Australia Regs for working in trade Q?

[dogma]

This is a question for any Aussies who may help me locate what qualifications i may need.

I'm a 3rd yr Apprentice RAC/HVAC mech out of the trade for 12mths over custody disputes.

A friend of mine has a contract on some of Australia's mining sites and he would like me to work for him testing, repairing and servicing AC in mining machinery. He has a dual trade as a diesel mech/machinist.

Will I still have to finish my trade or can I apply for a refrigerant license and get maybe a cert 2 for my time in refrigeration?

The systems are fairly basic.


Thanks

DOGMA.

[paul_h]

To get your refrigerant handling licence you have to be fully qualified in something, and do all the courses.
Have a look at http://www.arctick.org , they hand out the licenses.

When they started up the licences, they wouldn't even let fully qualified techs work on mobile equipment. They are a federal government office, with no engineers on the board, so a bunch of helpfull people.

[William Taylor]

Hi Dogma,
The comonwealth government is trying to tighten up on the amount of cowboys in the refrigeration industry. You can try your luck with cert 2, however cert 3 would be the one.
Standard working hours in the Mining Industry in W.A. are 2 weeks on 1 week off 14days on 12hours a day the locations are remote and I do mean remote, normal fly in fly out and the weather is hot hot hot. Without a cert 3 you will not get a licence to trade that means that you cannot buy refrigerant it's $50,000 fine for the supplier and $15,000 for you and your loss of licence to trade.
So before you come Cover Your Arse and check all the details your mates qualifications are not worth anything if it comes to a case.
If you do remote fly in fly out are you in for one hell of a culture shock
Best of British Luck to you
Regards
Bill Taylor

[PaulZ]

Hi Dogma
Check the thread in this section titled "moving to aust" I have posted a lot of links which tell you what you need to do if moving to Australia.
As Bill said the mines in WA are remote, there is nothing to do but work, sleep and drink. Most are in desert areas and they are bloody hot, 40 + degrees for days on end.
Good luck
Paul

[dogma]

Thanks guys. I've worked in remote north west queensland on a cattle station about 100kms west of chiligo qld as a ringer years back. I didn't mind the work but i came straight out of a 5deg C winter into a 37deg C winter up there and my hours were 4am till dark, and then some. Was a good experience. After the muster I came home, I think I've walked funny since due to the amount of hours spent in a saddle.

:)

[brunstar]

hey pal, in regards to working in the mines, you will have to finish your trade and then apply for the refrigeration licence, also if you are working int he mines you will probably have to do a short electrical course aswell as they are pretty strict on the rules out there!
you may also have to do a conversion of your fridgie course.
good luck with it though, would love to hear how you go but there are no short cuts and you have to finish your trade otherwise they won't accept you at all.
good luck with the rest of your trade!