| Machine | Legal requirement (VIC) | What sites usually expect |
|---|---|---|
| Scissor lifts (all sizes) | No HRWL | EWPA Yellow Card |
| Vertical / mast lifts | No HRWL | EWPA Yellow Card |
| Athena bi-levelling scissor | No HRWL | EWPA Yellow Card |
| 26ft mast boom (under 11m) | No HRWL | EWPA Yellow Card |
| Boom lifts 11m+ (34–80ft) | WP high-risk work licence | WP licence + harness |
| 35ft trailer cherry picker (11m+ boom) | WP high-risk work licence | WP licence + harness |
The EWPA Yellow Card is the access industry’s nationally recognised training program for EWPs under 11m — it covers safe operation of scissor lifts, vertical lifts and small booms. It’s not a legal licence, but most commercial builders and many warehouses won’t let you operate without it. Training takes a full day through an EWPA-registered trainer.
The WP class licence is issued by WorkSafe Victoria and is a legal requirement for operating any boom-type EWP where the boom can extend 11 metres or more. You get it by completing training and assessment with a Registered Training Organisation (RTO). It’s valid Australia-wide and renewable every five years. Note: the 11m rule is about boom length, not platform height — and it only applies to boom-type machines, never scissors.
Harness: mandatory in boom lift baskets (with a lanyard attached to the anchor point). Not required on scissor lifts under normal use in Victoria — though some sites mandate it anyway. Site rules beat the legal minimum: if the builder says Yellow Card or harness, that’s the rule on that site. Under 18s can’t hold an HRWL.
Legally, yes — there’s no licence requirement for scissor lifts in Victoria. You must still be trained/competent and operate it safely (that’s a general OHS duty), and commercial sites will usually ask for a Yellow Card. Every machine is function-checked before it leaves our site, and we’re on the phone if you need help with the controls.
Yes. A 34ft boom is over 11m of boom length, so a WP high-risk work licence is legally required. That applies to every diesel boom in our fleet.
Yes — the 12ft/19ft scissors on our hire trailer and the 35ft trailer cherry picker tow behind a standard vehicle with a suitable braked towbar on a normal car licence. Operating the cherry picker at height still needs the WP licence.
Yellow Card: any EWPA-accredited trainer (one day). WP licence: an RTO running the licence course, followed by WorkSafe assessment. Ask us — we can point you to trainers near Bayswater.
Tell us the machine and the site — we’ll give you a straight answer, free.
Call 1300 806 577