.
Have you used this objective in making this decision? If so, how? If not, briefly indicate why.
Transport Integration Act 2010
page 3
Integration of transport and land use (section 11, TIA):
(1)The transport system should provide for the effective integration of transport and land use and facilitate
access to social and economic opportunities.
(2)Without limiting the generality of subsection (1), transport and land use should be effectively integrated so as to
improve accessibility and transport efficiency with a focus on—
(a) maximising access to residences, employment, markets, services and recreation;
(b) planning and developing the transport system more effectively;
(c) reducing the need for private motor vehicle transport and the extent of travel;
(d) facilitating better access to, and greater mobility within, local communities.
(3)Without limiting the generality of subsection (1), the transport system and land use should be aligned, complementary and
supportive and ensure that—
(a) transport decisions are made having regard to the current and future impact on land use;
(b)land use decisions are made having regard for the current and future development and operation of the
transport system;
(c)transport infrastructure and services are provided in a timely manner to support changing land use and associated
transport demand.
(4)Without limiting the generality of subsection (1), the transport system should improve the amenity of communities and
minimise impacts of the transport system on adjacent land uses.
Have you used this objective in making this decision? If so, how? If not, briefly indicate why.
Efficiency, coordination and reliability (section 12, TIA):
(1)The transport system should facilitate network-wide efficient, coordinated and reliable movements of
persons and goods at all times.
(2) Without limiting the generality of subsection (1), the transport system should—
(a)balance efficiency across the network so as to optimise the network capacity of all modes of transport
and reduce journey times;
(b) maximise the efficient use of resources including infrastructure, land, services and energy;
(c) facilitate integrated and seamless travel within and between different modes of transport;
(d)provide predictable and reliable services and journey times and minimise any inconvenience
caused by disruptions to the transport system.
Have you used this objective in making this decision? If so, how? If not, briefly indicate why.
Transport Integration Act 2010
page 4
Safety and health and wellbeing (section 13, TIA):
(1) The transport system should be safe and support health and wellbeing.
(2) Without limiting the generality of subsection (1), the transport system should—
(a) seek to continually improve the safety performance of the transport system through—
(i) safe transport infrastructure;
(ii) safe forms of transport;
iii) safe transport system user behaviour;
(b) avoid and minimise the risk of harm to persons arising from the transport system;
(c)promote forms of transport and the use of forms of energy which have the greatest benefit for, and least negative
impact on, health and wellbeing.
Have you used this objective in making this decision? If so, how? If not, briefly indicate why.
Decision Making Principles (Division 3, Part 2, TIA)
Principle of integrated decision making (section 15, TIA):
The principle of integrated decision making means seeking to achieve Government policy objectives through coordination
between all levels of government and government agencies and with the private sector.
Have you used this principle in making this decision? If so, how? If not, briefly indicate why.
Principle of triple bottom line assessment (section 16, TIA):
The principle of triple bottom-line assessment means an assessment of all the economic, social and environmental
costs and benefits taking into account externalities and value for money.
Have you used this principle in making this decision? If so, how? If not, briefly indicate why.
Transport Integration Act 2010
page 5
Principle of equity (section 17, TIA):
The principle of equity means—
(a) equity between persons irrespective of their—
(i) personal attributes, including age, physical ability, ethnicity, culture, gender and financial situation; or
(ii) location, including whether in a growth, urban, regional, rural or remote area;
(b) equity between generations by not compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.
Have you used this principle in making this decision? If so, how? If not, briefly indicate why.
Principle of the transport system user perspective (section 18, TIA):
The transport system user perspective means—
(a)
(b)
understanding the requirements of transport system users, including their information needs;
enhancing the useability of the transport system and the quality of experiences of the transport system.
Have you used this principle in making this decision? If so, how? If not, briefly indicate why.
Precautionary principle (section 19, TIA):
(1)The precautionary principle means that if there are threats of serious or irreversible environmental
damage, lack of full scientific certainty should not be used as a reason for postponing measures to prevent
environmental degradation.
(2) The precautionary principle includes—
(a) a careful evaluation to avoid serious or irreversible damage to the environment wherever practicable; and
(b) an assessment of the risk-weighted consequences of various options.
Have you used this principle in making this decision? If so, how? If not, briefly indicate why.
Transport Integration Act 2010
page 6
Principle of stakeholder engagement and community participation (section 20, TIA):
The principle of stakeholder engagement and community participation means—
(a)taking into account the interests of stakeholders, including transport system users and members of the
local community;
(b) adopting appropriate processes for stakeholder engagement.
Have you used this principle in making this decision? If so, how? If not, briefly indicate why.
Principle of transparency (section 21, TIA):
The principle of transparency means members of the public should have access to reliable and relevant
information in appropriate forms to facilitate a good understanding of transport issues and the process by which
decisions in relation to the transport system are made.
Have you used this principle in making this decision? If so, how? If not, briefly indicate why.
Transport Integration Act 2010
page 7
Question 3: Provide decision making notes by
using the following outline.
The notes of your decision should cover the information and material you used in your decision, the factual conclusion you reached,
and the rationale for your decision.
The information and material you used in your decision:
• If possible, you should list all information and material you used and referred to in reaching and making your decision.
• Identify what key aspects of that material and/or which parts of that material you particularly relied on.
Your factual conclusions:
•Set out what were the important factual conclusions you reached, especially if there was a controversy or dispute
on the material before you about what factual conclusions should be reached. The rationale for your decision:
•Explain in a few sentences why you made your decision. Indicate which principles and objectives you gave
the most weight, and why.
Response from decision maker
Transport Integration Act 2010
page 8