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- Promoting innovation precincts
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Northern Australia
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- Applying to export rough diamonds
- Applying to export uranium and controlled ores
- Offshore mineral exploration and mining
- Offshore oil and gas exploration and development
- Offshore petroleum exploration acreage release process
- Regulating offshore oil and gas in Australian Commonwealth waters
- Regulating the Ranger Uranium Mine
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Business support
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- Business Research and Innovation Initiative
- Business-research collaboration
- Collaborating with Asia-Pacific on science, research and innovation
- Collaborating with China on science and research
- Collaborating with India on science and research
- Cooperative research centres
- Enabling international space investment
- Industry 4.0
- Inspiring Australia: Science engagement in Australia
- International research collaboration
- Moon to Mars: opportunities for Australian businesses
- Prime Minister's Prizes for Science
- Research and Development Tax Incentive
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- Supporting business and innovation
- Supporting space infrastructure growth
- Transitioning Australia’s automotive manufacturing industry
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- Buying and selling goods and services by weight and other measurements
- Weighbridges used for trade
- Operating a public weighbridge
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Operating a public weighbridge

A weighbridge determines the mass of a vehicle, including the prime mover and any connected trailers. A public weighbridge is open for use by the public, generally for a charge.
To conduct public weighings and issue a ticket, you must have a public weighbridge licence. You can nominate weighbridge operators to issue tickets under your licence.
If you are a public weighbridge licensee, you must:
- follow the requirements of operating a weighbridge used for trade
- ensure at least one of your operators holds a statement of attainment for weighbridge operations
- let the National Measurement Institute (NMI) know when an operator or contractor starts or ceases employment and provide their personal details
You do not need a public weighbridge licence when you use the weighbridge in any of these ways:
- under a prior financial contractual arrangement between the controller of the weighbridge and the person, providing the contracted person is a party to the transaction
- as part of the weighbridge controller’s business, including to weigh goods in which the weighbridge controller trades
- to determine the tare mass of a vehicle or trailer for registration purposes
Measurement tickets
You must record public weighings on a measurement ticket (see an example of a measurement ticket [PDF 177KB]).
If you use an electronic ticketing system you can keep a hard copy booklet of measurement tickets as backup if your system fails. The backup booklet must be in the measurement ticket format.
You can use more than one booklet or pad of measurement tickets at the same time if:
- you limit their use to regular customers as long as the tickets have a different series of numbers
- they are not used for any other client
- you issue the tickets in all books or pads sequentially
- you record all other public weighings sequentially in one book of tickets
Automated public weighbridges
You can modify new and existing public weighbridges to include an automated system as long as it complies with the Guidelines for Weighbridge Control Systems [PDF 580KB] [DOCX 571KB]
You must submit a declaration that the automated weighbridge complies with these guidelines to tmlicensees@measurement.gov.au when:
- modifying a weighbridge that has an existing licence
- applying for or renewing a licence
Operator training
We provide training for weighbridge operators or you can provide training to your operators.
Statement of attainment
Every public weighbridge needs at least one operator who has successfully completed our weighbridge operator’s recognition kit and holds a statement of attainment. This operator needs to have regular involvement and oversight in operating the weighbridge they are licenced under. They can be the sole operator with a statement of attainment under more than one public weighbridge licence if either:
- you have more than one public weighbridge licence at a particular site
- you are a business or local government agency with multiple public weighbridges
In-house training
If your operators do not hold a statement of attainment, you must provide in-house competency training and assessment for them.
Public weighbridge licensees must ensure that all of their weighbridge operators are able to:
- comply with all legislative requirements relating to operating a public weighbridge
- accurately measure vehicles or the goods they are weighing
- issue measurement tickets correctly
Your training program must meet the performance criteria outlined in PSPTRP002 Operate Weighbridges unit of competency.
The Weighbridge Operators Manual [1.33MB PDF] [DOC 1.35MB] explains how to operate weighbridges for trade. You can use the manual but its use does not qualify you as having completed the training.
If you would like help developing your internal training program, contact us on 02 9413 7000 or email training@measurement.gov.au.
Auditing
During an audit, the licensee must provide an NMI Inspector with evidence that each operator has been trained and they have assessed their competency.
For training provided by NMI, provide the certificate of attendance.
For in-house training, provide:
- a copy of the training program
- training details, including the date and location
- a copy of the competency assessment (including copies of all materials the operator produced during the assessment)
- a copy of what they sent the operator to notify them of the assessment outcome
Operator changes
Licensees must submit a Public weighbridge operator nomination and change of details form within 14 days of:
- a new or current employee or contractor becoming an operator (provide their name and residential address)
- an employee or contractor ceasing to be an operator (provide the last day you employed the operator to operate the public weighbridge)
- change of employee details (name, address or contact details)
To find out more email tmlicensees@measurement.gov.au or phone 1300 686 664 and select option 2.
Read more
- Find out how to apply or renew your public weighbridge licence
- Find out more about using a weighbridge for trade
Contact us
- Email tmlicensees@measurement.gov.au
- Phone 1300 686 664 and select option 2

- National Measurement Institute
Last updated: 8 December 2020
Content ID: 58698