Who Needs to Have a White Card in Australia?

In Australia everyone that is working within the realm of construction, or even entering a construction site unescorted, must have a white card. White cards have been implemented nationally to create uniform occupational health and safety standards across all states and territories' construction industries. The white card is instead of blue, red and green cards, which were previously used in different Australian states and territories.

Some construction industry employees would still hold valid blue, green and red cards, and as such these cards are still acceptable in some parts of Australia. Blue cards are recognised by regulatory bodies across all states and territories as proof of induction completion, as are red cards with the exception of Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory. South Australia is currently the only state that recognises green cards.

It is important to have a valid white card, or equivalent, when working within the construction industry. Employees working on a construction site without a white card can be fined up to $11,000, while their employer could be fined 100 penalty points.

How Do You Get a White Card?
The white card is received upon completion of an OHS induction course, which is called 'Work Safely in the Construction Industry'. This course teaches and assesses construction industry workers the following:

• How to identify workplace health and safety (WH&S) requirements,
• Training on how to identify hazards and subsequent control methods,
• How to identify WH&S reporting processes and communication methods,
• Incidence response procedures, including the Workplace Health and Safety Act, Risk management, Safety plans, Emergency procedures, Reporting hazards, WH&S Officers and Duty of care, to name a few.

The 'Work Safely in the Construction Industry' OHS induction course is carried out by Registered Training Organisations (RTOs). RTOs are accredited by individual states and territories to carry out specific training. The National Training Information Service (NTIS) contains all information pertaining to whether or not an organisation is certified to carry out training as an RTO.
RTOs conduct the 'Work Safely in the Construction Industry' OHS induction course either online or in person. The course takes up to six hours to complete in person, and between two and three hours to complete online. Both course delivery types, in person and online, contain the same modules, content and assessment items.

Upon successful completion of the course, to be in receipt of a white card, you must also present the RTO with a copy of your Statement of Attainment certificate, a Statutory Declaration form, signed by you, a witness and a Justice of the Peace (JP), legal practitioner or Commissioner for Declaration (C.Dec) and a copy of your photo ID, which also needs to be signed by the JP or C.Dec.


------

James Knight writes on behalf of various businesses to help consumers find valuable information about products and services. Click here for further information about the white card and for further information on the whitecard online construction course