The Australian Skills Quality Authority will undertake a strategic review of the entry-level occupational health and safety training required to work on construction sites in Australia, commonly known as the White Card.

Concerns have also been raised about onlineassessment, particularly whether students are assessed on the communication andcomprehension skills required under the training package and whether the RTOsare certain of the identity of the person completing the assessment online.

Some of the states that allow onlinetraining are Queensland and Western Australia. In NSW, the only way to obtain a“White Card” is through face to face training, usually a 6 hour course. Sincethe introduction of the WHS Act 2011 and Regulation 2011, there’s been a trendfor construction workers in NSW to complete the White Card course online andreceive a WA White Card. While this is completely legitimate and accepted byWorkCover NSW, some construction sites will still required workers to have theNSW White Card.

Unfortunately, without a proper consistentnational framework for the delivery of the Construction White Card course thisissue will continue.

We recommend organisations conduct a riskanalysis of this issue and determine if they are willing to accept cards issuedonline. The WHS Act imposed a duty on the PCBU to ensure workers have adequate trainingand information.

AdvanceOHS is accredited to conduct bothonline and face to face training for the Construction White Card. We are ableto provide the ACT, NSW, Qld, Tasmanian, Victorian and WA White. Please do not hesitate to contact us for further information.