What type of plant requires registration?

Schedule 5 (Part 2) of the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (WHS Regulation) requires the following plant to be registered:

pressure vessels—pressure equipment, other than pressure piping, and categorised as hazard level A, B or C according to the criteria in section 2.1 of AS 4343:2014 (pressure equipment—hazard levels), except
- gas cylinders
- LP gas fuel vessels for automotive use
- serially produced vessels
- pressure equipment excluded from the scope of AS/NZS 1200:2000 stated in section 4(1)
concrete placing booms
mobile cranes with a rated capacity of greater than 10 t
tower cranes including self-erecting tower cranes
amusement devices classified by section 2.1 of AS 3533.1:2009 (Amusement Rides and Devices - Design and construction), except devices and structures stated in section 4(3)
lifts and escalators and moving walkways
building maintenance units
boilers categorised as hazard level A, B or C according to criteria in section 2.1 of AS 4343:2005 (Pressure equipment - Hazard levels).

A certificate of registration will be issued for all registered plant (fixed and mobile).

Competent person

Most applications for plant registration will require a 'safe to operate' statement by a competent person. This person will make a declaration that the item of plant has been inspected and assessed as being safe to operate. This applies unless a more detailed inspection is required (see below for details).

A competent person who is qualified to inspect plant for the 'safe to operate' statement must have:

educational or vocational qualifications in an engineering discipline relevant to the plant to be inspected (except for inflatable amusement devices with platform height less than 9m)
knowledge of the technical standards relevant to the plant to be inspected.

Air conditioning units and cooling towers

Air conditioning and cooling towers no longer require registration under the WHS Regulation. However, there is a new requirement for pressure vessels within air conditioning units.

Pressure vessels

You must register pressure vessel components of air conditioning units under the WHS Regulation (Schedule 5, Part 2 – Items of plant requiring registration).

Previously, registration of air conditioning units included all components of the system and individual registration of any pressure vessel components not required.

Schedule 5, Part 2, 3.2 states pressure vessels categorised as hazard level A, B or C according to the criteria in section 2.1 of AS 4343:2014 (Pressure equipment - Hazard levels), except:

gas cylinders
LP Gas fuel vessels for automotive use
serially produced vessels.

To find out if you are required to register pressure vessels within an air conditioning unit, you should seek technical advice from your air conditioner supplier or service agent.

You should apply to register any pressure vessel that meets these criteria, and is incorporated as a component of an air conditioning unit.

Concrete placing booms

The transitional arrangement for registration of design of concrete placing booms (previously concrete placement units with delivery booms) has been extended so that design registration is not required until 1 January 2015.

Mobile cranes and tower cranes

If you manage or control a registered mobile crane or tower crane at a workplace, you must ensure that the maintenance, inspection and, if necessary, testing of the crane is carried out by a competent person. Mobile and tower cranes must be inspected:

at the end of the design life recommended by the manufacturer for the crane
if there are no manufacturer's recommendations, then as per the recommendations of a competent person
if it is not reasonably practicable to comply with the above recommendations, then every 10 years from the date that the crane was first commissioned or first registered, whichever occurred first
major inspection means an examination of all critical components of the crane and a check of the effective and safe operation of the crane. The crane should be stripped down, with paint, grease and corrosion removed, to allow a thorough examination of each critical component.

Amusement devices

The person with management or control must ensure a competent person carry out a detailed inspection of an amusement device at a workplace at least once every 12 months. An inspection must include:

checks of the operational history of the amusement device since the last detailed inspection
checks of the log book for the amusement device
checks that maintenance and inspections have been undertaken under section 240 of the WHS Regulation
checks that any required tests have been carried out, and that appropriate records have been maintained
a detailed inspection of the amusement device to ensure compliance with the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 and the WHS Regulation (including a specific inspection of the critical components of the amusement device).

Note: inflatable amusement devices with a platform height of 3 metres or more need design and item registration and annual inspections as of 15 November 2013 (WHS Regulation)

Inflatable amusement devices

Only inflatable devices that are continuously blown and have a platform height of 3 metres or more need to be registered. This is due to amendments to the WHS Regulation that came into effect 15 November 2013.

To inspect an inflatable device, that is continuously blown, with a platform height less than 9m a competent person must have the knowledge and skills to inspect the plant gained through training, qualification or experience.

Additional requirements for applications

Applications for registration of an amusement device and mobile or tower cranes, where the ten year inspection was completed within one year of registration date, must include declarations from a competent person. A competent person is someone who is qualified to inspect plant for this purpose must either:

have the skills, qualifications, competence and experience to inspect the plant and be registered under a law that provides for the registration of professional engineers (except for inflatable amusement devices with platform height less than 9m when registration under a law that provides for the registration of professional engineers is not required)
be determined by the regulator to be a competent person.

Changes to inspection requirements

The person in control of registrable plant must keep records of all tests, inspections, maintenance, commissioning, decommissioning, dismantling and alterations of plant for the period that the plant is used.

If control of the plant changes 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 either:

in accordance with the manufacturers recommendations (if any)
if there are no manufacturer's recommendations, in accordance with the recommendations of a competent person
in relation to inspection, if it is not reasonably practicable to comply with point (1) or (2), annually.