High Risk Work Licence: How Employers Check and Track It

A high risk work licence (HRWL) is the national licence a worker needs to operate a forklift, crane, hoist, boom lift over 11 metres, pressure equipment, or to do scaffolding, rigging or dogging work. As the employer, you must see written evidence of the right licence class before you let anyone do that work, and the safest way to check it is against the issuing state's online register.

This guide covers the licence classes, your duty to sight and verify, how to check a licence in NSW, Victoria, Queensland, WA and SA, expiry and renewal, and how to keep it all current without a spreadsheet. Details are as at October 2026.

This is general information, not legal advice. Check the rules with the regulator in your state.

What is a high risk work licence?

A high risk work licence is issued by the work health and safety regulator in each state and territory to a person who has completed accredited training and passed an assessment with a licensed assessor. It's personal to the worker, not the business, and it lists one or more licence classes.

Licences are issued to a national standard, so a licence from one state is recognised in the others. A worker with a Queensland licence can do the same class of work in NSW or WA without a new licence.

High risk work licence classes

Safe Work Australia lists the licence classes that apply nationally. The ones you'll see most often on a building site, in a warehouse or in a labour hire pool:

Category	Licence classes (code)	Typical roles
Forklifts	Forklift truck (LF), order-picking forklift truck (LO)	Warehouse, logistics, yards, construction
Elevating work platforms	Boom-type EWP, boom length 11 m or more (WP)	Construction, maintenance, electrical, signage
Scaffolding	Basic (SB), intermediate (SI), advanced (SA)	Scaffolders, construction
Dogging and rigging	Dogging (DG), basic (RB), intermediate (RI) and advanced (RA) rigging	Crane crews, steel erection, civil
Cranes	Tower (CT), self-erecting tower (CS), derrick (CD), portal boom (CP), bridge and gantry (CB), vehicle loading (CV), non-slewing mobile (CN), slewing mobile (C2, C6, C1, C0)	Crane operators, civil, mining
Hoists	Materials hoist (HM), personnel and materials hoist (HP)	High-rise construction
Concrete placing boom	Concrete placing boom (PB)	Concreting
Reach stackers	Reach stacker (RS)	Ports, container yards
Pressure equipment	Boilers, turbines and reciprocating steam engines (several classes)	Manufacturing, food processing, energy

Two traps catch employers often. A boom lift that can reach 11 metres needs a WP licence even if the job only uses half the boom. And scissor lifts and smaller boom lifts don't need an HRWL, but you still need to show the operator is trained and competent.

Your duty: sight the licence before the work starts

Under the model WHS Regulations (regulation 85, used in NSW, Queensland, SA, WA and the other harmonised states), a business must not direct or allow a worker to carry out high risk work unless it sees written evidence that the worker holds the relevant licence. Section 43 of the WHS Act makes it an offence to let someone do licensed work without the licence. Victoria has its own OHS Regulations with the same practical effect: WorkSafe Victoria requires a licence before anyone does high risk work.

"Sighting" a card is the minimum. Regulators now say plainly that it isn't enough on its own. WorkSafe WA has warned employers about falsified high risk work licences, and WorkSafe Queensland issued a high risk work licence fraud alert in February 2026. Their advice is the same: check the physical or digital licence and the issuing regulator's register.

A good check covers five things:

1. Identity. The name and photo match the person in front of you.
2. Class. The licence covers the exact work, such as LF for a counterbalance forklift, not just "a forklift ticket".
3. Status. The register shows it as current, not expired, suspended or cancelled.
4. Expiry. Note the expiry date so you can follow up before it lapses.
5. Issuing state. Search the register of the state that issued the licence, not the state you're working in.

How to check a high risk work licence in each state

State	Where to check	What you need	Notes
NSW	Verify NSW (high risk work)	Name or licence number	Shows class, status, start date, expiry and any suspension. SafeWork NSW: 13 10 50
Victoria	Validate a WorkSafe licence (myWorkSafe)	Licence number	Shows validity and the holder's registered name. Licensing: 1300 852 562
Queensland	High Risk Work Online Register (WorkSafe Queensland)	Licence number or name	Confirms status and classes. Or call 1300 362 128
WA	Find an assessor or licence holder (WorkSafe WA)	Licence number, or name and date of birth	Shows status, expiry and conditions. Or call 1300 307 877
SA	Licence holder registers (SafeWork SA)	Licence number or name	High risk work licence check tool

If the register doesn't return the licence, don't let the work start. Ask the worker for their licence number and issuing state, try again, then call the regulator. A genuine licence holder can usually sort out a mismatch (a name change, an old card) in a day.

How long does a high risk work licence last?

A high risk work licence is generally issued for five years. The expiry date is printed on the card and shown on the register. As at October 2026:

• Queensland: licences must be renewed every five years. WorkSafe Queensland sends a renewal notice 4–6 weeks before expiry, and you can lodge a renewal up to 12 months after expiry, but the licence isn't valid from the expiry date until it's renewed.
• NSW: renewals are done through Service NSW, and a licence can be renewed online up to 12 months after the expiry date.
• Other states: the same five-year cycle applies, with renewal through the state regulator's portal.

In practice, that means the gap between "expired" and "renewed" is your risk. A forklift driver whose LF licence expired last Tuesday is unlicensed today, even if they've driven forklifts for 20 years and have a renewal in progress. Reminders that go out 90 and 30 days before expiry give the worker time to renew before it bites.

High risk work licences in Queensland

Queensland is one of the most searched states for this topic, so a few specifics. WorkSafe Queensland (part of the Office of Industrial Relations) issues the licence after an assessment with an accredited assessor. Renewals need the licence number, the renewal notice number and a Queensland Digital Identity or TMR customer reference number. Employers can confirm a Queensland licence and its classes on the High Risk Work Online Register or by calling 1300 362 128.

If you hire through labour hire in Queensland, check the licence yourself even when the agency says it has. You have your own duty as the business directing the work. Our guide to the labour hire licence covers the agency side.

What records to keep

You don't need a copy of every card in a filing cabinet, but you do need to be able to show what you checked. For each worker and licence class, keep:

• the licence number, class and issuing state
• the expiry date
• the date you checked it, who checked it, and how (register search, phone)
• a photo of the card, stored securely, if your process calls for one

Keep it somewhere you can find in a minute when a principal contractor, auditor or inspector asks. A spreadsheet works for five people. At 50 it's out of date the day someone renews. Licence checks also belong in your wider new employee onboarding checklist, alongside the White Card check for anyone going onto a construction site.

How Canyou handles this

Canyou is employee onboarding software built for licence-heavy businesses. Licence and certification management is part of it:

• Set the requirement once. Create a "High risk work licence (LF)" or "WP" certification and assign it to a position, such as Forklift operator or Scaffolder. Everyone in that position is asked for it. You can also assign it to one employee.
• The worker uploads it. They scan a QR code or open a link, snap a photo of the licence and enter the number and expiry date on their phone. No password or app.
• You verify and approve. Your admin checks the licence on the state register, then approves it in Canyou, or rejects it with a reason so the worker re-uploads. The record stays against the worker, so you have an audit trail.
• Canyou tracks the expiry. Set reminders at 90, 30 and 7 days (or any interval you choose). The worker gets a link to upload the renewal and your admins are notified too.
• See who's cleared to work. A dashboard shows who holds a current licence for their role, and who's due soon.

Canyou doesn't query the state registers for you; the register check stays with your admin, and Canyou keeps the result, the card and the expiry date in one place. For construction and labour hire teams, the same process covers White Cards, site inductions and work rights checks.

Want to see it with your own roles? Book a demo, or use Try for free below. No credit card required.