WorkSafe has issued a warning to assessors, industry and the general public after a Perth High Risk Work Licence (HRWL) assessor had his accreditation cancelled for serious breaches of assessment requirements.
Ronald Myers’ assessor accreditation has been cancelled, so he is now no longer able to conduct assessments for any class of HRWL.
He has also been disqualified from reapplying for accreditation for the next two years due to the seriousness of the breaches, which included non-compliant assessments and providing false and misleading information on assessment documentation.
As a result of the investigation, 73 HRWL holders assessed by Mr Myers have had one or more licence classes cancelled and need to repeat the training and licensing process. Some affected workers have already been reassessed.
WorkSafe Commissioner Sally North today said the outcome should serve as a strong warning to assessors who do not meet the required standards.
“WorkSafe conducts regular compliance activities in the licensing area, and assessors who are not doing the right thing will be identified,” Ms North said.
“It’s really concerning that inadequate assessment such as this can lead to workers being granted licences when they have not demonstrated they can safely do the work.
“Incorrect or inadequate assessments are a serious issue - unsafe work can put lives at risk.
“We work with other agencies – namely the Training Accreditation Council (TAC) in WA and Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) nationally – to ensure that workers receive appropriate training and assessment for high risk work.
“I’d also like to encourage workers and employers to get in touch with WorkSafe if they suspect training or assessment is inadequate.
“Employers also have a duty of care under workplace safety legislation to provide workers with the relevant site-specific and machinery-specific training.
“WorkSafe’s online search function or the ServiceWA app can be used to check if a worker’s HRWL is current.
“Licensing applies to anyone engaged in work defined as “high-risk”, including scaffolding, dogging and rigging work and the operation of cranes, hoists, forklifts, elevating work platforms and certain pressure equipment.
“It’s critical that any worker who holds a HRWL has been properly trained and assessed so they are not a danger to themselves or others.”