Insurables — Australian business risk, sourced and dated

Crane operators: insurance and scheme requirements

Operation and hire of mobile and tower cranes, usually with an operator supplied.

Data as at

Required by law or licence

  • Licence liability condition: No insurance condition attaches to the licence. SafeWork NSW's published eligibility and application requirements for high-risk work licences do not require public liability, professional indemnity or workers compensation insurance from the applicant. Note what this licence is: a high-risk work licence is issued to an INDIVIDUAL WORKER to perform the work, not to a business to trade. Insurance duties in New South Wales attach to the business — the person conducting a business or undertaking — rather than to the worker holding the ticket, which is why the licence itself carries no insurance condition. A verified negative established from the absence of any insurance requirement in the licensing requirements, not from an express statement that none applies. NSW · effective 2012-01-01 SafeWork NSW · 2026-08-24
  • Licence evidence required: No insurance evidence is required for the licence itself, because no insurance condition attaches to it. Evidence obligations in practice come from elsewhere — the business's own workers compensation duty, and whatever the principal contractor or site access conditions require before the worker sets foot on site. NSW · effective 2012-01-01 SafeWork NSW · 2026-08-24
  • Licensing body: SafeWork NSW, under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW) and the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2017 (NSW). The relevant credential is a high-risk work licence covering crane and hoist operation, across twelve crane classes plus reach stacker and concrete-placing boom classes. Note what this licence is: a high-risk work licence is issued to an INDIVIDUAL WORKER to perform the work, not to a business to trade. Insurance duties in New South Wales attach to the business — the person conducting a business or undertaking — rather than to the worker holding the ticket, which is why the licence itself carries no insurance condition. NSW · effective 2012-01-01 SafeWork NSW · 2026-08-24
  • Licence liability condition: No insurance condition, in any jurisdiction. A high-risk work licence is a WORKER qualification, not a business licence: it certifies that a person is competent to perform the work. Insurance duties in Australian WHS law attach to the person conducting a business or undertaking, so there is nothing on the ticket for a condition to attach to. Published licensing requirements deal with competency and administration, and do not mention insurance at all. VIC · effective 2004-07-01 Safe Work Australia · 2026-08-24
  • Licence evidence required: None for the licence. What a scaffolder, rigger or crane operator is actually asked to produce comes from the business they work for, the principal contractor, or the site access conditions — commercial requirements, not licensing ones. VIC · effective 2004-07-01 Safe Work Australia · 2026-08-24
  • Licensing body: The state or territory work health and safety regulator, through a high-risk work licence covering crane and hoist operation across the crane classes, plus reach stacker and concrete-placing boom. THE STRUCTURAL POINT, because it governs everything else: work health and safety law is harmonised across most of Australia under the model WHS laws, but not all of it. The Commonwealth, ACT, NSW, NT and Queensland implemented the model laws on 1 January 2012; South Australia and Tasmania on 1 January 2013; Western Australia passed its version on 10 November 2020 and it became operational on 31 March 2022. VICTORIA IS THE ONLY JURISDICTION THAT HAS NOT IMPLEMENTED THEM, and continues under its own Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 — on the reasoning that its existing laws were already close to the model. The practical consequence for this trade is good news: the licence CLASSES are the same across jurisdictions, so a ticket earned in one state is recognised in the others. VIC · effective 2004-07-01 Safe Work Australia · 2026-08-24
  • Licence liability condition: No insurance condition, in any jurisdiction. A high-risk work licence is a WORKER qualification, not a business licence: it certifies that a person is competent to perform the work. Insurance duties in Australian WHS law attach to the person conducting a business or undertaking, so there is nothing on the ticket for a condition to attach to. Published licensing requirements deal with competency and administration, and do not mention insurance at all. QLD · effective 2012-01-01 Safe Work Australia · 2026-08-24
  • Licence evidence required: None for the licence. What a scaffolder, rigger or crane operator is actually asked to produce comes from the business they work for, the principal contractor, or the site access conditions — commercial requirements, not licensing ones. QLD · effective 2012-01-01 Safe Work Australia · 2026-08-24
  • Licensing body: The state or territory work health and safety regulator, through a high-risk work licence covering crane and hoist operation across the crane classes, plus reach stacker and concrete-placing boom. THE STRUCTURAL POINT, because it governs everything else: work health and safety law is harmonised across most of Australia under the model WHS laws, but not all of it. The Commonwealth, ACT, NSW, NT and Queensland implemented the model laws on 1 January 2012; South Australia and Tasmania on 1 January 2013; Western Australia passed its version on 10 November 2020 and it became operational on 31 March 2022. VICTORIA IS THE ONLY JURISDICTION THAT HAS NOT IMPLEMENTED THEM, and continues under its own Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 — on the reasoning that its existing laws were already close to the model. The practical consequence for this trade is good news: the licence CLASSES are the same across jurisdictions, so a ticket earned in one state is recognised in the others. QLD · effective 2012-01-01 Safe Work Australia · 2026-08-24
  • Licence liability condition: No insurance condition, in any jurisdiction. A high-risk work licence is a WORKER qualification, not a business licence: it certifies that a person is competent to perform the work. Insurance duties in Australian WHS law attach to the person conducting a business or undertaking, so there is nothing on the ticket for a condition to attach to. Published licensing requirements deal with competency and administration, and do not mention insurance at all. WA · effective 2022-03-31 Safe Work Australia · 2026-08-24
  • Licence evidence required: None for the licence. What a scaffolder, rigger or crane operator is actually asked to produce comes from the business they work for, the principal contractor, or the site access conditions — commercial requirements, not licensing ones. WA · effective 2022-03-31 Safe Work Australia · 2026-08-24
  • Licensing body: The state or territory work health and safety regulator, through a high-risk work licence covering crane and hoist operation across the crane classes, plus reach stacker and concrete-placing boom. THE STRUCTURAL POINT, because it governs everything else: work health and safety law is harmonised across most of Australia under the model WHS laws, but not all of it. The Commonwealth, ACT, NSW, NT and Queensland implemented the model laws on 1 January 2012; South Australia and Tasmania on 1 January 2013; Western Australia passed its version on 10 November 2020 and it became operational on 31 March 2022. VICTORIA IS THE ONLY JURISDICTION THAT HAS NOT IMPLEMENTED THEM, and continues under its own Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 — on the reasoning that its existing laws were already close to the model. The practical consequence for this trade is good news: the licence CLASSES are the same across jurisdictions, so a ticket earned in one state is recognised in the others. WA · effective 2022-03-31 Safe Work Australia · 2026-08-24
  • Licence liability condition: No insurance condition, in any jurisdiction. A high-risk work licence is a WORKER qualification, not a business licence: it certifies that a person is competent to perform the work. Insurance duties in Australian WHS law attach to the person conducting a business or undertaking, so there is nothing on the ticket for a condition to attach to. Published licensing requirements deal with competency and administration, and do not mention insurance at all. SA · effective 2013-01-01 Safe Work Australia · 2026-08-24
  • Licence evidence required: None for the licence. What a scaffolder, rigger or crane operator is actually asked to produce comes from the business they work for, the principal contractor, or the site access conditions — commercial requirements, not licensing ones. SA · effective 2013-01-01 Safe Work Australia · 2026-08-24
  • Licensing body: The state or territory work health and safety regulator, through a high-risk work licence covering crane and hoist operation across the crane classes, plus reach stacker and concrete-placing boom. THE STRUCTURAL POINT, because it governs everything else: work health and safety law is harmonised across most of Australia under the model WHS laws, but not all of it. The Commonwealth, ACT, NSW, NT and Queensland implemented the model laws on 1 January 2012; South Australia and Tasmania on 1 January 2013; Western Australia passed its version on 10 November 2020 and it became operational on 31 March 2022. VICTORIA IS THE ONLY JURISDICTION THAT HAS NOT IMPLEMENTED THEM, and continues under its own Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 — on the reasoning that its existing laws were already close to the model. The practical consequence for this trade is good news: the licence CLASSES are the same across jurisdictions, so a ticket earned in one state is recognised in the others. SA · effective 2013-01-01 Safe Work Australia · 2026-08-24
  • Licence liability condition: No insurance condition, in any jurisdiction. A high-risk work licence is a WORKER qualification, not a business licence: it certifies that a person is competent to perform the work. Insurance duties in Australian WHS law attach to the person conducting a business or undertaking, so there is nothing on the ticket for a condition to attach to. Published licensing requirements deal with competency and administration, and do not mention insurance at all. TAS · effective 2013-01-01 Safe Work Australia · 2026-08-24
  • Licence evidence required: None for the licence. What a scaffolder, rigger or crane operator is actually asked to produce comes from the business they work for, the principal contractor, or the site access conditions — commercial requirements, not licensing ones. TAS · effective 2013-01-01 Safe Work Australia · 2026-08-24
  • Licensing body: The state or territory work health and safety regulator, through a high-risk work licence covering crane and hoist operation across the crane classes, plus reach stacker and concrete-placing boom. THE STRUCTURAL POINT, because it governs everything else: work health and safety law is harmonised across most of Australia under the model WHS laws, but not all of it. The Commonwealth, ACT, NSW, NT and Queensland implemented the model laws on 1 January 2012; South Australia and Tasmania on 1 January 2013; Western Australia passed its version on 10 November 2020 and it became operational on 31 March 2022. VICTORIA IS THE ONLY JURISDICTION THAT HAS NOT IMPLEMENTED THEM, and continues under its own Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 — on the reasoning that its existing laws were already close to the model. The practical consequence for this trade is good news: the licence CLASSES are the same across jurisdictions, so a ticket earned in one state is recognised in the others. TAS · effective 2013-01-01 Safe Work Australia · 2026-08-24
  • Licence liability condition: No insurance condition, in any jurisdiction. A high-risk work licence is a WORKER qualification, not a business licence: it certifies that a person is competent to perform the work. Insurance duties in Australian WHS law attach to the person conducting a business or undertaking, so there is nothing on the ticket for a condition to attach to. Published licensing requirements deal with competency and administration, and do not mention insurance at all. ACT · effective 2012-01-01 Safe Work Australia · 2026-08-24
  • Licence evidence required: None for the licence. What a scaffolder, rigger or crane operator is actually asked to produce comes from the business they work for, the principal contractor, or the site access conditions — commercial requirements, not licensing ones. ACT · effective 2012-01-01 Safe Work Australia · 2026-08-24
  • Licensing body: The state or territory work health and safety regulator, through a high-risk work licence covering crane and hoist operation across the crane classes, plus reach stacker and concrete-placing boom. THE STRUCTURAL POINT, because it governs everything else: work health and safety law is harmonised across most of Australia under the model WHS laws, but not all of it. The Commonwealth, ACT, NSW, NT and Queensland implemented the model laws on 1 January 2012; South Australia and Tasmania on 1 January 2013; Western Australia passed its version on 10 November 2020 and it became operational on 31 March 2022. VICTORIA IS THE ONLY JURISDICTION THAT HAS NOT IMPLEMENTED THEM, and continues under its own Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 — on the reasoning that its existing laws were already close to the model. The practical consequence for this trade is good news: the licence CLASSES are the same across jurisdictions, so a ticket earned in one state is recognised in the others. ACT · effective 2012-01-01 Safe Work Australia · 2026-08-24
  • Licence liability condition: No insurance condition, in any jurisdiction. A high-risk work licence is a WORKER qualification, not a business licence: it certifies that a person is competent to perform the work. Insurance duties in Australian WHS law attach to the person conducting a business or undertaking, so there is nothing on the ticket for a condition to attach to. Published licensing requirements deal with competency and administration, and do not mention insurance at all. NT · effective 2012-01-01 Safe Work Australia · 2026-08-24
  • Licence evidence required: None for the licence. What a scaffolder, rigger or crane operator is actually asked to produce comes from the business they work for, the principal contractor, or the site access conditions — commercial requirements, not licensing ones. NT · effective 2012-01-01 Safe Work Australia · 2026-08-24
  • Licensing body: The state or territory work health and safety regulator, through a high-risk work licence covering crane and hoist operation across the crane classes, plus reach stacker and concrete-placing boom. THE STRUCTURAL POINT, because it governs everything else: work health and safety law is harmonised across most of Australia under the model WHS laws, but not all of it. The Commonwealth, ACT, NSW, NT and Queensland implemented the model laws on 1 January 2012; South Australia and Tasmania on 1 January 2013; Western Australia passed its version on 10 November 2020 and it became operational on 31 March 2022. VICTORIA IS THE ONLY JURISDICTION THAT HAS NOT IMPLEMENTED THEM, and continues under its own Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 — on the reasoning that its existing laws were already close to the model. The practical consequence for this trade is good news: the licence CLASSES are the same across jurisdictions, so a ticket earned in one state is recognised in the others. NT · effective 2012-01-01 Safe Work Australia · 2026-08-24

Cover commonly held

Ordered by how central each cover is to this occupation. This is what businesses in the trade commonly hold and what contracts commonly ask for — it is not a statement that any of it is legally required, and it is not a recommendation.

  • Public liability insurance — Cover for legal liability to third parties for personal injury or property damage arising from business activities.
  • Workers compensation insurance — Statutory cover for injury to workers, arranged through each state or territory scheme rather than on the open market.
  • Plant and equipment insurance — Cover for mobile plant, machinery and equipment against damage and theft, on site and in transit.
  • Tools of trade insurance — Cover for hand and power tools against theft and damage, commonly the most-claimed class for trades.
  • Commercial motor insurance — Cover for vehicles used for business, including utilities, vans and trucks, and liability for damage they cause.
  • Business pack insurance — A packaged policy combining property, liability and interruption sections for small business.
  • Statutory liability insurance — Cover for defence costs and, where insurable, fines arising from alleged breaches of legislation.
  • Personal accident and sickness insurance — Cover paying a benefit when an owner or contractor cannot work through injury or illness, where no workers compensation applies.

Statutory schemes that can apply

Checking what you hold

The document a principal, a landlord or a licensing team will ask for is a certificate of currency. The checker reads one and lists what it does and does not show.

Sources