A white card is a general construction induction training card. Under section 317 of the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld), a business must not direct or allow a worker to do construction work unless the worker has completed that training, and must ensure the worker holds the card or, if a card is pending, a certification.
This guide covers the employer side as well as the worker side: what the Queensland Regulation says the business must do, what to check when someone hands over a card, and where a white card stops being enough. It is not a course advert and does not name any training provider.
What is a white card?
The Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld) and the Regulation do not use the words “white card”. The Regulation calls it a general construction induction training card. Safe Work Australia’s model Construction work code of practice, which is a model only and not an approved Queensland code, describes “white card” as an industry term for the same card.
The Regulation sets out how the card works in Part 6.5 (sections 316 to 327 of the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld)):
- The training: the Regulation’s dictionary defines it as training delivered in Australia by a registered training organisation (RTO) for the specified VET course for general construction induction training. An RTO is one listed on the National Register under the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Act 2011 (Cwlth).
- The card: a person who has successfully completed the training in Queensland may apply to the regulator for the card (section 319). The regulator may also agree for an RTO to issue cards, and such a card is taken to be issued by the regulator (section 325).
- What the card shows: under section 320 it must state that the holder has completed the training, the holder’s name, the date of issue, a unique identifying number and the jurisdiction that issued it, and it must carry the holder’s signature.
Who needs a white card in Queensland?
The duty turns on construction work, not on a job title. Section 289 of the Regulation says construction work means any work carried out in connection with the construction, alteration, conversion, fitting-out, commissioning, renovation, repair, maintenance, refurbishment, demolition, decommissioning or dismantling of a structure. “Structure” is defined in the Act’s dictionary as anything constructed, whether fixed or moveable, temporary or permanent, including buildings, masts, towers, framework, pipelines, transport infrastructure and underground works.
Section 289(2) adds that construction work includes, among other things, installation or testing connected with those activities, installing, testing or maintaining an essential service in relation to a structure, any work connected with an excavation, and site preparation including landscaping as part of site preparation. Section 289(3) says it does not include, among other things, the manufacture of plant, mining, and “testing, maintenance or repair work of a minor nature” in connection with a structure. The section does not define “minor”, so a borderline job is a question for Workplace Health and Safety Queensland (WHSQ) rather than a guess.
The people covered are workers. Section 7 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld) says a worker is a person who carries out work in any capacity for a person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU), including an employee, a contractor or subcontractor, a labour hire worker, an apprentice or trainee, a student gaining work experience and a volunteer. Section 7(3) adds that the PCBU is also a worker if that person is an individual who carries out work in the business. If you are a sole trader doing construction work, check with WHSQ how Part 6.5 applies to you.
What the employer must do
Two sections carry the employer’s duties.
- Section 316 (provide the training): a PCBU must ensure general construction induction training is provided to a worker it engages who is to carry out construction work, if the worker has not successfully completed it, or completed it more than 2 years previously and has not carried out construction work in the preceding 2 years.
- Section 317 (do not put an untrained worker on construction work): a PCBU must not direct or allow a worker to carry out construction work unless the worker has successfully completed the training and, if that was more than 2 years ago, has carried out construction work in the preceding 2 years. The PCBU must also ensure the worker holds a general construction induction training card or, if the worker has applied for a card and not yet been issued with it, a general construction induction training certification issued within the preceding 60 days.
Put simply:
| The worker’s situation | What sections 316 and 317 mean |
|---|---|
| Has never completed the training | Training must be provided before the worker is directed or allowed to do construction work. |
| Completed it within the last 2 years and holds a card | The training condition is met; you still need to ensure the worker holds the card. |
| Completed it more than 2 years ago but has done construction work in the preceding 2 years | The training condition is met. |
| Completed it more than 2 years ago and has not done construction work in the preceding 2 years | Training must be provided again, and the worker must not be directed or allowed to do construction work until it is done. |
| Has applied for a card and holds a certification issued within the preceding 60 days | The certification can stand in for the card. |
Made-up example: Sam completed the training years ago, then spent three years in a retail job with no construction work. A builder wants to hire Sam. Under sections 316 and 317 the builder must ensure the training is provided again before Sam is directed or allowed to do construction work.
The sections of Part 6.5 that we read do not give a card an expiry date. They use the 2-year rule instead.
What to check when someone shows you a card
Section 320 sets out what a card contains, so look for those items. Other points from the Regulation:
- Cards from other places: under section 318(1), a reference to a general construction induction training card includes an equivalent card issued under a corresponding WHS law, meaning a law of the Commonwealth or another State that corresponds to the Act. Section 318(2) says this does not apply to a card that has been cancelled in the corresponding jurisdiction.
- Older Queensland cards: section 763 treats a person who held a general induction card under the repealed WHS regulation as holding a card issued under Part 6.5.
- Worker’s own duty: section 326 says a worker carrying out construction work must keep the card available for inspection under the Act (or, in the circumstances in section 319(4), the certification until the application is decided). Section 327 prohibits intentionally or recklessly altering a card.
Taking a copy or recording the card number is common practice. The Part 6.5 sections we read do not require the PCBU to keep a record, but one makes it easier to show you met section 317. The free Employee Training Register (Word) is one place to keep it.
Applying for, replacing and losing a card
- Applying: the application goes to the regulator in its approved form, with any evidence of identity the regulator requires, the relevant fee and either a training certification or a written declaration from the person who provided the training for the RTO (section 319). It must be made within 60 days after the certification is issued, or at any time if it comes with the declaration. If the regulator has not decided within 60 days, the applicant is taken to hold a card until it does.
- Replacement: if a card issued by the regulator is lost, stolen or destroyed, the holder may apply for a replacement with a declaration about what happened (section 321).
- Refusal and cancellation: the regulator may refuse to issue or replace a card, or cancel one it issued, if satisfied that false or misleading information was given or required information was left out (sections 322 and 323). Before cancelling, it must give the holder written notice and a reasonable opportunity to make submissions (section 324).
White card, site induction, licence and SWMS are different things
A white card shows that a person has completed the general training. It does not cover everything needed to start safely on your site.
- Site induction: the Act and Regulation do not use this term, but section 19(3)(f) of the Act requires a PCBU to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the provision of any information, training, instruction or supervision necessary to protect all persons from risks arising from the work, and section 39 of the Regulation requires it to be suitable and adequate for the work and the risks, and, so far as is reasonably practicable, readily understandable. For traffic management at construction and maintenance work, the approved Traffic Management for Construction or Maintenance Work Code of Practice 2008 (Qld) sets out general construction safety induction training and says all workers should also be given a site-specific induction before they start construction work. The checklist side is in our new employee induction guide.
- High risk work licence: a licence for a class of high risk work is a separate requirement under section 81 of the Regulation. See the high risk work licence guide.
- Safe work method statement (SWMS): section 299 of the Regulation requires one before high risk construction work starts. See the high risk construction work guide.
What this guide leaves out
We could not verify what a course costs, how long it takes, how to book or who delivers it, so we have left those out. The National Register of RTOs and WHSQ are the places to check. This guide does not recommend any provider.
Templates that help
To keep track of who has been inducted and trained, the free Employee Training Register (Word) and the free Employee Skills Matrix (Word) are starting points to adapt to your own site, and our training matrix guide shows how to use a matrix. The Consultation, Communication & Training Policy Template is a paid starting point on the same topics.
This guide is general information, not legal advice. Check the current law or talk to Workplace Health and Safety Queensland for your situation.
Templates for this job
Ready-to-edit Word and Excel templates for Queensland workplaces.
