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Waste Collection Vehicle VOC Assessment Template

Check that each driver can use the waste collection vehicle safely on your site, with your equipment: knowledge questions, a practical observation and a clear, recorded outcome.

  • EquipmentWaste collection vehicle
  • TaskOperating mobile plant
  • DocumentsVOC assessment
  • FormatsWord (.docx), Excel (.xlsx), editable
  • CodeDOC-WCV-VOC
  • Version1.0 · 533 KB ZIP

About this document

A verification of competency (VOC) assessment checks that a driver can use your waste collection vehicle 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 driver 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. A VOC does not replace the driver licence required for the vehicle. Drivers must also hold any training or authorisation your organisation requires.

Who it is for

  • Supervisors and leading hands who sign off waste collection vehicle drivers
  • WHS advisers setting one standard across crews, shifts or sites
  • Employers checking a new or returning driver before they start
  • Workplace assessors verifying drivers for an employer

What it helps you do

  • Assess every driver against the same standard, on your own site
  • Record the evidence behind each competent or not yet competent decision
  • Stop the assessment on a safety-critical error, whatever the rest of the score
  • Track who has been assessed, by whom, and when reassessment is due
  • Keep a clear record to show a client, auditor or inspector how drivers were verified

What is included

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).

FileFormatWhat it is for
Waste Collection Vehicle VOC Assessment ToolWord (.docx)The assessor's tool: the practical observation checklist, evidence requirements, safety-critical fail criteria, the outcome and sign-off.
Waste Collection Vehicle VOC Knowledge Questions (Candidate)Word (.docx)The knowledge questions, for the person being assessed to answer.
Waste Collection Vehicle VOC Marking Guide (Assessor)Word (.docx)The expected answers and marking guidance, for the assessor only.
Waste Collection Vehicle VOC RegisterExcel (.xlsx)A register of everyone assessed: date, assessor, licence or authorisation sighted, outcome and when reassessment is due.

How the documents work together

The VOC checks a driver against your instruction for the work. The Waste Collection Vehicle Safety & Competency Pack includes this VOC with the safe work instruction it assesses against, the pre-start checklist and a supervisor field verification checklist.

Safe work instruction

Tells the operator what to do

The steps, hazards and controls for the task, written for the person doing it.

In the pack

VOC assessment

Checks they can do it

Verifies each operator against that same instruction, on your equipment, with evidence and a clear outcome.

Included

Pre-start checklist

Checks the equipment is fit to use

Every shift, before use, with clear do-not-operate criteria.

In the pack

Field verification

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.

Set it up for your site

Before first use, adapt the documents to:

  • Your equipment: make, model, capacity, attachments and any site-specific modifications
  • The manufacturer's operating instructions and data plate, which take priority over anything generic
  • Your site layout: traffic routes, pedestrian walkways, exclusion zones, loading areas and speed limits
  • Your local controls, procedures, emergency arrangements and reporting lines
  • Consult the workers who do the task, and your Health and Safety Representative if you have one
  • Review the documents after an incident, a near miss, new equipment or a change to the site

What you need

  • An assessor competent to use the waste collection vehicle and to assess others
  • Any licence, training record or authorisation the driver needs, sighted before the assessment
  • The waste collection vehicle, its manufacturer's instructions and the PPE it requires
  • A safe place where normal work can be observed

Before you use them

  • A VOC supports workplace competency verification. It does not replace a high risk work licence where one is required.
  • A VOC does not replace the driver licence required for the vehicle. Drivers must also hold any training or authorisation your organisation requires.
  • The documents must be adapted to your equipment, the manufacturer's instructions, your site and your local controls before they are used.
  • 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.

Questions about this document

Does the VOC replace a licence?

No. A VOC supports workplace competency verification. It does not replace a high risk work licence where one is required. A VOC does not replace the driver licence required for the vehicle. Drivers must also hold any training or authorisation your organisation requires.

Who should conduct the assessment?

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.

How often should drivers be reassessed?

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.

What licence do you need to drive a garbage truck?

A driver licence of the class the vehicle requires, issued by your state or territory road authority; the class depends on the truck's mass and axles. No high risk work licence is needed to drive it. A VOC checks the driver on your vehicle, including the bin lifting controls, and does not replace the driver licence.

What are the main hazards for waste collection vehicle drivers?

Reversing, people on foot near the truck, the lifting arm near overhead powerlines and trees, the compactor, and getting in and out of the cab many times a shift. Isolation is needed before anyone clears a jam or works in the hopper. The safe work instruction and pre-start cover these, and the field verification checks them on the route.

Can we edit the documents?

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.

Do we need to adapt them before use?

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.

Will these documents make us compliant?

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.

Is GST included in the price?

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.

How are the files delivered?

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.

Can we order by invoice, or for several sites?

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.

Can we use them at more than one site?

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.

Can we use them outside Australia?

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.

What is your refund policy?

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.

Goes well with

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.

Mobile Equipment and Vehicle Interaction Awareness

For: Workers on sites with forklifts, trucks, loaders or light vehiclesDuration: 20–30 minutes

For anyone who works around forklifts, trucks, loaders or utes: how people are hit by mobile equipment, and the habits that keep pedestrians and machines apart.

What's included
  • Editable slides with speaker notes, plus PDF
  • Facilitator guide and participant handout
  • Multiple-choice assessment with answer key
  • Attendance record form and certificate template

Workplace Traffic Management Awareness

For: All workersDuration: 20–30 minutes

For everyone on a site with vehicle movements, including delivery drivers and visitors: the traffic management plan, site layout and rules that keep people and vehicles apart.

What's included
  • Editable slides with speaker notes, plus PDF
  • Facilitator guide and participant handout
  • Multiple-choice assessment with answer key
  • Attendance record form and certificate template

Isolation and Lockout Awareness

For: Workers who maintain, clean, clear or adjust plant and equipmentDuration: 20–30 minutes

For workers who clean, clear, maintain or adjust plant: why every energy source must be isolated, locked and proved dead before hands go in.

What's included
  • Editable slides with speaker notes, plus PDF
  • Facilitator guide and participant handout
  • Multiple-choice assessment with answer key
  • Attendance record form and certificate template

Hazardous Manual Tasks Awareness

For: All workersDuration: 20–30 minutes

For workers who lift, push, pull, carry or hold: what makes a manual task hazardous, and why changing the task works better than lifting technique.

What's included
  • Editable slides with speaker notes, plus PDF
  • Facilitator guide and participant handout
  • Multiple-choice assessment with answer key
  • Attendance record form and certificate template

Separating people from mobile plant, and isolation 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.

Related documents

Waste Collection Vehicle Safety & Competency Pack

For: Employers whose workers use a waste collection vehicle

Safe work instruction, VOC assessment, pre-start checklist and a supervisor field verification checklist, written to work together.

What's included
  • Waste Collection Vehicle safe work instruction
  • Waste Collection Vehicle VOC assessment, with an Excel VOC register
  • Pre-start checklist and supervisor field verification checklist
  • Setup guide: what to adapt for your site

Waste Collection Vehicle Safe Work Instruction Template

For: Owners, supervisors and WHS advisers

The safe work instruction from the pack, on its own: the steps, hazards and controls, stop points, emergencies and sign-off, in editable Word.

What's included
  • Step-by-step instruction with clear stop points
  • Hazards and controls, most effective first
  • Emergencies, consultation, approval and review
  • Worker acknowledgement, plus a setup note

Waste Collection Vehicle Field Verification Checklist

For: Supervisors, managers and WHS advisers

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.

What's included
  • Checks marked Pass, Not met or N/A, with the evidence seen
  • Critical controls marked, with same-shift escalation
  • Questions for the people doing the work
  • Actions, owners, due dates and sign-off, plus a setup note