Check that each operator can use the chainsaw safely on your site, with your equipment: knowledge questions, a practical observation and a clear, recorded outcome.
A verification of competency (VOC) assessment checks that an operator can use your chainsaw safely in your workplace: your machine, its guards and controls, your conditions and your rules. This template gives the assessor a structured way to do it, and a record that shows how the decision was made.
It combines knowledge questions with a marking guide, a practical observation checklist, the evidence the assessor should collect and safety-critical fail criteria, so one serious error means not yet competent, whatever the rest of the score. The assessor and the operator sign off the outcome, and the Excel VOC register tracks who has been assessed and when reassessment is due.
A VOC supports workplace competency verification. It does not replace a high risk work licence where one is required. Operators must have the training and competency your organisation and the work require. Felling trees, or cutting at height or near powerlines, needs specific training beyond general chainsaw use. A VOC does not replace it.
Delivered as one ZIP download. The files below are editable, and every Word document also comes as a PDF. Each download also includes Read Me First, a Product Overview, the Permitted Use Terms and Version Information (PDF).
| File | Format | What it is for |
|---|---|---|
| Chainsaw VOC Assessment Tool | Word (.docx) | The assessor's tool: the practical observation checklist, evidence requirements, safety-critical fail criteria, the outcome and sign-off. |
| Chainsaw VOC Knowledge Questions (Candidate) | Word (.docx) | The knowledge questions, for the person being assessed to answer. |
| Chainsaw VOC Marking Guide (Assessor) | Word (.docx) | The expected answers and marking guidance, for the assessor only. |
| Chainsaw VOC Register | Excel (.xlsx) | A register of everyone assessed: date, assessor, licence or authorisation sighted, outcome and when reassessment is due. |
The VOC checks a operator against your instruction for the work. The Chainsaw Safety & Competency Pack includes this VOC with the safe work instruction it assesses against, the pre-start checklist and a supervisor field verification checklist.
Tells the operator what to do
The steps, hazards and controls for the task, written for the person doing it.
In the pack
Checks they can do it
Verifies each operator against that same instruction, on your equipment, with evidence and a clear outcome.
Included
Checks the equipment is fit to use
Every shift, before use, with clear do-not-operate criteria.
In the pack
Checks the controls are working on site
A supervisor checks on the floor that the controls the instruction relies on are in place and effective.
In the pack
What supervisors find in the field feeds back into the instruction and the VOC.
Before first use, adapt the documents to:
Before you use them
No. A VOC supports workplace competency verification. It does not replace a high risk work licence where one is required. Operators must have the training and competency your organisation and the work require. Felling trees, or cutting at height or near powerlines, needs specific training beyond general chainsaw use. A VOC does not replace it.
Someone competent in the work and in assessing others: often an experienced supervisor, a WHS adviser or a workplace trainer and assessor. The template guides the assessment; it does not make the assessor competent.
Set the interval from your own risk assessment. Common triggers are new or different equipment, a change to the site or procedure, an incident or near miss, unsafe practice seen in the field, and someone returning after a long absence. The Excel VOC register tracks when each reassessment is due.
There is no high risk work licence for chainsaws, but the operator must be trained and competent for the work they do. Felling trees, cutting at height or working near powerlines needs further specific training, and work near powerlines has its own rules. A VOC records that the operator can use your chainsaw safely for the tasks you nominate.
At least a helmet with face and hearing protection, cut-resistant leg protection (chaps or trousers), safety boots and gloves, chosen for the saw and the work. Check the manufacturer's instructions and your risk assessment for anything more. The pre-start and field verification checklists both check that it is worn.
Yes. Every document is supplied in Word (.docx) or Excel (.xlsx), so you can add your logo, change the wording and adapt it to your workplace. The copyright notice must stay.
Yes. The documents must be adapted to your equipment, the manufacturer's instructions, your site and your local controls before they are used. The setup guide in the pack lists what to change.
No document can. Your duties are met by managing the risks in your actual workplace. Using them does not by itself make a workplace compliant with WHS or OHS laws. They support the work of managing the risk; they are not legal advice.
Yes. Every price in the store includes GST, so $69.00 is the total, including $6.27 GST. Your receipt is a tax invoice showing the GST.
As a ZIP download. Card purchases can be downloaded straight away from the confirmation page and by a link we email you. Download links expire after 14 days for security; you can request a new one at any time.
Yes. Use Request an Invoice to order through your normal procurement process, with a purchase order number and quantities if you need them. The files are released once payment is confirmed.
Yes, across your own organisation. The documents are licensed for internal use by the purchasing organisation. A consultant, labour hire business or training provider supplying them to clients needs separate written permission.
They are written for Australian workplaces and refer to Australian WHS and OHS laws and licences. A business elsewhere should replace those references with its own country's requirements. Everything is editable for that.
Your rights under the Australian Consumer Law are not affected. See the Refund Policy for how we handle a document that is faulty, not as described, or not what you ordered.
Licence and legal information here is general. It may not be correct in your jurisdiction: please check with your local WHS or OHS regulator.
Ordering for a business or several sites? Request an invoice. Other questions: contact us.
Start with a toolbox talk to brief the crew on the hazard, then use the safe work instruction, the VOC and the field verification checklist to set and check the controls.
For workers around noisy plant, tools or processes: how noise damages hearing for good, how to tell when it is too loud, and the controls that protect it.
For every worker who wears PPE: where it sits in the hierarchy of control, and how to choose, fit, wear, look after and replace it so it actually protects.
For workers who use or work near machines: how moving parts injure, how guards work, and why a guard is never removed or bypassed.
Keeping people clear of the cutting area is a common critical control. To manage it as one, with performance standards and field verification across the business, see the Critical Control Management series.
Safe work instruction, VOC assessment, pre-start checklist and a supervisor field verification checklist, written to work together.
The safe work instruction from the pack, on its own: the steps, hazards and controls, stop points, emergencies and sign-off, in editable Word.
The supervisor's field verification checklist from the pack, on its own: checks on site that the controls for the work are in place and working.