WorkSafe Redefines the Meaning of a "Competent Person"
When testing ziplines for safety and compliancy, Australian Standards require those tests to be performed by a competent person. Such a person is described as having a minimum qualification of advanced rigger.
In 2024, WorkSafe WA took this a step further and now decrees that the competent person (ie, individual doing the testing) must also be a "qualified" person, aka an engineer.
On the surface this seems to be little more than semantics. But this decision has far reaching consequences.
Unless the rigger also happens to be an engineer (unlikely), both an engineer and an advanced rigger must now be present during inspections. An engineer is simply not going to climb all over your structures to do the work. The result is increased costs for all zipline inspections.
The WorkSafe WA information sheet last updated in November 2024 declares the following,
Annual inspection of amusement devices, ...
In case of any other amusement device or a passenger ropeway, a competent person must be someone who has acquired through training, qualification or experience the knowledge and skills to inspect the plant. They must also be eligible for professional engineer membership of Engineers Australia or be determined by the regulator as a competent person.
The regulator is of course WorkSafe WA.
Of interest is the final sentence, ''or be determined by the regulator as a competent person". Hoping to find relief for our clients we contacted WorkSafe to clarify this. However, it was made very clear there will be no exceptions. Their uncompromising verdict: the competent person must be an engineer. So, the last part of their statement is actually meaningless and redundant.
In Western Australia at least, WorkSafe has delivered the knockout punch. Zipline operators now have no choice but to bear the brunt of this added expense.
WorkSafe Information Sheet
Duties of a competent person: Inspection and maintenance of plant.
Published 21 Nov, 2024.
