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Documents & Templates

Working On or Near Roads VOC Assessment Template

Check that each worker can set up and work safely on or beside a road: knowledge questions, a practical observation and a clear, recorded outcome.

  • TaskRoads
  • DocumentsVOC assessment
  • FormatsWord (.docx), Excel (.xlsx), editable
  • CodeDOC-RDW-VOC
  • Version1.0 · 536 KB ZIP

About this document

A verification of competency (VOC) assessment checks that a worker can follow your procedure for work on or near roads: the traffic guidance scheme, set-up and removal, working within the protected area, visibility, plant and vehicles, and what to do when traffic does not behave as planned. 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 worker 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. Traffic control work needs the training or accreditation your state road authority requires. A VOC does not replace it.

Who it is for

  • Supervisors who sign off crews working on or beside roads
  • WHS advisers setting one standard across crews
  • Employers checking a new or returning worker before they start
  • Workplace assessors verifying workers for an employer

What it helps you do

  • Assess every worker 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 workers 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
Roadside Work VOC Assessment ToolWord (.docx)The assessor's tool: the practical observation checklist, evidence requirements, safety-critical fail criteria, the outcome and sign-off.
Roadside Work VOC Knowledge Questions (Candidate)Word (.docx)The knowledge questions, for the person being assessed to answer.
Roadside Work VOC Marking Guide (Assessor)Word (.docx)The expected answers and marking guidance, for the assessor only.
Roadside Work 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 worker against your instruction for the work. The Working On or Near Roads Pack includes this VOC with the safe work instruction it assesses against, the work zone set-up 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

Work zone set-up check

Checks the site before work starts

Signs and devices to the scheme, safety zones, visibility and an escape route, before anyone steps out.

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 traffic guidance schemes and the requirements of your state road authority
  • The roads you work on: speed, traffic volume, sight lines, shoulders and night work
  • Your signs, devices, vehicles, plant and lighting
  • Who may set up, change and remove the site, and who does traffic control
  • Emergency arrangements and what to do when a vehicle enters the work area
  • Consult the crews who do the work, and review after an incident, a near miss or a change

What you need

  • An assessor competent in your procedure for road work and in assessing others
  • Evidence of any traffic control training or accreditation the worker needs
  • Your traffic guidance schemes and site set-up equipment
  • A work site where set-up and work can be observed safely

Before you use them

  • A VOC supports workplace competency verification. It does not replace a high risk work licence where one is required.
  • Traffic control work needs the training or accreditation your state road authority requires. A VOC does not replace it.
  • 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. Traffic control work needs the training or accreditation your state road authority requires. A VOC does not replace it.

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 workers 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.

Do you need a ticket to work on or near roads?

Controlling traffic or setting out traffic management on a road usually needs the training or accreditation your state or territory road authority requires; it is not a high risk work licence. Other workers near traffic need to be trained in the traffic management arrangements for the site. The VOC checks a worker against your instruction for working near traffic and does not replace that accreditation.

What is a traffic management plan?

It sets out how traffic and people are kept apart at a work site on or near a road: signs, speed limits, barriers, lane closures and who does what. Road authorities often require one for work on their roads. The work zone set-up checklist and field verification check on site that the controls in the plan are actually in place.

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.

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

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

Working in Heat Awareness

For: All workersDuration: 20–30 minutes

For workers outdoors or in hot indoor environments: how heat illness develops, the controls that prevent it, and how to recognise heat stroke.

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 workers from traffic 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

Working On or Near Roads Pack

For: Employers whose workers work on or beside roads

Safe work instruction, VOC assessment, work zone set-up checklist and a supervisor field verification checklist, written to work together.

What's included
  • Working On or Near Roads safe work instruction
  • Working On or Near Roads VOC assessment, with an Excel VOC register
  • Work zone set-up checklist and supervisor field verification checklist
  • Setup guide: what to adapt for your site

Working On or Near Roads 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

Working On or Near Roads 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