Do You Need a Licence to Operate an Excavator in South Australia?

Short answer: no, there is no excavator licence in Australia

You do not need a High Risk Work Licence to operate an excavator in South Australia. No such licence class exists. SafeWork SA lists the excavator (Class LE) as loadshifting equipment, and states that loadshifting classes are not classes of high risk work.

That surprises a lot of operators, because everyone on site talks about having their “excavator ticket”. The ticket is real. It just is not a government licence. It is evidence that you have been trained and assessed as competent, and your employer is legally required to have that evidence before they let you near the machine.

Here is what that actually means for you, whether you are chasing your first plant job or you are the one signing off on a crew.

What people mean when they say “excavator ticket”

An excavator ticket is proof of competency, not a licence issued by a regulator.

Years ago, South Australia ran a Certificate of Competency system for loadshifting plant, and an accredited assessor issued a Notice of Satisfactory Assessment. SafeWork SA has since confirmed that a Notice of Satisfactory Assessment is no longer a legislative requirement in this state for loadshifting classes.

What replaced it is simpler and, for some employers, harder. The law no longer tells you which piece of paper to hold. It tells you that the operator must be competent, and it puts the burden on the business to prove it.

What SafeWork SA actually accepts as evidence

SafeWork SA sets out several forms of evidence an operator can use to demonstrate competency on loadshifting equipment. Any one or more of the following:

• a previous Notice of Satisfactory Assessment issued by or on behalf of a regulator such as SafeWork SA
• a Statement of Attainment or other nationally accredited qualification for the plant being operated
• a Certificate of Competency for the plant issued by a Registered Training Organisation (RTO)
• an industry competency card, or evidence of training completed at a RTO to a standard equal to NOHSC:7019
• confirmed evidence of on the job training from an experienced and competent operator, with records verified by that operator
• confirmed evidence of previous experience by a current or previous employer and/or a Verification of Competency (VoC) by an RTO.

There is one more requirement that gets overlooked, and it is the one that trips up experienced operators. SafeWork SA also expects you to demonstrate that your competency is appropriate for the complexity of the work and the conditions of the worksite. A ticket from eleven years ago on a five tonne machine does not automatically cover you on a thirty tonne excavator in a trench next to live services.

Licence or competency? The quick reference

If you want the full picture on which classes sit inside the licensing system, we have broken it down in our guide to High Risk Work Licence categories.

What this means if you employ excavator operators

The duty sits with the business, not the worker.

A person conducting a business or undertaking is responsible for making sure operators have received adequate information and training and are properly supervised, so risks to health and safety are minimised. SafeWork SA is explicit that the amount of training and supervision has to account for the complexity of the task, the operator’s current skills, and other workers on site.

There is also an ongoing element. Competency is not a one time tick. You are expected to maintain it, particularly when new models of plant arrive on site or when new workers start.

In practice, that is why most SA businesses run Verifications of Competency on their plant operators. It gives you a dated record, assessed by a third party, that shows you did the checking rather than assuming.

Getting assessed in Adelaide

Forklift Quality Training delivers excavator training and assessment as an onsite service, either in metropolitan Adelaide, regional South Australia, or interstate.

Operators who complete the course receive a Verification of Competency certificate and an FQT competency card. Entry requirements are straightforward: you must be 16 or over with photo identification, have year 10 level language, literacy and numeracy, and turn up in enclosed shoes with hi-vis. Safety boots are preferred.

Because excavator training is delivered onsite, minimum student numbers apply and extra charges may apply depending on location. The upside is that your crew gets assessed on the machine they actually operate, in the conditions they actually work in, which is exactly what SafeWork SA is asking you to evidence.

Excavator training can also be bundled with our other earthmoving courses at a discounted rate, which is worth knowing if your operators run more than one machine. Have a look at skid steer, front end loader and telehandler while you are at it.

CITB subsidies for SA construction workers

Forklift Quality Training is an approved CITB provider, and excavator duty of care training is one of the courses listed under our provider profile.

Eligible workers in the South Australian construction industry can access CITB subsidies toward short course training, up to $3,000 per financial year. You will need to supply a valid CITB number at enrolment. Full detail is on our CITB subsidies page.

Frequently asked questions

Is an excavator ticket the same as a licence? No. A High Risk Work Licence is issued by SafeWork SA for specific classes of plant, and excavators are not one of them. An excavator ticket is evidence of training and assessment, held by you and relied on by your employer.

Does an excavator ticket expire? There is no legislated expiry the way there is with a five year High Risk Work Licence. In practice, most employers and principal contractors want competency reverified periodically, commonly every two to three years, and always when you move onto a significantly different machine or a higher risk site. Check your site requirements.

Can I operate an excavator with no training at all? Legally, only under training and supervision by a competent individual. The WHS duty to provide information, training, instruction and supervision applies regardless of whether a licence class exists. No licence requirement is not the same as no requirement.

Do I need a white card as well? If you are working on a construction site in South Australia, yes, general construction induction is separate and still applies.

Is my excavator ticket recognised in other states? Nationally accredited training and statements of attainment are recognised across Australia, but each state regulator manages loadshifting plant its own way, and individual sites and principal contractors set their own verification requirements on top of that. If you are heading interstate or onto a mine site, confirm what that site accepts before you travel.

Can I get assessed if I already have years of experience? Yes. Experienced operators are exactly who a Verification of Competency is designed for. It confirms what you can already do and gives you a current, dated record to hand your employer.

Get your operators verified

Forklift Quality Training has been assessing plant operators in South Australia for over 35 years. We are a Registered Training Organisation, RTO 45625, based at Wingfield, and we deliver earthmoving training and assessment onsite across SA, the Northern Territory and interstate.

Call 08 8244 4958 or email admin@fqt.net.au to talk through what your team needs.