Approved dangerous goods courses
Shippers courses
From 1 July 2004, people who send dangerous goods by air must do an approved course. This covers employees who enclose the goods in packaging, or mark or label the consignment, or prepare a shipper's declaration.
Currently there are courses which cover all nine (or most of the nine) classes of dangerous goods. Some courses will omit a class or two i.e. Radioactives or explosives.
There are also a number of courses for specific dangerous goods classes or divisions, for example:
- Infectious Substances, Diagnostic Specimens and Dry Ice (6.2)
- Flammable goods (3)
- Radioactive substances (7)
- Dry Ice only (D)
If you have a lot of employees and only send one or two classes of dangerous goods, it may be worth developing a course that is relevant to your organisation and employees. Refer to Advisory Circular 92-1(0). You may also choose to outsource all the packing and sending of dangerous goods to a specialist organisation.
Full acceptance courses
People who accept dangerous goods must (in most circumstances) do a full acceptance course. There are two types of full acceptance - an initial course and a refresher course. The initial course will usually run for three days and is only delivered face-to-face. A refresher course, which is also only delivered face-to-face, will usually take one day and must be completed within two years of the last acceptance course. Most training organisations that provide acceptance courses offer both initial and refresher courses.
Non-DG acceptance courses
Those employees who only accept general cargo and who do not accept dangerous goods, have to do a CASA approved "Non-DG Acceptance" course. Currently there are three main forms of delivery for these courses - Face-to-face, written correspondence and on-line. It is important that operators, freight forwarders and ground handling agents consider which employees, and at what point, they "accept" non-dangerous goods. For example this may be when the freight driver collects the freight from the customer, or when the receptionist receives a parcel from a customer. Alternatively, the organisation might specify that all freight is to be processed and "accepted" through one point in the freight shed. With the second example, the driver and receptionist would still be required to undergo training - but the course itself is not one that CASA would approve.
Courses for flight crew, load planners and cabin crew
Flight crew, load planners and cabin crew must also do an approved course. Again there are three forms of delivery - Face-to-face, written correspondence and on-line.
Some courses for flight and cabin crew have been combined with a non-DG acceptance course which are especially relevant for charter operators and small RPT operators where the pilots accept the freight, screen the passengers etc.
Courses for other staff
There are employees of Operators, Ground handling agents, freight forwarders and security screening agents that are required to be trained before they commence their duties and re-trained every two years.
Examples of these types of employees are an Operator's check-in staff, freight shed porters and ramp employees. For ground handling agents & freight forwarders, this would cover shed staff, possibly their drivers and occasionally their front reception staff. With security screeners - it includes those who screen passengers in terminals, and baggage and freight after items have been accepted for carriage.
These courses are not approved by CASA, however, they must be relevant to the duties of the employee, they must cover a set syllabus and the instructor must have undertaken a CASA approved course.