Plant registration with Workplace Health and Safety Queensland

If you are a person with management or control of an item defined by law as 'registrable plant', you must apply to register it with Workplace Health and Safety Queensland.

A person must not use registrable plant, and a 'person conducting a business or undertaking' (PCBU) must not direct or allow a worker to use registrable plant, at a workplace unless the plant has been registered.

This guide lists the types of plant that must be registered and tells you how to apply for registration.

Plant equipment requiring registration in Queensland

Certain plant equipment in Queensland must be registered with Workplace Health and Safety Queensland (WHSQ) to ensure safety requirements are met.

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

boilers categorised as hazard level A, B or C according to criteria in section 2.1 of AS 4343:2005 (Pressure equipment – Hazard levels)
pressure vessels categorised as hazard level A, B or C according to the criteria in section 2.1 of AS 4343:2005 (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))

tower cranes including self-erecting tower cranes
lifts, including escalators and moving walkways, except lifts installed in a private residence within the meaning of AS 1735.1:2003 (Lifts, escalators and moving walks – General requirements)
building maintenance units
amusement devices covered 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)
concrete placing booms
mobile cranes with a rated capacity of greater than 10t.

Certificate of registration

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

'Safe to operate' statement

All applications for plant registration must include a 'safe to operate' statement which declares that the item of plant has been inspected by a competent person and assessed by that person as being safe to operate.

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.

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

The 'safe to operate' statement is sufficient unless the application is for registration of amusement devices or mobile or tower cranes in which case more detailed inspection requirements apply.

Find out more about plant registration.

Also consider...

Read the Certificate of Registration of a Registrable Plant and Design Registration – Registrable Plant Design on the Australian Business Licence and Information Service (ABLIS).

Apply to register plant or renew registration

There are 2 ways of submitting an application for plant that requires registration:

Electronic lodgement

You can lodge your application form electronically.

You will need to lodge a separate form for each item of plant to be registered.

Paper lodgement

Form 8 - Application for registration of registrable plant (PDF, 190KB) can be completed manually.

Send the original completed form to the Workplace Health and Safety Queensland (WHSQ) address indicated on the form and keep a copy for your own records.

You will need to lodge a separate form for each item of plant to be registered.

Application process

Upon receipt and processing of your application an assessment of fees due will be calculated.
An invoice requesting payment will be sent to you.
Upon receipt and processing of payment, a certificate of registration will be sent to you as the person with management or control of the plant.
Registration is valid until 31 January of the following year.
WHSQ will send out an application form for renewal before expiry of the registration.

Renewal of registration

Plant registration requires yearly renewal. Renewals are due on 31 January each year. WHSQ will send an application form for renewal of registration before this date.

An application for renewal of registration of registrable plant can also be completed electronically online, however payments cannot be made online through this process.

An invoice for the renewal fee will be sent to applicants for applications submitted in hard copy or electronically. Applicants can then choose one of the 4 payment options listed on the renewal notice.