Pressure equipment operation - licence requirements
This information bulletin outlines the licensing requirements to operate pressure equipment in the Northern Territory. Pressure equipment covers boilers, turbines and reciprocating steam engines. The use of pressure equipment is considered high risk work (HRW) and requires the operator to hold an appropriate licence issued by NT WorkSafe.
The licensing of workers aims to ensure that they have the skills and knowledge to perform high risk work in a safe manner so to reduce the health and safety risk to themselves and other persons in the workplace.
Classes of high risk work licences for pressure equipment
Standard boiler operation
This class covers the operation of a boiler with a single fuel source that does not have a preheater, superheater or economiser attached.
Advanced boiler operation
This class covers the operation of a boiler, including a standard boiler, which may have one or more of the following:
- multiple fuel sources
- pre-heater
- superheater
- economiser.
Turbine operation
This class covers the operation of a turbine that has an output of 500 kW or more and:
- is multi-wheeled, or
- is capable of a speed greater than 3600 rpm, or
- has attached condensers, or
- has a multi-staged heat exchange extraction process.
Reciprocating steam engine operation
This class covers the operation of a reciprocating steam engine where the diameter of any piston exceeds 250 mm.
Boiler licence classifications
Changes to boiler licence classifications
The Work Health and Safety (National Uniform Legislation) Regulations 2011 (the WHS Regulations) reduces the number of boiler licences classes from three to two. The licence classes previously known as Basic Boiler and Intermediate Boiler have now merged into the Standard Boiler Operation licence class, whilst Advanced Boiler Operation licence class remains the same.
The following table shows the type of work associated with the basic boiler and intermediate boiler under the previous Workplace Health and Safety Regulations compared to the new definitions under the WHS Regulations.
| Workplace Health and Safety Regulations | WHS (NUL) Regulations 2011 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Type of licence | Type of work | Type of licence | Type of work |
| Basic Boiler Operation | Operation of a boiler with a single fixed combustion air supply, a non-modulating single heat source and fixed firing rate (other than an unattended boiler). | Standard Boiler Operation | Operation of a boiler with a single fuel source that does not have a preheater, superheater or economizer attached. Note: other than an unattended boiler certified in compliance with AS2593:2004 - Boilers - Safety management and supervision systems. |
| Intermediate Boiler Operation | Operation of a boiler with any or all of a modulating combustion air supply, superheater and economizers. Note: other than an unattended boiler. | Standard Boiler Operation | Operation of a boiler with a single fuel source that does not have a preheater, superheater or economizer attached. Note: other than an unattended boiler certified in compliance with AS2593:2004 - Boilers - Safety management and supervision systems. |
| Advance Boiler Operation | Operation of a boiler with any of the same features as Intermediate Boiler Operation and with multiple fuel type which may be fired simultaneously during normal operation. Note: other than an unattended boiler. | Advanced Boiler Operation | Operation of a boiler, including a standard boiler, which may have one or more of the following:
Note: other than an unattended boiler certified in compliance with AS2593:2004 - Boilers - Safety management and supervision systems. |
Workers who are unsure of which class of licence they require will need to consult with an assessor of these classes, to determine the licence they require. NT WorkSafe is unable to make this determination.
Licensing exception
A licence is not required for persons who carry out high risk work with a Heritage Boiler as described in Regulation 82 (5).
The definition of heritage boiler means a boiler that was manufactured before 1952 and is used for a historical purpose or activity, including an activity that is ancillary to a historical activity.
Examples for definition heritage boiler:
- Historical activity: a historical display, parade, demonstration or re-enactment
- Activity ancillary to a historical activity: restoring, maintaining, modifying, servicing, repairing or housing a boiler used, or to be used, for a historical activity.
New units of competency for boiler licence classes
In order to obtain a boiler licence a worker must first undertake training in the unit of competency attributed to the particular licence in Schedule 4 of the WHS Regulations. These units of competency are delivered by a Registered Training Organisation (RTO).
The Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) is the responsible party for training requirements for RTOs. Training is not regulated by NT WorkSafe. The following units of competency (units) were released and available to RTOs through the training.gov.au website in December 2015:
- MSMBLIC001 Licence to operate standard boiler
- MSMBLIC002 Licence to operate advanced boiler
A licence holder looking to upgrade from a boiler intermediate licence to a boiler advance (BA) licence may be able to have prior learning recognised to reduce the amount of training required when upgrading to a BA licence. For more detail on recognition of prior learning policies, you should contact a registered training organisation as their policies can differ.
Additional Information
The following information on high risk work licensing is available on the NT WorkSafe website.