Mobile crane
A mobile crane is a wheeled or tracked crane set up per lift using outriggers, a load chart, and a lift plan. HRWL classes C2, C6, C1, C0 and CN apply.
Ask Chalkline about this →A mobile crane is a wheeled or tracked crane that travels to site and sets up per lift using outriggers, a load chart, and a written lift plan. It is the most common dedicated crane on residential and mid-tier commercial building sites in Australia.
Slewing vs non-slewing
The key distinction for licencing is whether the boom can rotate (slew) around a vertical axis:
- Slewing mobile crane: boom rotates 360 degrees. Schedule 3 of the model WHS Regulations sets four HRWL classes by rated capacity: C2 (up to 20 t), C6 (up to 60 t), C1 (up to 100 t), C0 (over 100 t). Each class encompasses the classes below it (verified 2026-06-11, Safe Work Australia).
- Non-slewing mobile crane (CN): boom or jib that cannot slew, over 3 t capacity (verified 2026-06-11, Safe Work Australia).
All-terrain and rough-terrain cranes are slewing mobile cranes, classified C2/C6/C1/C0 by rated capacity.
How it differs from a hiab
A vehicle-loading crane (hiab) is truck-mounted with its own CV licence class (from 10 metre-tonnes). A mobile crane is a dedicated lifting machine; its C-series licence classes are entirely separate from CV. See Crane / hiab operator for the full hiab detail.
What a builder needs to know
Operating a mobile crane on site is HRCW under regulation 291 of the model WHS Regulations, so a SWMS is mandatory. The crane company supplies a lift plan covering load weight, capacity at radius, outrigger ground bearing, swept path, and exclusion zone. Confirm ground conditions and integrate the operator’s SWMS with the site SWMS before set-up.
Also known as: All-terrain crane, rough-terrain crane.
Category: WHS / Cranes and lifting.
Related
See also
References
- Safe Work Australia, High risk work licence classes. https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/safety-topic/managing-health-and-safety/licences/high-risk-work-licence-classes (verified 2026-06-11).
- Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (model), Schedule 3, Classes of high risk work.
Last updated: 2026-06-11. Verified: 2026-06-11. Quarterly review for HRWL class definitions and currency.