NSW Government logo NSW Government SafeWork NSW logo SafeWork NSW
  • About
  • News
  • Contact
  • Roadmap
  • Safety
    starts here
  • Your
    industry
  • Advice &
    resources
  • Legal
    obligations
  • Notify
    SafeWork
  • Compliance &
    prosecutions
  • Licences &
    registrations
  • Home
  • Hazards A-Z
  • Mobile cranes
Share
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • linkedin
  • email
Print PDF

Mobile cranes

Mobile cranes are an indispensable part of modern civil, residential and commercial construction, however, while flexible, reliable and robust, they carry significant hazards and risks during operation.

A mobile crane

Common risks include:

  • crane tip/roll-overs
  • people being struck by the load or falling objects from the load
  • people being struck/crushed by a crane part
  • crane contact with objects such as buildings, scaffolds and powerlines.

Safety campaign 2022

From July 2022, SafeWork NSW Inspectors will visit sites to conduct compliance checks on mobile crane operations and talk with principal contractors, site supervisors, operators and doggers.

The Inspectors will focus on high risk work crane and dogging licences to ensure crane operators hold the appropriate licence class for the size of cranes they are operating.

The Inspectors will also focus on planning, consultation and hazard identification, falling objects, site conditions and equipment maintenance.

Download new mobile crane safety checklist (PDF, 166.04 KB)

 

Legal obligations

Crane owners, principal contractors, operators, doggers, maintenance workers and others with management or control of the mobile crane such as site supervisors, all have obligations under the work health and safety legislation.

Licensing

  • High risk work crane classes licence requirements
  • Do you have a new high risk work class operator?
    • poster (PDF, 36.57 KB)
    • DL flyer (PDF, 26.85 KB)

Guidance material

SafeWork NSW

  • Plant, machinery and equipment
  • Roles and responsibilities when hiring or using a mobile crane
  • Safety Alert – Mobile plant operating near overhead power lines
  • Safety Alert – Using mobile cranes in 'pick and carry' operations
  • Safety Checklist – Mobile crane safety for PCBUs (PDF, 166.04 KB)

Safe Work Australia

  • Guide to mobile cranes
  • Guide to operating cranes mobile plant overhead electric lines
  • Information Sheet – Crane lifted work boxes

Australian Standards

  • AS 2550.1-2011: Cranes, hoists and winches — Safe use Part 1: General requirements
  • AS 2550.5-2002: Cranes, hoists and winches — Safe use Part 5: Mobile cranes.
Back to top
  • Safety starts here
    • Safety overview
      • First aid in the workplace
      • Emergency plans
      • If you get injured at work poster
      • Mandatory injury register
      • When an incident occurs
      • Health and safety training in the workplace
      • Workers compensation insurance
      • Return to work program
    • Safety support
      • Your rights and responsibilities for health and safety
      • Training & orienting workers
      • Getting workers to contribute to health and safety
      • Managing risk in the workplace
      • Workplace inspections
      • Investigating and reporting incidents
      • Supervisors
    • Building a health & safety culture
      • Building a high performing health &safety culture
      • Active health & safety management
      • Planning for health & safety
      • Leadership & commitment
    • Consultation@work
      • Your duty to consult
      • Consultation case studies and videos
      • Workgroups
      • Safety committees
      • Health and safety representatives
      • Safety complaints
      • Resolving issues
      • Consultation tools to help
      • Entry permits
    • Physical safety at work (the basics)
      • Emergency plans
      • Facilities at work
      • Instruction and training
      • Personal protective equipment (PPE)
      • Pregnancy
      • Sedentary work
      • Violence
      • Bushfire smoke
    • Mental health & safety (the basics)
      • Alcohol and other drugs
      • At risk workers
      • Mental health @ work
      • Workplace stress
      • Workplace bullying (a psychosocial hazard)
    • SeasonalSAFE
  • Your industry
    • Accommodation and food services
      • Hospitality
    • Administrative and support services
    • Agriculture, forestry and fishing
      • Plant nurseries
      • Farming
    • Arts and recreation services
    • Building and construction
      • House construction
      • Construction work
      • Demolition
      • Work safely at heights in construction
    • Education and training
    • Financial and insurance services
    • Health Care and Social Assistance
      • Aged care
      • Hospitals
      • Early childhood education and care
      • Disability support
    • Information media and telecommunications
    • Manufacturing
      • Leading safer manufacturing workplaces
      • Safe work leader talks: safety in manufacturing
    • Personal care and other services
    • Public administration and safety
    • Rental, hiring and real estate services
    • Retail trade
    • Transport, postal and warehousing
      • Food delivery industry
    • Wholesale trade
  • Advice & resources
    • Campaigns
      • WHS Excellence Showcase
      • Safe Work Month
      • Asbestos awareness week
      • NSW Dust Strategy
      • Roll bars save lives
      • International Day of Mourning
    • Free advisory visits and workshops
    • Labour hire
    • Video library
    • Incident animations
    • Online safety webinars
    • SafeWork newsletters
    • Speak Up Save Lives app
    • Translated resources
      • Arabic health and safety resources
      • Assyrian health and safety resources
      • Chinese health and safety resources
      • Dari health and safety resources
      • Filipino health and safety resources
      • French health and safety resources
      • German health and safety resources
      • Hindi health and safety resources
      • Khmer health and safety resources
      • Korean health and safety resources
      • Malay health and safety resources
      • Nepali health and safety resources
      • Punjabi health and safety resources
      • Spanish health and safety resources
      • Thai health and safety resources
      • Vietnamese (Tiếng Việt) health and safety resources
  • Legal obligations
    • Employer and business obligations
      • Directors and officers
      • Due diligence
      • Primary duty of care
      • Duty to consult
      • Register of injuries
      • Injuries at work
      • Return to work programs
      • Managing hazards and risks
    • Worker obligations
    • Medical practitioner's obligation to notify of a disease
      • Notification of silicosis diagnosis
      • Notification of an asbestosis diagnosis
    • Diversity
    • Visitor obligations
    • Contractors and labour hire
    • Volunteering
    • Strata title and body corporate
    • Legislation
  • Notify SafeWork
    • Incident notification
    • Asbestos notifications
    • Blasting notifications
    • Carcinogenic substances notification
    • Demolition notifications
    • Fireworks displays notifications
    • Hazardous chemicals notifications
    • Lead notifications
  • Compliance & prosecutions
    • Respect at Work Taskforce
    • Incident information releases
    • Improvement, prohibition and penalty notices
    • SafeWork inspectors
    • Enforceable undertakings
    • Prosecutions
    • Deed of agreement
    • Contact our Legal Services
  • Licences & registrations
    • Licences
      • Evidence of identity
      • Regularly check licences
      • Explosives and fireworks licences
      • High risk work licences
      • Traffic Control Work Training
      • Class A asbestos removal licence
      • Class B asbestos removal licence
      • Asbestos assessor licence
      • Demolition licence
      • Restricted demolition licence
    • Plant registrations
      • Plant item registration
      • Plant design registration
    • Registered training organisations (RTOs)
      • How to become an approved RTO to deliver asbestos training
      • General construction induction RTOs
      • High risk work RTOs
      • HSR training providers
      • Traffic controller training
    • White cards
  • Resources
    • Hazards A-Z
    • Resource library
    • Risk radar
    • Speak Up Save Lives
  • Become a SafeWork NSW Inspector
Community
  • Events
  • Accessibility
  • Order a publication
  • Subscribe – SafeWork newsletters
Legal
  • Privacy
  • Right to Information
  • Terms
  • Disclaimer
  • Copyright
Related sites
  • SIRA (workers compensation)
  • WHS Excellence Showcase
  • TestSafe
  • Get healthy at work
  • Centre for WHS
  • icare

Contact

Contact us 13 10 50

Follow us

  • facebook
  • twitter
  • youtbue
  • linkedin
Send us your feedback

Follow us

  • facebook
  • twitter
  • youtbue
  • linkedin
  • Sitemap
  • nsw.gov.au
  • Ministerial media releases

A division of the Department of Customer Service

NSW SafeWorks logo NSW SafeWorks NSW SafeWorks logo NSW SafeWorks