If you’re someone who wants to become a professional driver and wants to be able to hold heavy vehicle licences for various industrial, factory or public machinery you have additional obligations to those with a typical C Class driver’s licence.
To obtain and retain your licence to use heavy vehicles and other similar dangerous equipment, you have special obligations and responsibilities.
You must meet a variety of conditions depending on the equipment or vehicles you plan to use.
The usual means of obtaining the appropriate licence to drive heavy machinery is to undertake a Heavy Vehicle Competency Based Assessment (HVCBA)
with a Roads and Maritime accredited Registered Training Organisation (RTO).
The assessment will include taking a driving test as well as demonstrating a sound knowledge of heavy vehicle use and responsibilities.
Your test man also includes a complete medical assessment to ensure that you have an adequate level of Fitness to drive heavy vehicles.
In New South Wales, the medical standards are articulated in the Assessing Fitness to Drive, Commercial and Private Vehicle Drivers booklet, published by AUSTROADS which is an approved publication of the Australian Transport Council.
Licence classes
Holders of an MC licence allow the driver to work all types of vehicles with the exception of motorcycles.
Beyond that, licence classes include:
- Road train or B-double (MC) Multi-Combination
- Heavy articulated vehicle (HC) Heavy Combination
- Heavy rigid truck or bus (HR) Heavy Rigid
- Medium rigid truck or bus (MR) Medium Rigid
- Small bus or truck (LR) Light Rigid
In the case of high-risk factory and warehouse vehicles, a licence is also required in New South Wales.
A licence is required, for example, to use a forklift. There are currently two licences available.
These two classes of forklift licence are for forklift trucks that are equipped with an elevating load carriage and fork arms with mast and an order picking vehicle where operator controls move with the lifting media.
If a telehandler is fitted with forks or a bucket, a high-risk work licence is not required. However, the business (or employer or other PCBU) has a duty of care to ensure workers have appropriate training in operating the telehandler.
To be eligible for one of these licences you need to be over 18 years of age You also need to complete the recognised assessment by registered training organisation and someone who is qualified as a workplace trainer and assessor.
You also need to have a proficient understanding of the English language to demonstrate safe performance and management of high-risk vehicles such as forklifts.
You’ll need to find an appropriate forklift licence training organisation to make an application. The application will require 100 points of acceptable identification.
If you’re keen to become a forklift operator, and you meet the minimum requirements and competency levels to be assessed and approved for a forklift licence there are plenty of jobs available. Jobs are often given to experienced drivers, but there are still plenty of opportunities for new forklift operators with the right attitude.
You need to be someone who has some idea of what they want out of a career as a high-risk vehicle driver. You need to be someone who is diligent and perceptive when it comes to safety and vehicle maintenance. That means you can solve problems, you’re proactive when it comes to the health and safety of others and you have a willingness to learn new skills and maintain your own knowledge as technology changes.
You also need to be someone who can work in a team and follow supervision.