Em-Four Pty Ltd – 30 January 2006 Recent advertisements for Parking Officers, Council Compliance Officers and Council Rangers in Sydney newspapers and web sites of recruitment agencies refer to a number of qualifications that have been superseded or are no longer available. Unfortunately, there still is no uniformity in required skills and qualifications for people working as Local Government Compliance, Enforcement and Parking officers. Em-Four has taken the initiative of launching a new course for people seeking employment as Parking Officers.

Prior to 2002, NSW Police had sole control of the issue of infringement notices for parking offences and other matters. It was a requirement imposed by NSW Police that local government personnel and people working in other areas where infringement notices were issued had to undertake the then NSW Police Self Enforcing Infringement Notice Scheme (SEINS) course prior to being granted authority by the Commissioner. The NSW Police also delivered the Council Law Enforcement Officers Course (CLEO). What may not be known is this:

Ø The CLEO Course has not been offered by NSW Police since 2003

Ø The SEINS course is delivered on a very limited basis to organisations by the Infringement Processing Bureau and is not publicly available.

Many organisations continue to list these courses (SEINS & CLEO) as essential qualifications for people seeking employment as Parking Officers, Rangers or similar positions in local government. Neither of these courses of training has ever been formally recognised by the NSW Department of Education or a similar body.

The approval of the Commissioner of Police is no longer required for the issue infringement notices. Authority was granted by the NSW State Government to various organisations who in turn could delegate this approval to their staff. This includes local government.

We have just announced the development of a Local Government Parking (Pre-Employment) Course, which will be delivered from February 2006. This course will meet the needs of people looking for work as Local Government Parking Officers as well as their potential employers. It has been designed to fully articulate with our Certificate IV in Local Government (Regulatory Services) course, which is the benchmark for Local Government Rangers and compliance staff.

The pre-employment course consists of two nationally accredited competency units that are essential for anyone commencing work as local government parking officers. Its content is just as applicable for people who will be working in similar positions with other organisations that rely on the effective, legitimate issue of infringement notices for parking and other “strict liability” offences. The two units have been endorsed all Commonwealth, State and Territory Departments of Education and Departments of Local Government. They are:

· LGAREGS301A – Implement Parking Controls and

· LGACORE102B – Follow Occupational Health & Safety Procedures

Our courses provide successful participants with broad knowledge and skill bases that enable them to carry out investigations to varying degrees of complexity. Unlike the NSW Police CLEO course or SEINS training, successful candidates from our pre-employment course will be issued with a nationally recognised statement of attainment for completion of these two competency units.

Comprehensive national qualifications for Local Government Compliance, Enforcement and Parking officers have been developed through the Certificate III and Certificate IV in Local Government (Regulatory Services) courses. These are work-based qualifications that incorporate training in all aspects of the work of these officers including the areas previously addressed in NSW Police CLEO and SEINS training courses, as well as a much broader range of laws, powers and investigative techniques.

Em-Four Pty Ltd is the only Registered Training Organisation in NSW that is able to deliver both of the Local Government (Regulatory Services) Traineeships, the Certificate IV in Government (Road Transport Compliance) traineeship and Certificate IV in Animal Control & Regulation traineeship under the NSW Department of Education and Training “UserChoice” System Approved Providers’ List.

Philip Walsh, Director, Courses & Programs