Crane codes are tightening as new rules demand real competency with dogging prerequisites machine specific licences and smarter inspections

When it comes to crane safety, a licence card in your wallet doesn’t necessarily mean you’re competent – and that uncomfortable truth sat at the heart of a recent presentation to the NSW Resources Regulator’s 33rd Mechanical Engineering Safety Seminar in Sydney.

Delivering the session were Brandon Hitch, CEO of the Crane Industry Council of Australia (CICA), and Andrew Taylor, National Technical & Training Manager at Bullivants, who together walked delegates through a wave of upcoming changes to crane codes and standards – and what they mean for industries where lifting operations underpin daily work. For mining professionals, their messages carried particular weight.

Beyond the plastic card

Brandon opened with a blunt observation: Australia’s crane licensing system makes it far too easy for people with minimal training to operate equipment that carries enormous risk.

“How many of you have a ticket or a plastic card?” he asked the audience, before pointing out the reality – possession of a licence does not prove capability. “A three-day online course and a piece of plastic doesn’t make you competent.”

The current framework, he explained, is built around crane capacity tiers. A C2 ticket qualifies an operator on a 20-tonne slewing crane, while a CO ticket is an open licence for cranes of any size. But with the average Australian crane weighing in at more than 100 tonnes, operators are being pushed straight to the top tier just to be relevant in the workplace.

The real problem lies in “encompassment.” Under today’s rules, anyone holding a slewing crane licence can legally operate a wide range of machines – including articulated cranes, telehandlers, reach stackers and vehicle-loading cranes – despite having received no training on them.

“That scenario is incorrect,” Brandon said. “It produces poor training outcomes and can lead to unsafe practices. Safe Work Australia has agreed it needs to change.”

Removing encompassment

Reform is already in motion. Safe Work Australia has endorsed the removal of encompassment, meaning licences will in future be specific to the machine type. A two-year rollout is expected, with transitional grandfathering provisions for existing ticket holders.

For mining companies, the shift has clear implications: operators will no longer be able to jump between equipment types under the umbrella of a single licence. Training budgets, competency verification, and workforce planning will all need to adapt.

Dogging becomes prerequisite

Another key change relates to dogging. At present, a person can obtain a crane licence without ever holding a dogging ticket – an anomaly that Brandon sees as a major risk.

“Most incidents with cranes are not caused by the crane itself,” he said. “They happen below the hook – with rigging, lifting gear and human decision-making. Yet under the current legislation you don’t need dogging to operate a crane.”

That loophole is set to close. Ministers have now agreed to make dogging a formal prerequisite for crane licences (bridge and gantry cranes excepted).

For mining operators, the impact is straightforward: every new crane operator will need foundation training in dogging and rigging.

Rethinking licence categories

Brandon also flagged a broader review of the licensing framework. Instead of basing categories purely on crane capacity, the proposal is to shift toward attribute-based licences.

“If it has a telescopic boom with a wheeled carrier, that’s one licence. If it’s a lattice boom on a crawler, that’s another,” he explained. “Capacity alone doesn’t reflect the differences in operation or risk.”

The idea includes re-introducing logbooks and longer training pathways, echoing the more rigorous system that existed before the mid-2000s mining boom. That boom, Brandon argued, created a skill shortage that regulators tried to fill by handing out cards too quickly.

“We’re trying to restore a sense that competency takes time,” he said. “You used to fight for access to a crane – it was a rite of passage. That’s what kept standards high.”

Staying current with standards

Turning the spotlight “below the hook,” Andrew reminded the audience that many operators and supervisors are unaware of recent changes to Australian standards.

“We still hear, almost weekly: ‘We didn’t know the eyebolt standard changed in 2018,’ or ‘We didn’t know about the chain sling changes in 2015,’” he said. “That lack of awareness puts people at risk.”

He outlined three key standards now in draft or update stage:

• AS 1353 (synthetic flat web slings): Originally split into two parts back in 1997, this standard is being merged and modernised with clear diagrams, simplified labelling, and explicit guidance on safe lifting angles and sharp edges.

• AS 2550.2 (manual and powered hoists): A brand-new standard providing long-overdue guidance on the safe use, inspection, and maintenance of chain blocks, lever blocks, and similar hoists. “There’s been a standard since 1997 on how to manufacture them – but nothing about how to use them safely,” Andrew explained.

• AS 2550.3 (bridge and gantry cranes): A fundamental shift in inspection philosophy, replacing the old “10-year major inspection” with a focus on actual utilisation and design working period.

Design life vs service life

The proposed overhaul of AS 2550.3 is particularly relevant for mining operations, where bridge and gantry cranes are often heavily used.

“The term ‘major inspection’ is being removed,” Brandon said. “It’s not about hitting an arbitrary 10-year mark anymore. It’s about how the crane has actually been used.”

A crane worked at high loads for two years might reach end of life quickly, while another used lightly could remain serviceable for 15 years or more. The draft standard encourages annual design-life assessments based on utilisation, supplemented by data logging where available.

“It’s about aligning maintenance to reality, not the calendar,” Brandon stressed.

Practical tools for the field

Andrew closed by highlighting a practical tool already available to industry: the national dogging and rigging guide, launched in 2023.

“It merges the curriculum for dogging and rigging – basic through advanced – into one platform,” he said. “It’s free, accessible on any device, and includes tutorials, calculators, and discard criteria.”

Since release, the guide has been downloaded more than 300,000 times and continues to attract 10,000 hits a month.

“It puts decision-making in the hands of your people on site,” Andrew said. “If someone picks up a sling or shackle, they can quickly check safe angles, discard rules, or even run a load calculation – and add it straight into their SWMS package.”

Why mining professionals should pay attention

For mining companies, the message from Brandon and Andrew was clear: big changes are coming, and complacency is not an option.

• Licensing will tighten. Operators will need machine-specific tickets and dogging as a baseline.

• Training pathways will lengthen. Expect longer lead times to build crane capability in the workforce.

• Inspection regimes will evolve. Maintenance should focus on utilisation, not arbitrary timelines.

• Standards are shifting. Managers must stay abreast of updates to avoid non-compliance or unsafe practices.

• Practical tools exist. Free resources can lift frontline decision-making and improve safety outcomes.

As Brandon put it: “Please engage with this consultation process. We won’t revisit it again for another decade or more, and we need to get it right.”