WorkSafe Victoria has issued a safety alert urging employers to verify workers’ qualifications and ensure they have the skills and competency needed to perform their duties safely, following reports of allegedly fraudulent certificates.
The alert follows intelligence shared with WorkSafe after a police operation uncovered allegations that individuals had sought to obtain fake qualification certificates to demonstrate competencies they may not possess.
WorkSafe warned that relying on fraudulent qualifications could expose workers and others to serious risks, particularly where certificates are used to demonstrate skills in safety-critical activities such as providing first aid, implementing traffic management plans, working safely at heights or managing safety systems.
Employers are being reminded that holding a certificate does not, by itself, establish that a worker can perform a task safely.
WorkSafe recommends that employers take steps to verify qualifications where their authenticity is in doubt. This includes checking whether a certificate was issued by an approved Registered Training Organisation (RTO) through the National Training Register at training.gov.au or contacting the relevant RTO directly to confirm its validity.
Employers should also assess whether workers have the practical knowledge, skills and experience required for their roles, and maintain systems to monitor and review competency, particularly for high-risk work, supervisory and safety management roles.
Where concerns arise about a high-risk work licence, employers can use WorkSafe’s online licence validation service.
Nationally recognised qualifications are generally delivered by RTOs and are commonly used to demonstrate competency, although they are not a legal requirement for most Victorian workplace activities. They are distinct from high-risk work licences, which WorkSafe issues for certain prescribed activities.
WorkSafe said there is currently no evidence linking the alleged fraud to the WorkSafe high-risk licensing system. However, high-risk work licence holders identified in connection with the alleged fraud will be audited. WorkSafe has also recently begun the roll out of updated high risk licence cards with new security controls – see our recent article.
This alert reinforces employers’ duties under Victoria’s OHS Act to provide and maintain, so far as is reasonably practicable, a working environment that is safe and without risks to health. These obligations include providing appropriate information, instruction, training (including qualifications and licences) and supervision, and ensuring workers are equipped to perform their work safely.
Employees also have a duty under s.25 of the Act to take reasonable care for their own health and safety and that of others who may be affected by their actions or omissions.
WorkSafe Chief Health and Safety Officer Sam Jenkin said the regulator was investigating potential safety breaches and would take compliance or enforcement action where people knowingly used fraudulent qualifications in ways that put others at risk.
Employers should report suspected qualification fraud to the relevant authorities and address any identified competency gaps promptly to prevent workers being assigned tasks they are not equipped to perform safely.
Read more: Verifying employee qualifications | WorkSafe Victoria