Approved examiner responsibilities

You must exercise your responsibilities as an accredited approved examiner with due care and diligence. If you don't, we may take action to amend, suspend or cancel your accreditation and/or issue a penalty infringement notice.

An inspection certificate means a safety certificate or a certificate of inspection.

Conditions of accreditation

Depending on the vehicle inspection types you are accredited for, you must comply with:

• Queensland Light Vehicle Inspection Manual, for light vehicles, light trailers and motorbikes.
• National Heavy Vehicle Inspection Manual, for heavy vehicles and heavy trailers.

You must comply with any conditions imposed on your approved examiner accreditation.

General responsibilities

You must only have one approved examiner accreditation of the same type at any one time. This does not stop you from working at more than one Approved Inspection Station (AIS), provided that we know about each AIS at which you are approved to work.

You cannot work as an approved examiner if your approved examiner accreditation has expired, lapsed or has been suspended or cancelled. It is your responsibility to know whether your accreditation is current before doing any vehicle inspections. We will send you a renewal notice approximately two months prior to expiry.

You must produce your approved examiner accreditation document for inspection if asked by your employer, the owner or driver of the vehicle for whom you doing a vehicle inspection for, or an authorised officer (such as a transport inspector or police officer).

You can voluntarily surrender your approved examiner accreditation at any time, but you must notify the AIS Administrator in writing. The surrender will take effect from the date we receive the written notice, or at a later date specified in your notification.

If your approved examiner accreditation is cancelled, you must return your accreditation document to us within the time specified in the notice of cancellation.

You must not possess another approved examiner’s accreditation document unless you have a reasonable excuse.

You must not give your approved examiner accreditation document to any person if you know, or suspect the person intends to use your accreditation document to deceive someone.

Important notifications

Changes to your personal details

You must notify the AIS Administrator in writing within 14 days of a change of name, residential address, or postal address occurring.

If the AIS Administrator is satisfied the information given by the approved examiner is correct, a replacement approved examiner accreditation document will be given.

Note: Your approved examiner’s accreditation will remain active and you can continue to sign inspection certificates while you are waiting for your replacement accreditation document. Refer to Applying to be an approved examiner.

Lost, destroyed or damaged inspection certificates

If you believe your approved examiner accreditation document has been lost, stolen or damaged, you must notify the AIS Administrator in writing as soon as you become aware.

If an unused inspection certificate has been lost, stolen, or destroyed, you must notify the AIS Administrator in writing as soon as you become aware.

Charged or convicted of an offence

If you are charged with or convicted of a disqualifying offence, you must notify the AIS Administrator in writing within 14 days of the event occurring.

Note: Disqualifying offences include offences against the Criminal Code Act 1899 (the Criminal Code) or against another law of another jurisdiction that corresponds to the Criminal Code.

Vehicle inspections

If you are road testing a vehicle as part of the vehicle inspection, you must hold a valid driver licence for the class and transmission type of vehicle you are road testing.

You can only inspect a type of vehicle if:

• you are accredited to inspect that type of vehicle as shown on your approved examiner accreditation document
• the AIS you are working for is also approved to inspect that type of vehicle as shown on their AIS approval.

You can only inspect vehicles at the fixed AIS premises as shown on the AIS approval unless the AIS is also approved to operate a mobile AIS.

If you are accredited to inspect heavy vehicles and heavy trailers, you can inspect a registered heavy vehicle over 16t gross vehicle mass and a heavy trailer over 10t aggregate trailer mass in exempt areas. However, the vehicle must be garaged in an exempt area and the inspection is conducted in an exempt area. The inspection can be undertaken at a fixed AIS premises or from an approved mobile AIS.

You must not do an inspection on a vehicle unless you can verify the vehicle's identity. If the vehicle was manufactured:

• before 1 January 1989, the chassis number and engine number should be used
• on or after 1 January 1989, the vehicle identification number should be used.
  If the vehicle is not a motor vehicle, for example a trailer, you should use another unique identification number assigned to the vehicle.

Before signing an inspection certificate, you must make sure that the certificate is completed correctly and legibly and that no entry on the certificate has been altered.

You must not approve an inspection certificate unless you have done a thorough examination of the vehicle and you reasonably believe the vehicle is not defective.

If, after a thorough examination, you reasonably consider the vehicle to be defective, you must immediately give the vehicle owner/driver an inspection report that states how the vehicle is defective.

Reinspection after issuing an inspection report (failed first inspection)

If you issued an inspection report for a vehicle that has failed the first inspection and the vehicle is returned for reinspection within 14 days, you must carry out the reinspection.

If you are absent from the AIS when the vehicle is returned, the reinspection may be done by another approved examiner. However, the approved examiner must be approved to work at the AIS and accredited to inspect that type of vehicle.

If, after reinspection, the approved examiner finds the defects stated in the inspection report have been corrected, they must immediately sign and give the inspection certificate to the AIS approval holder/nominee. The AIS approval holder/nominee must immediately issue the inspection certificate to the vehicle’s owner/driver.

After the reinspection, if the approved examiner finds the defects stated in the inspection report have not been satisfactorily corrected, or the vehicle is otherwise defective, they must immediately give the vehicle’s owner/driver an inspection report. The inspection report must state how the vehicle is defective.

If the inspection report issued:

• was handwritten, mark the inspection certificate that relates to the inspection report as cancelled; or
• using Inspection Certificates Online (ICO), the inspection must be finalised, and a final inspection report must be issued to the customer.

If a vehicle is returned for reinspection more than 14 days after the inspection report was signed, a new inspection is required. An inspection certificate may only be issued if the vehicle is free of defects.

Calculating the 14-day period

The 14-day period commences the day after the inspection report is given to the vehicle’s owner/driver.

For example, if the inspection report is given to the owner/driver on Monday the 4th day of the month, the vehicle can be returned for reinspection on Monday the 18th day of the month.

If the last day of the 14-day period falls on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday, the last day is taken to fall on the next day that is not a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday. For example, if the 14th day falls on a Saturday, the last day of the 14-day period would be the following Monday (if it is not a public holiday).

Contact us

Email:	ais@tmr.qld.gov.au
Phone:	13 23 80 (ask for AIS Administrator)
Post:	AIS Administrator Approved Inspection Station Scheme Department of Transport and Main Roads PO Box 673 FORTITUDE VALLEY  QLD  4006