Stay informed - Changes to maintenance of competence scheme
The maintenance of competence scheme is regazetted from 1 October 2025 in response to an evaluation and public consultation conducted by the Resources Regulator. Endorsed changes by the Mining and Petroleum Competence Board will simplify the scheme and introduce more flexible learning requirements.
Practising certificates granted for a period from 1 October 2025 or later will require holders to comply to the new scheme.
Holders of certificates for five-year periods prior to or in force at the 1 October 2025 will have the option to apply the former or new scheme requirements to their current and previous logs, and when audited.
The Regulator will not be initiating new audits from 1 October 2025 to 31 January 2026. This will enable holders, mine operators and website apps to transition to the new scheme as necessary.
Revised guidance is published on this Maintenance of competence webpage and in the Mine Safety News, as well as emails sent directly to certificate holders. The Fact sheet: Changes to the maintenance of competence scheme (PDF, 88.06 KB) is available to help holders understand the changes and answer common questions during the transition.
The Maintenance of competence (MOC) scheme is a legislated condition requirement for individuals holding a practising certificate to ensure they maintain the necessary knowledge and skills to perform the statutory function.
If you hold a practising certificate, you will need to undertake specified hours of recognised learning for groups of competence over the five-year validity period of your certificate. This applies to all practising certificates issued by the Resources Regulator. Key features include:
- Customised learning (requirements vary based on your specific certificate function(s))
- Flexible learning options (includes both formal and informal learning activities)
- Regular updates (scheme requirements may be updated to reflect industry changes).
Key steps
Obtain your practising certificate
- Apply through the Regulator Portal
- MOC requirements begin from the date your certificate commences
Understand your learning requirements
- Review the scheme that applies to you (refer to Introduction)
- Identify the specific hours and topics required for your certificate type
- It is your responsibility to be aware of the learning requirements over the period of your practising certificate
Engage in learning activities
- Participate in formal courses, seminars, and workshops
- Undertake self-directed learning and on-the-job training
- Attend industry conferences and webinars
Record your learning
- You may use one of the following recommended Regulator templates to track your activities, or alternatively you may use your own log recording system such as suitable websites or apps that are available:
- Document details such as:
- date of learning
- group and topic covered
- type of learning (e.g. formal, informal)
- hours spent
- Keep supporting evidence (e.g. certificates, attendance records)
Prepare for audits
- Audits are conducted randomly, on an annual basis
- External organisations contracted by the Regulator perform these audits
- Be ready to provide your logbook and supporting evidence if you are selected
- A report on the outcomes of the auditing program for each financial year is provided to the NSW Mining and Petroleum Competence Board
For more details refer to the Fact sheet: Auditing of WHS practising certificate holders for maintenance of competence
Renew your certificate
- Apply for renewal prior to the expiry of your current certificate every 5 years
- Submit a declaration of compliance with MOC requirements in the application
- (no need to submit your logbook unless requested)
Learning from disasters
The minimum requirement for completing either the Regulator's one-day Learning from Disasters program or at least 7 hours of other formal learning in disaster topics is at least once by a holder for one practising certificate:
- holders of certificates for five year periods prior to or in force at 1 October 2025, or
- first time holders of a certificate for periods from or after 1 October 2025.
The Regulator's Learning from Disasters webpage provides information on various learning options, including 3 programs that can contribute to the 7-hour requirement. One of these options is a one-day course delivered by approved training providers, which are listed with their contact details on the webpage.
Dispensation for impact of COVID-19
In response to the challenges posed by COVID-19, the Resources Regulator, in collaboration with the Mining and Petroleum Competence Board, has approved a 12-month (20% of learning hours) dispensation for MOC requirements. This applies to all practicing certificate holders who held a certificate between April 1 2020, and March 31 2021. As a result, current certificate holders will only need to complete 80% of their MOC requirements during the five-year certificate period. This dispensation does not apply to holders of practising certificates granted after this time.
Stay informed
Subscribe to updates
Stay up-to-date with the latest MOC news and changes - subscribe to Mine Safety News.
Webinars
We host webinars regularly to keep you informed about MOC requirements and changes:
Resources and guides
- Fact sheet: Changes to the maintenance of competence scheme from 1 October 2025 (PDF, 88.06 KB)
- New guide: Maintenance of competence scheme from 1 October 2025 (PDF, 533.89 KB)
- Former guide: Maintenance of competence scheme for practising certificates (PDF, 394.79 KB)
- Fact sheet: Auditing WHS practising certificate holders for maintenance of competence (PDF, 85.54 KB)
- Former scheme template: Logbook (XLSX, 441.47 KB)
- New scheme logbook template (XLSX, 443.34 KB)