A person must not use registrable plant, and a person conducting business or undertaking (PCBU) must not direct or allow a worker to use registrable plant at a workplace, unless the plant is registered. A person with management of control of an item of plant can apply to Workplace Health and Safety Queensland for its registration.
Section 702, Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 defines:
Owner of high risk plant, means a person who holds legal title to the plant and includes any of the following in relation to the plant -
- a mortgagee in possession of the plant
- a lessee
- a licensee
- a trustee
- a person in control, including as a company administrator, receiver and manager, or liquidator.
What is registrable plant?
Schedule 5 (Part 2) of the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 lists the plant that requires registration.
- Boilers, catagorised as hazard level A, B or C according to the criteria in section 2.1 of AS4343:2005 (Pressure equipment - Hazard levels)
- Pressure vessels categorised as hazard level A, B or C according to the criteria in section 2.1 of AS4343:2005 (Pressure equipment - Hazard levels), except
- Gas cylinders
- LP gas fuel vessels for automotive use
- Serially produced vessels
- Building maintenance units
- Escalators
- Lifts, including escalators and moving walkways, except lifts stated in section 4(2)
- Mobile Cranes with a rated capacity of greater than 10 tonnes
- Tower Cranes including self-erecting tower cranes
- Concrete placement units with delivery booms
- Amusement devices covered by section 2.1 of AS 3533.1 (Amusement Rides and Devices), except class 1 structures stated in section 4(3).
Queensland Work Health and Safety Legislation changes to items of plant requiring registration
Air conditioning units and cooling towers
Under the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (WHS Regulation 2011) there is no longer a requirement for air conditioning and cooling towers to be registered. However, there is a new requirement for pressure vessels within air conditioning units.
Pressure vessels within air conditioning units
Plant registration of pressure vessel components of air conditioning units is required under the WHS regulation 2011 (Schedule 5, Part 2 - Items of plant requiring registration).
Previously, registration of air conditioning units included all the components of the system and consequently additional individual registration of any pressure vessel components was not required.
Schedule 5, Part 2, 3.2 states that:
Pressure vessels categorised as hazard level A, B or C according to the criteria in section 2.1 of AS 4343:2005 (Pressure equipment - Hazard levels), except:
- gas cylinders
- LP Gas fuel vessels for automotive use
- serially produced vessels.
To determine if plant registration of pressure vessels within an air conditioning unit is required, it is recommended that owners seek technical advice from their air conditioner supplier or service agent.
Form 8 i.e. Application for the registration of registrable plant should be completed and submitted to Workplace Health and Safety queensland (WHSQ) for any pressure vessel that meets these criteria and is incorporated as a component of an air conditioning unit.
Inflatable amusement devices
Under the WHS Regulation 2011 inflatable amesement devices (which are not sealed or those that do use a non-return valve) are required to be registered. Please note that the regulator has granted a class exemption from design and item registration and annual inspections for certain inflatable amusement devices - see the resource Exemptions to the Workplace Health and Safety Regulation 2011.
Truck-mounted concrete placing units with booms
The WHS Regulation 2011 has expanded the registration of truck-mounted concrete placing units with booms to include all concrete placement units with delivery booms. If you hold a current registration for a truck-mounted concrete placing unit with boom, this will be automatically changed over to the new title of 'concrete placement unit with delivery boom'. If you receive your renewal notice and the old terminology is still being used, this will be corrected when your registration certificate is printed. There is no need to contact WHSQ to have this changed prior to the renewal of your registration.
Changes to inspection requirements
The PCBU that is in control of an item of registrable plant must now keep a record of all tests, inspections, maintenance, commissioning, decommissioning, dismantling and alterations of plant for the period that the plant is used or until lthe person relinquishes control of the plant. If the plant is relinquished to another party, these records must be given to the person taking control of the plant.
The maintenance, inspection and testing must be carried out:
- in accordance with the manufacturers recommendations, if any; or
- if there are no manufacturer's recommendations, in accordance with the recommendations of a competent person; or
- in relation to inspection, if it is not reasonably practicable to comply with paragraph (a) or (b), annually.
