Chainsaw and Tree Work Ground Crew Awareness

Accreditation: This is a non-accredited awareness course only. It is not a nationally recognised qualification, not an RTO Statement of Attainment and not a licence. It deliberately does not teach you to operate a chainsaw, fell, cut, limb or climb and completing it does not make you competent or authorised to do any of those things. It sits beside, and does not replace, the training and competence those tasks require. Operating a chainsaw or working on trees requires you to be trained and competent, which your PCBU must ensure before you touch a saw; that is commonly achieved through nationally recognised units delivered by a Registered Training Organisation. This course gives you neither the training nor the competence, and completing it does not authorise you to cut, fell, limb or climb. Work near live electric lines calls for its own qualification, the SafeWork NSW Tree works Code of practice names UET20321 Certificate II in ESI - Powerline Vegetation Control or an equivalent, as an example of current competency in tree and vegetation management near live electric lines (the Code renders the title as 'Powerlines'; the national register lists it as 'Powerline'). Who may work closest to the line is set by your state: in NSW, work inside the no-go zone must only be performed by persons authorised by the electricity supply authority, while in Victoria the gate is a 'qualified person' holding a current Energy Safe Victoria-approved certificate in tree clearing. High risk work licences (for example dogging or crane operation) apply where the work calls for them. If your role requires you to cut, climb, operate plant or work near powerlines, this course does not qualify you, speak to your employer or an RTO. Your PCBU's safe work procedures, the site risk assessment and the directions of the competent person running the job always decide what you may and may not do.