WorkSafe Tasmania

WorkSafe Tasmania

Safe and well every day

Plant item registration

Certain items of plant must be registered with WorkSafe Tasmania to ensure they are inspected by a competent person and are safe to operate.

It is an offence to use plant that is not registered if it is required.

Registration is valid for five years.

Plant that must be registered

  • Amusement devices covered by Section 2.1 of AS 3533—Amusement rides and devices, except:
    • class 1 devices
    • playground devices
    • water slides where water facilitates patrons to slide easily, predominantly under gravity, along a static structure
    • wave generators where patrons do not come into contact with the parts of machinery used for generating water waves
    • inflatable devices other than inflatable devices (continuously blown) with a platform height of 3 meters or more
  • Boilers categorised as hazard level A, B or C according to criteria in Section 2.1 of AS 4343 Pressure equipment— hazard levels
  • Pressure vessels categorised as hazard level A, B or C according to the criteria in Section 2.1 of AS 4343 Pressure equipment—Hazard levels; except gas cylinders, LP Gas fuel vessels for automotive use, and serially produced vessels
  • Building maintenance units
  • Concrete placing booms
  • Lifts, escalators and moving walkways
  • Mobile cranes with a rate capacity of greater than 10 tonnes
  • Tower cranes including self-erecting tower cranes.

What does not need to be item registered

Apart from the amusement devices exceptions listed above:

  • Any crane or hoist that is manually powered
  • a reachstacker

Types of registration

Registration is required for:

  • new items of plant
  • renewals of an existing registration
  • variations to existing registrations.

When buying plant

Check if the plant needs to be registered (see above).

If it does, ask the previous owners if they had it registered; if they did, get the plant registration number and registration document, as you will need to keep this information.  The registration number should be marked on the plant.

You must notify WorkSafe using the form Notice of Relocation or Change of Information of Registered Item of Plant.

There is no fee charged for changing ownership details.

Matters you must notify WorkSafe of

You the registration holder must give WorkSafe written notice within 14 days if, during the registration period:

  • there have been changes to your name or address
  • there have been changes to the information you provided when applying for registration
  • the plant has been altered to such an extent that it will be subject to new risk control measures
  • the plant that is usually fixed in place is relocated
  • the plant has been disposed of or removed from service
  • you no longer have management or control of the plant.

You can use the form Notice of Relocation or Change of Information of Registered Item of Plant.

Who must apply for registration

A person with management or control of plant must apply to register it with WorkSafe Tasmania.

‘A person with management or control of plant at a workplace’ means a person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU) to the extent that the business or undertaking involves the management or control of the plant.

This is different to the former Workplace Health and Safety Regulations (pre-2013), which stated it was the responsibility of the plant owner to register plant.

A person must not use registerable plant, and a PCBU must not direct or allow a worker to use registerable plant, at a workplace unless the plant has been registered.

How to apply

A separate form is required for each item of plant.

You need to submit at a Service Tasmania outlet:

  • a completed Application for Registration of Plant form
  • a statement that the plant has been inspected by a competent person and it is safe to operate
  • a copy of the design registration document
  • the relevant fee.

Renewing your registration

WorkSafe will post you a renewal notification before the registration of your plant expires.

If the item of plant is still in service, you need to lodge the renewal application at a Service Tasmania outlet, along with a statement from the person with management and control of the plant that they have had the plant inspected by a competent person, and it is safe to operate.

Interstate registration You do not need to register plant with WorkSafe if it has already been registered by another state or territory under a corresponding work health and safety law.

How WorkSafe grants registration

WorkSafe will register the item of plant if it is satisfied that:

  • your application has been made in accordance with the requirements of the work health and safety laws
  • the plant is not already registered with another state or territory under a corresponding work health and safety law
  • the plant is located in Tasmania; if it’s located outside Tasmania, that circumstances exist to justify granting the registration
  • you are a person (individual or organisation) that falls within WorkSafe’s jurisdiction; if not, that circumstances exist to justify granting the registration
  • you can ensure compliance with any conditions applied to the registration.

Requesting additional information

WorkSafe may request additional information if your application does not contain enough to make a decision whether or not to grant the registration. WorkSafe must:

  • give you at least 28 days to provide the additional information after making its request
  • confirm its request in writing. This confirmation must include the date the additional information is required by.

If you fail to provide the additional information by the specified date, WorkSafe will consider your application withdrawn.

Granting conditional registration

WorkSafe may impose conditions on a registration, covering matters such as the use and maintenance of the plant and record keeping.

A decision to impose conditions is called a ‘reviewable decision’.

Requirements of registration

Maintenance

The person with management or control of plant at a workplace must ensure that the maintenance, inspection and if necessary, testing of the plant is carried out by a competent person.

The maintenance, inspection and testing must be carried out:

  • in accordance with the manufacturer’s recommendations, if any, or
  • if there are no manufacturer’s recommendations, then in accordance with the recommendations of a competent person, or
  • if neither of the above are reasonably practicable to be complied with, the inspection is to be conducted annually.

Plant registration number

WorkSafe Tasmania must issue a plant registration number within 14 days after the item has been registered.

You (as the registration holder) must give the plant registration number to the person with management or control of the item of plant as soon as practicable.

The registration number needs to be clearly marked on the item of plant.

Registration document

The registration document must be made available for inspection. This does not apply if WorkSafe has asked you to return it for amendment.

Replacement registration document

You may apply to WorkSafe in writing for a replacement registration document if it is lost, stolen or destroyed.

You must do this as soon as reasonably practicable.

You must include a declaration describing the circumstances in which the original was lost, stolen or destroyed.

A decision to refuse to issue a replacement registration document is a ‘reviewable decision’.

Cancelling a registration

If an item of plant has been removed from service, disposed of or the registration of the item is no longer required, you must notify WorkSafe using the Notice of Relocation or Change of Information of Registered Item of Plant form.

There is no fee charged for cancelling a registration.

Records of plant

Records of plant must be:

  • kept of all tests, inspections, maintenance, commissioning, decommissioning, dismantling and alterations of plant
  • kept for the period that the plant is used or until you relinquish control
  • made available for inspection on request by either somebody who purchases the item or WorkSafe.

If WorkSafe refuses registration

WorkSafe Tasmania may refuse a plant item registration if you have:

  • provided false or misleading information within the application
  • not provided all the required information.

WorkSafe will send you the reasons for the refusal in writing, and advise that you may provide a submission by a specified date.

If you make a submission before the specified date, WorkSafe Tasmania must consider the submission.

Whether or not you made a submission, WorkSafe must decide whether to grant or refuse to grant the registration and notify you within 14 days including the reasons.

A decision to refuse a registration is a ‘reviewable decision’.

Resources

Application for Registration of Plant form (PDF, 2.8 MB)

Notice of Relocation or Change of Information of Registered Item of Plant form (PDF, 862.4 KB)

Last updated: 4 February 2020
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