Additional requirements for working in rail depend on the nature of the work you are carrying out, as well as the rail operator. 

Some jobs require licences and units of competency, where as for others a more formal assessment must be undertaken.

Rail Safety Law (Section 117) states "A rail transport operator must ensure that each rail safety worker who is to carry out rail safety work in relation to railway operations in respect of which the operator is required to be accredited has the competence to carry out that work".

This means that rail operations need some way of proving that the individuals working on their network have the appropriate skills and knowledge to carry out the work safely.

Generally, rail operators achieve this by only accepting workers who hold specific qualifications.  Each job has a different set of requirements, which can be quite confusing.  However, many of the rail operators have put together 'matrices' which outline the qualifications and skills required for each job.

In some cases, a formal assessment by an approved external assessor is required by the operator. These include roles such as :

• Signalling Roles
• Project Management Roles
• Engineering Roles.

Competency Australia can perform these assessments.  To find out more, click here or Contact Us

Some roles require individuals to hold units of competence - these are training courses delivered by Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) to national standards.  Some roles may require multiple units. 

For example, to operate a Hi-Rail on track for ARTC, you must hold the following units of competence :

• TLIB1028A Maintain and use hand tools
• TLID1001A Shift materials safely using manual handling methods
• TLIE1003A Participate in basic workplace communication
• TLIF1001A Follow occupational health and safety procedures
• TLIF2010A Apply fatigue management strategies
• TLIF2062A Apply awareness of safeworking rules and regulations
• TLIF2080B Safely access the rail corridor
• CPCCOHS1001A Work safely in the construction industry
• TLIU2008A Apply environmental procedures to rail Infrastructure
• TLIC2059A Propel and operate light on-track equipment
• Current State Drivers licence
• TLIC2054A Access rail track to run track vehicle within defined worksite
• TLIC3045A Operate road/rail vehicle

If you are unsure as to the requirements for your job, there are a number of places you can go for help.  If you Contact Us we will do our best to assist, however as the rail operator requirements are regularly changing, it is best to contact them directly.  There are many rail operators in Australia, we have listed some of the major ones below.

You can contact the rail operator or view their websites :