White Card
CPCCWHS1001 - prepare to work safely in the construction industry
The Unit of Competency CPCCWHS1001 - prepare to work safely in the construction industry, is an accredited Unit of Competency for the construction sector in Australia. As an induction training Unit, there are no pre-requisite in order to undertake the training.
The Unit is often referred to as the White Card course, or formerly the Blue Card, as it is a requirement to have the card issued.
The Unit aims to equip workers with the knowledge required to work safely in the construction industry by teaching about health and safety legislative requirements. Further, participants must demonstrate the ability to verbally report construction hazards, identify and follow procedures in case of incidents and emergencies, understand basic control measures and must be able to correctly fit and wear Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) commonly used on construction sites.
Currently, the training package requires the following 4 pieces of PPE to be used:
- Hearing protection
- Eye protection
- Hard hat
- Retro-reflective vests
Further to this general induction training, workers are expected to be trained during site-specific induction prior to entering construction sites and commence work.
White Card history
The current Unit replaces CPCCOHS1001A - Work safely in the construction industry as of December 8, 2016.
The change was driven by industry stakeholder concerns about the quality and extensiveness of the training of the superseded Unit. The new Unit now adds two key requirements to the training package:
- Learners must be observed by a qualified assessor during the assessment
- Assessors must hold the Unit of Competency CPCCOHS2001A Apply OHS requirements, policies and procedures in the construction industry or superseding Unit of Competency
The review has been driven by a collaboration of the following stakeholders:
- Australian Skills Quality Authority
- Artibus (Skills Service Organisation for the White Card)
- Vocational Education and Training stakeholders
The change has been rumoured to discourage online White Card training, which was only permitted in Tasmania (limited to Tasmanian residents), Western Australia and Queensland. White Card courses online are often self-paced through fully automated systems, with no trainer and assessor delivering training and assessing the learner, which is the safety concern that sparked the review process.
While the White Card course was never allowed online in States such as New South Wales and Victoria, workers simply completed the online course in Queensland as a workaround to obtain a nationally recognised Queensland White Card, which can be used in any States.
In 2019, WorkSafe Queensland aligned itself with most other States by changing the delivery criteria to face to face. A few months later, WorkSafe WA adopted the Tasmanian model and now limits the online delivery to WA residents only.
In addition to QLD, the online White Card loophole for residents of NSW, VIS, SA, ACT and NT has now been closed, and residents of those States must now complete the general safety induction training face to face.