What is an Australian OH&S White Card
The Australian White Card is an Occupational Health and Safety requirement for construction sites upheld by Australian law. The White Card must be carried by all construction workers as evidence that they have been trained in OH&S matters designed to reduce risk at work.
The white card, historically known as the Blue Card is a card that, once produced, gives such a construction worker the authorization to work at any construction site in which such a card was issued. Such cards are a common requirement in terms of legislation dealing with Occupational Health and Safety. Therefore it is a criminal offence for any worker working at a construction site to work without it.
Because of inherent hazards of construction work it became a pressing need to make sure such sites were safer than they were before. Therefore it is a course that gives workers the know how to identify, avoid and react to risks at the workplace. Such knowledge is very important as a way to minimize on the number of construction fatalities and injuries.
Essentially the course is 6 hours in length and is not difficult once you have applied and have been accepted. Acceptance is the only real issue at hand since it is never guaranteed. You must complete an Evidence of Identity (EOI) test that is basically a test that makes use of your ID. That is why you will be asked to bring appropriate ID.
On top of the basic EOI test there is the added requirement that you must have an application fee. Such a course is not free as we all think at first, a certain amount of money has to be paid for your application to be processed. Currently, online tests cost around $50, while in person tests can cost a lot more.
So right now you must be wondering what exactly is taught. Basically there are about five different aspects to the 6 hour course. In the first place applicants are taught how to identify, avoid and respond to hazards. Construction sites are places where anything can happen, so vigilance is a very important thing. The course teaches workers to react to disaster situations and reduce the extent of harm, damage and injury.
The tutorials go deeper and cover aspects of Australian law dealing with workers and compensation stemming from workplace hazards. It is not a lot of workers who have this kind of knowledge, so it is always an advantage to know such information dealing with constitutional and legislative rights.
Something else that is taught is workers responsibilities. Workers must know what is expected of them so that they do not go about being negligent. A worker who knows his responsibilities to himself and others is far better than one who does not.
I discovered this great site from Narbil Training that provides White Card training online. The experience was quick, easy and cheap and they also offer 24 hour support.
Tags: Construction Work, E-Learning, education, Health and Safety, online education, online training, safety, training