Why is notification of plant design required?

Some items of plant, due to their hazardous nature, require specific management to minimise any danger to the operator or other parties. It is important to ensure that these items of plant are designed and manufactured according to accepted design standards.

An employer’s responsibilities regarding the registration, notification or alteration of plant design are set out in Regulations 4.49, 4.50, 4.51 and 4.54 of the Occupational Health and Safety (Safety Standards) Regulations 1994 (the Regulations). Part 4 – Plant of the Regulations applies to the design of plant after the commencement of the Regulations on 1 July 1996.

A copy of the Regulations is available at www.comlaw.gov.au

If the plant item was manufactured after 1 July 1996 and proof can be provided that it was designed prior to this date, then design registration details do not need to be provided.

If plant was manufactured after 1 July 1996 and the item of plant has an existing design registration number issued by an Australian State or Territory occupational health and safety authority, an application for design notification must be submitted to Comcare. The relevant State or Territory authority may be able to assist in confirming if the plant design has been registered with them.

If the plant was manufactured after 1 July 1996 and there is no evidence of design registration with any Australian State or Territory occupational health and safety authority, please contact the Plant Contact Officer on 1300 366 979 or ohs.plant@comcare.gov.au for further assistance.

What about hired plant?

Under Regulation 4.49 design registration details are not required for an item of plant if:

• the item is mentioned in Part 2 of Schedule 6; and
• the item is hired by the employer for less than 12 months; and
• the employer obtains from the supplier of the item evidence that the design for that type of plant is registered under a law of the State or Territory in which the supplier operates.

What plant requires notification?

Plant requiring notification of design includes:

• Pressure equipment, other than pressure piping, that have a hazard level of A, B, C, or D determined in accordance with AS 4343-1999 ‘Pressure equipment – Hazard levels’ and specifically covered by AS/NZS 1200:2000 ‘Pressure equipment’
• Gas cylinders covered by AS2030, AS2030.1-1999, AS2030.2-1996 and AS2030.4-1985
• Tower cranes*
• Building maintenance units
• Hoists, with a platform movement in excess of 2.4 metres, designed to lift people*
• Work boxes suspended from cranes
• Amusement structures covered by AS3533.1-1997 ‘Amusement rides and devices – Part 1: Design and construction’, other than class 1 structures
• Prefabricated scaffolding
• Boom-type elevating work platforms
• Gantry cranes*:

•  with a safe working load greater than five tonnes; or
•  designed to handle molten metal or dangerous goods**

• Bridge cranes*:

•  with a safe working load of greater than 10 tonnes; or
•  designed to handle molten metal or dangerous goods**

• Vehicle hoists*
• Mast climbing work platforms*
• Mobile cranes with a safe working load greater than 10 tonnes*

Note* For the purposes of licensing, cranes and hoists in Schedule 6 exclude those that are manually powered, elevating work platforms or tow trucks.

Note** Dangerous Goods means dangerous goods as defined in the Australian Dangerous Goods Code.

Part 2 of Schedule 6 of the Regulations lists items of plant which cannot be operated without a licence. For these items of plant the design details may be notified by completing section 4 of the new licence to operate plant form and there is no requirement to submit a separate notification of plant design form.

How do I apply for notification of plant design?

An application for notification of plant design must be completed by applicants seeking to notify Comcare of a plant design registered with an Australian State or Territory occupational health or safety authority.

Completed forms can be:

• faxed to (02) 6274 8866; or
• posted to the

How do I complete the application form?

The following provides additional information to assist applicants to complete the application form for notification of plant design.

Section 1: Organisation and applicant details

• Enter organisation and applicant details.
• “Principal Officer” is defined in section 5 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 1991. For example, this would be the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) in a Commonwealth authority, or in the case of a Department, this would be the Secretary.
• The term applicant refers to the person who signs the declaration at Section 6. All letters from Comcare will be sent to the applicant.

Section 2: Type of plant

• Tick one box only to identify the type of plant to be notified and indicate the hazard level as A, B, C or D.

For further information please refer to:

• Part 1 of Schedule 6 of the Regulations for items of plant requiring registration or notification of design.
• Part 2 of Schedule 6 of the Regulations for items of plant requiring a licence.
• The definitions section of the Regulations for assistance in determining the type of plant design to be notified.
• The Unfired Pressure Vessel Assessor for assistance in identifying the appropriate hazard level of plant items.
• Schedule 5 of the Regulations for Australian Standards for items of plant.

Section 3: Plant item identification

• Enter the name of the manufacturer of the plant item.
• Enter the date of manufacture.
• Enter the model number for the item of plant.
• Enter the serial number for the item of plant.
• Enter any owner identification (such as organisation bar code or unique plant number) for the item of plant.
• Applications for the notification of plant design must contain both the plant design registration number and the name of the issuing Australian State or Territory occupational health and safety authority, for example Victoria Workcover or the Workcover Authority of New South Wales.
• Enter yes or no to indicate if the item of plant’s design has be altered since registration (such as modifications carried out to the item of plant that vary from the original registered design).
• If the plant design has been altered since registration, please contact the Plant Contact Officer on: 1300 366 979 or email: ohs.plant@comcare.gov.au for further assistance.

Section 4: Applicant’s statement

• Complete, sign and date the declaration.
• The person who signs the declaration has the responsibility for managing the plant item and is delegated with that responsibility by the Principal Officer / Chief Executive Officer.