Summary
Supervisors must ensure that every person under their supervision has the training, skills, and knowledge to perform their work safely. Deploying an untrained worker on a task is a breach of your duty of care.
What This Means on Shift
Before deploying a worker on any task, you must confirm they have the required training and competency for that task. This includes site inductions, task-specific training, and any regulatory competency requirements. If in doubt, do not deploy the worker until training is confirmed.
- Confirm training and competency before deploying workers on tasks
- Check that site inductions are current
- Verify task-specific training records if required
- Do not deploy workers on tasks they are not trained for
- Training records must be accessible and up to date
Where to Find It
Training requirements are embedded in the general duty under section 9 of the Mines Safety and Inspection Act 1994. Regulation 3.6 of the Mines Safety and Inspection Regulations 1995 covers competency requirements for specific roles.
- Mines Safety and Inspection Act 1994 – s.9 (general duty includes training)
- Mines Safety and Inspection Regulations 1995 – r.3.6 (competency requirements)
- Your site's training and competency management system
Key Points
Training is not just a tick-box exercise. The obligation is that workers must be competent — meaning they can actually perform the task safely, not just that they have attended a course.
- Competency means ability to perform the task safely — not just attendance at training
- Supervisors must verify competency, not just check a box
- Refresher training may be required after long absences or incidents
- New workers must complete induction before starting work
- Training records must be maintained and accessible