In case you’ve been wondering about White Cards, I’ve answered a few common questions below.
What is a Construction Induction Card?
All states and territories of Australia have OHS/WHS legislation requiring people who work on a construction site to have undergone Construction Induction Training against the Unit of Competency CPCCWHS1001 – Prepare to work safely in the construction industry.
Some states allow you to complete this course online. However – most require that the course is completed face-to-face with a Registered Training Organisation (RTO). In Victoria, RTO’s must be approved by WorkSafe.
Upon successful completion of the course, your details will be registered with WorkSafe by the RTO. WorkSafe will then issue your Construction Induction Card via Australia Post.
What is considered to be Construction Work?
Construction work is defined as any work performed in connection with the construction, alteration, conversion, fitting-out, commissioning, renovation, repair, maintenance, refurbishment, demolition, decommissioning or dismantling of a structure.
This definition comes from the Safe Work Australia’s Code of Practice for Construction Work and legislated in the Victorian Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2017, Part 5.1, Regulation 321.
What is a White Card?
In Victoria, the term ‘White Card’ is used by the construction industry as a nickname for the Construction Induction Card. SafeWork NSW has an excellent webpage which displays pictures of each state’s equivalent Construction Induction card or White Card. Here is a sample:
What is a Construction Induction Card (White Card) used for?
Employers in Australia must ensure that any person conducting construction work holds a Construction Induction Card. The penalty for breach of this regulation in Victoria is currently a $16,552 individual fine and/or a $82,610 fine for a company (See Victorian Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2017, Part 5.1, Regulation 341.
How do you get a Construction Induction Card (White Card)?
To obtain a White Card you need to contact an approved RTO and enrol in the unit of competency CPCCWHS1001 – Prepare to work safely in the construction industry. Here’s a link to WAM Training’s Construction Induction Course.
How long is a Construction Induction (White Card) course?
Worksafe Victoria mandates that the Construction Induction course runs for 6 hours (refer to their Construction Induction Training (White Card) information page for confirmation).
How long does it take to receive a Construction Induction Card (White Card)?
From the time the Registered Training Organisation lodges your successful completion with WorkSafe, your card should take 7-14 days to arrive. However, if the RTO only lodges once-a-month or irregularly, this will cause additional delays. WAM Training always ensures that construction induction lodgement occurs within 48 hours of course completion.
Are online courses allowed in Victoria?
In Victoria, WorkSafe requires that construction induction training is conducted face-to-face (though some exceptions apply due to the coronavirus pandemic. Some other states allow online training to occur as ‘the norm’. If a Victorian resident completes an online course designed for another state, WorkSafe may consider that Construction Induction Card (White Card) to have been obtained by fraud.
Does a White Card have an expiry date?
A white card does not have an expiry date. However, Regulation 349 of the Victorian Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2017 states: “If a person who holds a construction induction card has not performed construction work during a consecutive period of 2 years, the construction induction card lapses and is no longer current at the end of that period of 2 years.”
Do Owner Builders need a White Card?
Yes, all Owner Builders must have a Construction Induction Card to build a house.
