High risk work licence

Under the model Work Health and Safety Regulations, a person must not carry out a class of high risk work unless they hold the matching licence. The PCBU directing the work must not allow an unlicensed person to do it, except a trainee working under supervision as part of a course leading to that licence.

To get a licence, the applicant completes training with a registered training organisation, is assessed by an accredited assessor, then applies to the regulator in their state or territory. Applicants must be at least 18 years old. Licences are generally issued for five years and must be renewed before they expire.

A licence issued in one state is generally recognised in the others, so a crane operator from Queensland can work in NSW on the same licence. Victoria issues licences under its own Occupational Health and Safety Regulations, with broadly matching classes.

The classes are grouped by type of work. The ones most often seen on construction sites are:

• Scaffolding. Basic (SB), intermediate (SI) and advanced (SA).

• Dogging and rigging. Dogging (DG), basic rigging (RB), intermediate rigging (RI) and advanced rigging (RA).

• Cranes and hoists. Including tower crane (CT), self-erecting tower crane (CS), derrick crane (CD), portal boom crane (CP), bridge and gantry crane (CB), vehicle loading crane (CV), non-slewing mobile crane (CN), slewing mobile cranes by capacity (C2, C6, C1, C0), materials hoist (HM) and personnel and materials hoist (HP).

• Forklifts. Forklift truck (LF) and order-picking forklift truck (LO).

• Boom-type EWP. Boom length of 11 metres or more (WP).

• Other plant. Concrete placing boom (PB), reach stacker (RS), and pressure equipment classes for boilers, turbines and steam engines.

The worker must hold the right licence and keep it available for inspection. The PCBU directing the work must make sure they do. On a construction site, that usually means both the subcontractor employing the operator and the head contractor managing the site check licences.

In practice, licences are checked and recorded at induction, with the class, number, issuing state and expiry date captured so the site can stop work when a licence expires. Plant hire companies supplying wet hired plant should also provide evidence of their operator's licence.

A high risk work licence shows the person has been assessed as competent in that class. It does not replace familiarisation with the specific machine, the site's traffic management plan or the SWMS for the task.

• Checking the card but not the class. A forklift licence does not cover an order-picking forklift, and a C2 slewing crane class does not cover a larger crane.

• Not tracking expiry. Licences lapse. Record expiry dates and check them before the operator starts each new job.

• Accepting photocopies without verification. Most regulators offer an online licence check. Use it when something looks wrong.

• Assuming no licence means no training. Plant that sits below the licence thresholds still needs a trained, competent operator.