CPCWHS1001 - Prepare to work safely in the construction industry is a nationally recognised unit of competency from the CPC Construction, Plumbing and Services Training Package. It is the general construction induction training, better known as the White Card course, that a person must complete before carrying out construction work.
It was released in 2022 and supersedes, and is equivalent to, CPCCWHS1001 - Prepare to work safely in the construction industry, which itself replaced CPCCOHS1001A - Work safely in the construction industry.
Who develops the unit
The CPC Training Package is maintained by BuildSkills Australia, the Jobs and Skills Council for the building and construction, property and water industries. Jobs and Skills Councils are funded by the Australian Government and work with industry to develop and update vocational training products.
Jobs and Skills Councils were introduced from 2023, replacing the former Industry Reference Committees and Skills Service Organisations, such as Artibus Innovation, which previously supported the construction training package. Training packages are endorsed by Commonwealth, state and territory Skills Ministers, and the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) regulates the registered training organisations (RTOs) that deliver them.
What the unit covers
The unit covers the basic work health and safety (WHS) knowledge needed on a construction site, including:
- WHS laws, duty of care, and the roles, rights and responsibilities of business owners and workers
- The five steps of risk management: identify the hazard, assess the risk, consult and report, control the hazard and review
- Common construction hazards such as asbestos, confined spaces, electricity, excavations, dust, falling objects, hazardous substances, noise, UV radiation, traffic and mobile plant, and working at heights
- Safety signs, symbols and tags, and the purpose of job safety analyses (JSAs), safe work method statements (SWMS) and safety data sheets (SDS)
- Responding to incidents and emergencies, accessing first aid, and the types of fire safety equipment: fire blankets, water, carbon dioxide, powder and foam extinguishers, and hose reels
- The roles of first aid officers, WHS representatives, WHS committee members and supervisors
Course participants must also demonstrate correctly fitting the following personal protective equipment (PPE):
- Hard hat
- High visibility vest, shirt or jacket
- Hearing protection
- Eye protection
See: White Card PPE
Why complete this unit of competency
Completing this unit meets the general construction induction training requirements of the model Work Health and Safety Regulations, which Queensland and most other states and territories have adopted, as well as the equivalent regulations in Western Australia and Victoria. Once you complete the training, you can be issued with a construction White Card, which is why the unit is often called the White Card course. WorkSafe Queensland calls the course General Construction Induction Training (GCIT).
A White Card is needed before you can carry out construction work in Australia, and it is usually checked before you start on a construction site. Site-specific inductions are still run on top of it.
The unit is also packaged in a range of construction qualifications. You can view them on the CPCWHS1001 page on training.gov.au.
How to complete the training in Queensland
In Queensland, the training is delivered by RTOs approved by Workplace Health and Safety Queensland (WHSQ). Course participants that successfully complete the training are issued with a Statement of Attainment and a Queensland White Card.
Self-paced online White Card training has not been accepted in Queensland since 1 February 2019. The training must be delivered face-to-face, or as a live online class (connected real time delivery) by an RTO that WHSQ has approved for it. Self-paced online courses are generally only available to residents of Western Australia and Tasmania.
See: White Card online, what changed?
WHSQ also sets extra conditions for approved RTOs. Since November 2022, courses must run for at least 4.5 hours, classes are capped at 15 students and only WHSQ approved trainers can deliver the training. Since mid-2023, every RTO must use the WHSQ mandated assessment. You can read more in the Queensland Training Ombudsman's review of White Card training delivery in Queensland.
Completing the course with Tradie Training
Tradie Training (RTO number 45555) delivers training for CPCWHS1001 - Prepare to work safely in the construction industry face-to-face at 3 locations in South-East Queensland: Brisbane Northside (Aspley), Brisbane Southside (Rocklea) and on the Gold Coast (Ashmore). The course takes 4.5 hours and your White Card is issued on the day.
You can visit this page to sign up for the course: Queensland White Card course booking
You must bring 3 forms of identification displaying your name to the workshop, with at least one of them being a photo ID. See the full list of accepted IDs.
Training pre-requisites
There are no enrolment pre-requisites. You can sign up for the training regardless of previous academic achievements or construction industry experience.
As with any Vocational Education and Training (VET) courses, you are required to submit your Unique Student Identifier (USI) to enrol for the training. USIs can be created for free using the Government USI portal.
