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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2012-06-14 Daily Xml
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HIGH RISK WORK LICENSING

The Hon. CARMEL ZOLLO (14:54): Can the Minister for Industrial Relations please update the chamber on the conversion of South Australian high risk workers to the new high risk work licence?

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY (Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister for State/Local Government Relations) (14:54): I thank the honourable member for her question. As members would be aware, new arrangements for a national licensing system for high risk work took effect in South Australia on 1 September 2010, when South Australia adopted the requirements of the national standard for licensing persons performing high risk work.

The new licensing system builds upon existing requirements for people who operate items of plant such as forklifts, cranes, hoists, elevating work platforms or pressure equipment, as well as those people who perform scaffolding, dogging or rigging work. It provides for a nationally recognised licence valid across Australia, no matter where in Australia it is issued, and is a more efficient system, given the transient nature of many high risk industries such as mining and construction.

The new system has made the training, assessment and licensing of high risk work nationally consistent and is aimed at making safer those workplaces where high risk work is performed. Holders of existing qualifications are required to convert to the new High Risk Work Licence in a phased approach over five years. Last year tickets issued before 3 April 1995 were required to be converted to the new licence by 1 September 2011.

This year, those people with qualifications issued between 4 April 1995 and 31 December 1998 must convert to the High Risk Work Licence before 1 September 2012. SafeWork SA is actively delivering this message through a combination of direct mail, print, radio and online advertising across both metropolitan and regional areas. It is important that people with qualifications issued between 4 April 1995 and 31 December 1998 convert to the new High Risk Work Licence by 1 September 2012.

Anyone who does not convert their qualifications to the new licence may find that they cannot work without being formally assessed again, which will be costly to operators in terms of time and money, but more importantly in terms of the opportunities sacrificed by not having a nationally recognised High Risk Work Licence. I would like members to encourage their constituents whose qualifications fall within this conversion period to contact the High Risk Work Conversion Line on 1300 975 909 or visit the SafeWork SA website for further information.

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