Scaffolding licences explained

Putting up scaffolding is licensed work in Australia once a fall could be serious. Here’s what the licence covers and what to check before a crew starts on your job.

When a licence is needed

A High Risk Work Licence in scaffolding is needed to put up, change or take down a scaffold from which a person or object could fall more than 4 metres. The trigger is how far someone or something could fall, not how tall the building is. A low scaffold next to a deep excavation can still need a licence.

The three classes

Each class includes everything in the class below it.

• Basic (SB): modular or prefabricated scaffolds (the common type on houses), small cantilevered materials hoists, ropes and gin wheels, safety nets and static lines, and bracket scaffolds.
• Intermediate (SI): everything in basic, plus tube and coupler scaffolds (including covered ways and gantries), cantilevered and spurred scaffolds, cantilevered crane loading platforms, barrow ramps, perimeter safety screens and mast climbers.
• Advanced (SA): everything in intermediate, plus cantilevered hoists, hung scaffolds and suspended scaffolds.

For most house jobs, a basic class licence covers the work. Bigger commercial jobs often need intermediate or advanced.

Who issues licences

State or territory	Regulator
NSW	SafeWork NSW
Victoria	WorkSafe Victoria
Queensland	WorkSafe Queensland
Western Australia	WorkSafe WA
South Australia	SafeWork SA
Tasmania	WorkSafe Tasmania
ACT	Access Canberra (for WorkSafe ACT)
Northern Territory	NT WorkSafe

Handover and inspection

Under work health and safety regulations (for example section 225 of Queensland’s regulation), a scaffold over 4 metres:

• Can’t be used until the person in control has written confirmation from a competent person that it’s finished.
• Must be inspected by a competent person before use, after anything that could affect it (such as storm damage or repairs), and at least every 30 days.
• Must be kept off-limits, with danger tags or signs, while it’s incomplete or unattended.

SafeWork NSW’s handover certificate follows the same 30-day pattern. Victoria works under its own Occupational Health and Safety Regulations, so ask your scaffolder how inspections are handled there.

What to ask your scaffolder

• Which licence class their crew holds, and to see the card.
• For a handover certificate when the scaffold is finished.
• Who inspects the scaffold while it’s up, and how often.
• For a current certificate of public liability insurance.