The dangers of not having a current Working at Heights ticket

Working at Heights and Confined Spaces tickets

During training, I often get asked when you should renew your ticket or competency for Working at Heights

It is a grey area as the Work Health and Safety (WHS) Acts, and Regulations do not mention a specific timeframe.

What the legislation does mention is that Employers (PCBU’s) must meet their Duty of Care. One of the Duties of Care topics is to ensure staff is thoroughly trained and inducted.  Staff must be at all times current in their duties.

From personal experience, I have started to realise it depends on Employer/Company policies and procedures.  For example, the Employer could have a policy on WHS in the workplace that states all staff should be trained and current when it comes to high-risk work duties. The WHS procedure will then describe how the policy should be managed to ensure compliance with the WHS Acts and Regulations. The procedure could be a certain manager is responsible for staff training and currency, and the procedure for high-risk work competencies is to renew it every two years.

Another thing I came across is the Insurance policies of the employer and what the insurer will accept to minimise premiums when it comes down to high-risk work activities. All these decisions also depend on how often the employee conduct the high-risk work activities and other. Most Employers accepts or demand that every two years your competencies be renewed for high-risk work activities. The Working at Heights Association (WAHA) https://www.waha.org.au/height-safety-training-courses/  recommends

“Whilst a certificate of competence issued by an RTO for a nationally recognised competency technically never expires, it is the strong recommendation of the WAHA that re-certification of a Safe Work at Height Training course should be undertaken every 2 years.”

If you are looking to update your Working at Heights ticket book now with LT Training