On September 3, 2024, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) released a critical safety report calling for an urgent reassessment of working hours and fatigue management systems for air traffic controllers in Australia. The report highlights an alarming incident in which a Brisbane air traffic controller was found asleep at his desk during a night shift at the Terminal Control Unit (TCU) in Cairns. This incident raises serious questions about safety and working conditions in Australian air traffic management and forces far-reaching reforms. The incident occurred on December 8, 2022, when an approach controller at the TCU in Cairns was scheduled for a scheduled night shift from 22:00 p.m. to 06:00 a.m. local time. At around 05:15 a.m. the following day, a colleague found the air traffic controller sleeping between two chairs and covered with a blanket. The colleague woke the sleeping controller, checked for traffic in the airspace or warnings on the display, and then handed control over to the next controller. Causes and safety deficiencies The ATSB report notes that the controller had worked his seventh night shift in nine days and, at the end of the shift block, had completed a total of ten night shifts in twelve days. The reduction in rest periods resulted in a significant lack of sleep, which was identified as a major cause of the incident. According to the report, several factors contributed to this condition, including the consecutive night shifts, the time of day and a very low workload. A key shortcoming was inadequate fatigue management. The Fatigue Assessment and Control Tool (FACT) used by Airservices Australia was able to identify situations that