High Risk Work Licences on Residential Sites

What it is

A High Risk Work Licence (HRW licence) is a permit issued by a state or territory work health and safety regulator that lets the holder perform a specific class of high risk work. The classes are set out in Schedule 3 of the model Work Health and Safety Regulations. If a task falls in Schedule 3, no licence means no work.

The system is national in design and state in delivery. Schedule 3 lists the classes. Each state regulator (SafeWork NSW, WorkSafe Victoria, WorkSafe Queensland, DMIRS WA, SafeWork SA, WorkSafe Tasmania, WorkSafe ACT, NT WorkSafe) actually issues, renews and disciplines the licence. A licence issued in one state is recognised in every other state.

The classes a residential site touches

Schedule 3 lists 29 individual classes. A residential builder will encounter a handful of them on a regular basis.

Cranes and hoists

• CN: non-slewing mobile crane up to 20 t. Picking trusses, steel and roof sheeting on a custom build.
• CB: vehicle loading crane (above 10 t metre). The truck mounted cranes that drop bricks and frames off a tilt-tray.
• CV: tower crane. Rare on residential, common on medium density and townhouse builds.
• C2, C6, C1: slewing mobile cranes (20 t, 60 t, 100 t and over 100 t respectively).

Scaffolding and rigging

• SB: basic scaffolding. Tube and coupler, modular, prefabricated.
• SI: intermediate scaffolding. Cantilevered, hung, spur and tube and coupler covering more than one storey.
• SA: advanced scaffolding.
• DG: dogging. Slinging loads and directing a crane operator.
• RB: basic rigging. Structural steel members, precast concrete and safety nets.

Forklifts and EWPs

• LF: forklift truck (any size, excluding order-pickers and pedestrian operated).
• LO: order-picking forklift truck.
• WP: boom-type elevating work platform with a boom length of 11 m or more.

Pressure equipment

Most residential builders will not touch these, but small commercial fitouts can pull them in: BP (boiler operator basic), BS (standard boiler), ES (engine operator).

How a worker gets a licence

The path is the same for every class. The worker enrols with a Registered Training Organisation that is accredited to deliver the relevant national unit of competency. After classroom and practical training, an accredited assessor signs off competency. The worker then lodges a Notice of Assessment with their state regulator, pays the fee and waits for the physical licence.

The minimum age for an HRW licence under the model WHS Regulations is 18.

Refresher rules and the five year cycle

An HRW licence is valid for five years from the date of issue. Renewal is handled by the state regulator that issued the licence, not by Safe Work Australia. Most regulators send a renewal reminder 30 to 90 days before expiry.

To renew, the holder must declare they have maintained competency in every class on the licence. Some states require a sample of holders to complete a competency reassessment. WA, for example, can require evidence of recent operating hours or a refresher unit. NSW does not require a fixed refresher course but can audit competency.

If a licence lapses, the holder generally has 12 months to renew. After 12 months, they have to redo the unit of competency and reapply from scratch.

What happens when work is unlicensed

Operating a forklift, crane, EWP over 11 m or any other Schedule 3 plant without the right HRW licence is a category 2 or category 3 offence under the model WHS Act, depending on the risk that arose. Section 32 (category 2) carries a maximum penalty of $1.5 million for a body corporate and $300,000 for an individual PCBU. Section 33 (category 3) sits at $500,000 for a body corporate.

Beyond the criminal penalty, an uninsured incident with an unlicensed operator is normally not covered by the builder's public liability policy. The builder ends up paying the medical, the make good and the legal costs out of cashflow.

Practical takeaway for residential builders

Three habits sit at the centre of getting this right. First, never let plant be operated by anyone whose licence you have not personally sighted and recorded against their name. Second, treat the five year expiry as a tracked compliance item in your subcontractor onboarding system. Third, when in doubt about whether a piece of plant needs a licence, check Schedule 3 of the model WHS Regulations before the lift, not after the incident.