Product Overview

Summary: This Driller Training and Competency SOP provides a structured, defensible framework for selecting, training, assessing and authorising drillers in Australian workplaces. It helps you demonstrate due diligence under WHS law while lifting drilling performance, reducing incidents, and ensuring only competent personnel operate drilling plant and equipment.

Drilling operations carry a high inherent risk profile, with workers often exposed to rotating equipment, high-pressure systems, unstable ground conditions and remote locations. Many serious incidents in the drilling industry can be traced back to gaps in training, poor supervision or unclear competency expectations. This Driller Training and Competency Safe Operating Procedure sets out a clear, repeatable process to ensure every driller – from offsider to lead driller – is properly inducted, trained, assessed and authorised before operating drilling plant on your sites.

Developed for Australian conditions and WHS requirements, this SOP guides businesses through job role profiling, competency mapping, training pathways, verification of competency (VOC) and ongoing refresher requirements. It supports both small drilling contractors and large mining or civil projects to standardise how they manage driller capability across multiple rigs and locations. By implementing this SOP, you can reduce reliance on informal “on-the-job” learning, strengthen supervision and record-keeping, and provide clear evidence to regulators and clients that your drilling crews are competent, well trained and working to an agreed standard of safety and performance.

Key Benefits

• Ensure only trained and formally assessed drillers are authorised to operate drilling plant and equipment.
• Reduce the likelihood of drilling-related incidents caused by inexperience, inadequate supervision or poor technique.
• Standardise driller training, competency requirements and verification processes across all sites and projects.
• Demonstrate compliance with Australian WHS legislation and industry expectations for high-risk plant operations.
• Improve drilling productivity and equipment care through consistent, best-practice operating skills and behaviours.

Who is this for?

• Drilling Contractors
• Drilling Supervisors
• Rig Managers
• Site Supervisors
• WHS Managers
• Operations Managers
• Training and Competency Coordinators
• HR and Workforce Development Managers
• Project Managers (Mining, Civil and Construction)
• Principal Contractors and PCBU Representatives

Hazards Addressed

• Entanglement and crush injuries from rotating drill rods, augers and moving parts
• Struck-by incidents from falling drill rods, tools, equipment and overhead hazards
• Uncontrolled ground conditions, borehole collapse and loss of rig stability
• Exposure to noise, vibration, dust, fumes and hazardous substances (e.g. drilling fluids)
• High-pressure fluid or air release from drilling, hydraulic and compressed air systems
• Manual handling strains from handling rods, casing and ancillary equipment
• Fatigue and remote or isolated work risks during extended or night drilling operations
• Vehicle and mobile plant interaction risks around drill rigs and support vehicles

Included Sections

• 1.0 Purpose and Scope
• 2.0 Definitions and Abbreviations
• 3.0 Roles and Responsibilities (PCBU, supervisors, trainers, drillers, offsiders)
• 4.0 Driller Role Profiles and Competency Requirements
• 5.0 Training Needs Analysis and Planning
• 6.0 Induction and Onboarding for New Drillers and Offsiders
• 7.0 Formal Training Pathways (Internal and External)
• 8.0 On-the-Job Training and Supervision Requirements
• 9.0 Competency Assessment and Verification of Competency (VOC) Process
• 10.0 Authorisation to Operate Drilling Plant and Equipment
• 11.0 Refresher Training, Reassessment and Ongoing Competency Maintenance
• 12.0 Management of Contractors and Labour Hire Personnel
• 13.0 Record Keeping, Training Matrices and Evidence of Competency
• 14.0 Interface with Site-Specific Safe Work Method Statements (SWMS) and JSA/JHA
• 15.0 Monitoring, Review and Continuous Improvement of the Training Program
• 16.0 Non-Compliance, Suspension of Authorisation and Corrective Actions
• 17.0 References, Applicable Legislation and Standards
• 18.0 Appendices – Sample Competency Checklists, VOC Forms and Training Plan Templates

Legislation & References

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Cth and relevant state/territory equivalents)
• Work Health and Safety Regulations 2011 (Cth and relevant state/territory equivalents)
• Safe Work Australia – Code of Practice: Managing the Risk of Plant in the Workplace
• Safe Work Australia – Code of Practice: Managing Risks of Hazardous Chemicals in the Workplace
• Safe Work Australia – Code of Practice: Managing Noise and Preventing Hearing Loss at Work
• AS/NZS 4801: Occupational health and safety management systems (superseded but still commonly referenced)
• ISO 45001: Occupational health and safety management systems – Requirements with guidance for use
• Relevant state/territory mining and petroleum safety legislation and guidelines (e.g. NSW Work Health and Safety (Mines and Petroleum Sites) Regulation 2014)
• AS/NZS 1891 series: Industrial fall-arrest systems and devices (for work at heights around rigs)
• AS/NZS 1715 & AS/NZS 1716: Selection, use and maintenance of respiratory protective equipment / Respiratory protective devices