EWP Licences in NSW: What You Need Before You Operate

Licensing is the question we are asked most often, and it is the one where a wrong answer costs the most. The rule itself is narrow: it turns on the length of the boom, not on how high the machine goes. Everything else on this page is about the layer of training, familiarisation and site approval that sits on top of it, which is where most hires actually get held up.

This guide is written for the person organising the hire: a site supervisor, a facility manager, a builder or a business owner sending staff up. It covers NSW. It is general information and it is not legal advice. Where a claim comes from a regulator, the source is listed at the foot of the page.

Do I need a licence to operate a scissor lift in NSW?

No. A scissor lift raises the platform vertically, so it is not a boom-type elevating work platform and no high risk work licence applies. That is the legal position, and it is where a lot of people stop reading.

It is not the whole answer. The operator still has to be trained and familiar with the specific machine, and the person in control of the workplace still has to be satisfied of that before the machine is used. On most commercial and construction sites the evidence they will ask for is an EWPA Yellow Card covering the scissor lift class. Turning up without one usually means not working that day, whatever the regulation says.

Do I need a licence to operate a boom lift in NSW?

Only if the boom is 11 metres or more. Safe Work Australia states that a high risk work licence is required to operate a boom-type EWP where the length of the boom is 11 metres or more, and SafeWork NSW applies the same threshold. The licence is the WP class, applied for through Service NSW after assessment by a SafeWork NSW accredited assessor.

Below 11 metres, no high risk work licence is required. Training is, and the Yellow Card boom class is the accepted industry evidence of it.

Our own boom, the LGMG AR11J articulating knuckle boom, sits above the threshold. We have confirmed that it requires a WP class high risk work licence and we say so on the machine page and again when we quote it. If your operator does not hold one, tell us early and we will look at whether the job can be done from a scissor lift or a vertical mast lift instead.

How is the 11 metre threshold measured?

By the length of the boom, which is a machine specification recorded by the manufacturer. It is not the working height, it is not the platform height and it is not how far off the ground you end up.

This is the single most misread number in the industry. A machine can advertise a working height well over 11 metres and still fall under the threshold, and the reverse can also be true. Do not calculate it from a brochure figure. Read it off the compliance plate or the manufacturer specification sheet, and if it is not clear, ask us and we will read it off the machine.

What is a Yellow Card, and is it a government licence?

The Yellow Card is an industry training program run by the Elevating Work Platform Association of Australia. It certifies that an operator has been trained on a class of platform: boom lift, scissor lift or vertical lift. It is not a government licence and it does not replace a high risk work licence where one is required.

It matters anyway, because it is the document principal contractors actually ask to see. For every machine we hire out under 11 metres, the Yellow Card is the practical answer to “can your operator use this”.

Which licence or training applies to my job?

Work through the pathway in the diagram above. Boom-type platform with a boom of 11 metres or more means a WP class high risk work licence, with no exceptions and no workarounds. Anything else means training, familiarisation on the specific machine and authorisation from whoever controls the site.

If you are not sure which category your job falls into, describe the work when you enquire. We will tell you which of our machines suit it and what each one requires. What we will not do is tell you that you are compliant: only you and the person in control of the workplace can determine that.

What does an employer have to do beyond checking the licence?

A licence is one control among several. The duty is to provide a safe system of work, and SafeWork NSW sets out what that looks like around an EWP: choose the right machine for the task and use it only as designed, do not exceed the rated capacity, provide information, instruction and training, train workers in emergency procedures so an occupant can be rescued, complete a pre-start inspection and verify the logbook, confirm the ground conditions will keep the machine stable including on any incline, and do not operate outside the wind rating shown on the compliance plate.

Construction work using an EWP is likely to be high risk construction work, which means a safe work method statement before the work starts.

Do I need a harness in a scissor lift or a boom lift?

In a boom-type platform, yes. A harness with a short restraint lanyard clipped to the manufacturer anchor point is standard practice in a boom, because a boom platform can be thrown. Every boom we hire out goes with that expectation.

In a scissor lift, generally no. The guardrail is the fall protection. Some sites and some risk assessments require a harness anyway, and if yours does, follow it. Anchor only to a manufacturer anchor point and never to the guardrail unless the manual says the rail is rated for it.

What is a pre-start inspection and who does it?

A documented check of the machine before it is used each day: controls, emergency stop, emergency lowering, guardrails and gate, tyres or tracks, battery or fuel, warning devices, and any visible damage or leaks. The operator does it, and the result goes in the machine logbook.

Every machine leaves our yard checked and serviced by the Workshop Team against the manufacturer maintenance schedule, and the logbook travels with it. That does not replace the daily pre-start on site. If a pre-start turns up a fault, stop, tag the machine and call us.

What are the wind limits, and where do I find them?

On the compliance plate and in the operator manual for that specific machine. They are not a general figure you can carry from one model to the next.

Our AR11J knuckle boom is rated to a maximum wind speed of 12.5 metres per second, which is roughly 45 kilometres per hour. Slab electric scissor lifts are indoor machines and their outdoor ratings, where they have one, are lower again: the LGMG S1212E-2 is rated to 14 metres working height indoors and 9.5 metres outdoors precisely because wind exposure governs the outdoor figure. Treat a gusty forecast as a scheduling problem, not a judgement call at height.

Do I need a safe work method statement?

If the work is construction work, almost certainly. Safe Work Australia treats construction work using an EWP as likely to be high risk construction work, which requires a SWMS prepared before the work starts and reviewed with the people doing it.

A SWMS for EWP work usually needs to cover the ground and set-up position, exclusion zones below the platform, overhead services and powerlines, wind and weather limits, the rescue plan if someone is stranded at height, and traffic or pedestrian separation. We can supply the machine specification and operator manual you will need to write it accurately.

Does my interstate licence work in NSW?

High risk work licences are issued under a national framework and are generally recognised across states and territories, but the administration is state based and the detail changes. Check the current position with SafeWork NSW or Service NSW before the job rather than on the morning of it.

Yellow Card training is national and issued by the EWPA, so it travels.

What can Equip Hire tell you, and what can it not?

We can tell you what a machine is, what it is rated to do, what its manufacturer documentation says, whether it falls above or below the 11 metre boom threshold, and what our own records show. We hand over the machine with its logbook and give a familiarisation on delivery.

We cannot certify that your operator is competent, that your site is safe, or that your job is compliant. Those are determinations for you and for the person in control of the workplace, and no hire company can make them on your behalf. When a page on this site tells you to verify something with SafeWork NSW, that is the reason.

Next step

Tell us the work and the height, and we will tell you which machines suit it and which of them need a licensed operator. Use the Help Me Choose tool, line the options up on the comparison page, or send us the job. If you are still working out the numbers, start with site measurements before you hire.

Machines this guide refers to

Availability changes. The licence requirement is confirmed against the machine documentation before every hire.

Scissor Lifts

40ft Electric Scissor Lift Hire – LGMG S1212E-2

Working height

14 m

Platform height

12 m

Width

1.19 m

Power

Electric

Terrain

Indoor // hard standing

Why it may suit: 40ft LGMG electric scissor lift, up to 14m working height and 320kg capacity — the tall electric machine for racking-height indoor work.

Worth checking: Larger, heavier machine — confirm floor loading. Solid tyres, hard standing only.

Matched on verified fields: Working height, Platform height, Width, Power, Terrain. Site access, ground conditions and dates still need checking against your job.

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Narrow Scissor Lifts

Athena 850BL Tracked Scissor Lift

Working height

7.9 m

Platform height

5.9 m

Power

Electric

Terrain

Tracked / self-levelling

Why it may suit: 19ft tracked self-levelling scissor lift, 7.9m working height, 250kg, bi-levelling crawler undercarriage for slopes and rough ground.

Worth checking: Tracked repositioning is slower than wheeled. Confirm surface rating.

Matched on verified fields: Working height, Platform height, Power, Terrain. Site access, ground conditions and dates still need checking against your job.

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Scissor Lifts

Athena 870 BL EVO Tracked Scissor Lift

Working height

7.9 m

Platform height

5.9 m

Power

Bi-energy (mains electric or diesel)

Terrain

Tracked / self-levelling

Why it may suit: 19ft tracked bi-levelling scissor lift with 7.9 m working height and 250 kg on a full 1.50 by 1.20 m basket. Diesel drive for…

Worth checking: Tracked repositioning is slower than wheeled. Electric running is tethered and needs a 15 amp supply on a lead, because there is no on-board battery: if a 15 amp outlet is not within reach of the work area the machine runs on the Kubota diesel instead, so confirm the power before an indoor or enclosed job. Confirm the surface rating before tracking over finished ground.

Matched on verified fields: Working height, Platform height, Power, Terrain. Site access, ground conditions and dates still need checking against your job.

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Suitability is subject to site access, ground conditions and availability. We confirm the machine against your job before hire.

We deliver from Berkshire Park across Western Sydney, Sydney and the rest of NSW.