What Licences and Certifications Do You Need for Warehouse and Logistics Jobs?

Warehousing covers a lot more ground than most people expect. On one site you might find pick packers, storepersons, forklift and high reach operators, dispatch coordinators, inventory controllers, dock hands and a supervisor running the floor. All of those sit under the same roof, and they pay differently, ask for different skills, and open onto different career paths.

It is one of the easier industries to break into. Plenty of warehouse roles will take you on with no experience and no formal qualification, particularly casual pick pack and general hand work. That makes it a genuine option if you are starting out, changing industries, or coming back to work after a break.

Where qualifications matter is what happens next. A ticket is the difference between being sent out for general labour and being sent out for a licensed role at a better rate. Most of them take a couple of days and a few hundred dollars, and they stay with you for years. This is a rundown of which ones are worth having, what they cost you in time, and which roles they unlock.

Which Licences or Tickets To Get

Tickets For General Warehouse/Logistics Roles

These are the credentials that apply across almost every warehouse and logistics site in WA, regardless of the role you end up in.

Forklift licence (LF)

The single most useful ticket in warehousing. A forklift licence in WA is a High Risk Work Licence, which means it is issued by WorkSafe WA rather than by the training provider, and the process is set by regulation. You complete the national unit of competency TLILIC0003 Licence to operate a forklift truck with a registered training organisation, get assessed by an accredited assessor against the national assessment instrument, then apply to WorkSafe with your Notice of Assessment.

You need to be at least 18 and have enough written and spoken English to sit the assessment. The course usually runs two to three days if you are new to it, or a single day if you have operated a forklift on a farm or private property and just need the assessment. Once issued, the licence is valid for five years and can be renewed online up to 90 days before it expires. WorkSafe WA sets out the full process on its high risk work page.

The LF class covers counterbalance and reach forklifts, where the load rises on the mast and you stay on the ground.

Order picking forklift licence (LO)

A separate licence class for order pickers, where the operator rises with the load carriage. If you are working in a high bay distribution centre, this is often asked for alongside the LF. It runs off the unit TLILIC0004 Licence to operate an order picking forklift truck and follows the same WorkSafe application process. Holding both LF and LO makes you noticeably easier to place, because a site with high racking can put you on either machine.

First aid

HLTAID011 Provide First Aid, usually with HLTAID009 CPR built in. A one day course, and CPR needs refreshing every 12 months while the full certificate runs three years. Not mandatory for most warehouse roles, but many sites want a set number of trained first aiders on each shift, and being one of them makes you more useful to a supervisor building a roster.

Working at heights

RIIWHS204E Work safely at heights. Relevant if you will be on mezzanines, racking access platforms or loading dock edges. One day, and commonly bundled with confined space entry if the site handles silos or tanks.

Elevating work platform (WP)

Another WorkSafe High Risk Work Licence class, covering boom type EWPs over 11 metres. Below 11 metres you generally need a yellow card style unit rather than a full licence. Worth having if the site does its own high level racking maintenance or stocktakes.

White Card

CPCWHS1001 Prepare to work safely in the construction industry. Strictly a construction ticket, so it is not required for a standard warehouse. It becomes relevant fast if the site services construction, resources or civil clients, because you will need one to deliver to or work on those sites. It is cheap, takes a day, and does not expire in WA, so most labour hire workers get it early.

Driver’s licence

A current WA licence gets you to sites in industrial areas that public transport does not reach well, which matters more than people expect in Perth. Beyond that, an LR, MR or HR licence opens up delivery and transport work, and pairs well with warehouse experience.

Dangerous goods and forklift attachments

Site specific rather than universal. If the operation handles chemicals, fuel or hazardous freight, expect training in dangerous goods handling and segregation. Some sites also want you signed off on specific attachments such as jibs, rotators or slippers.

Certificate III in Supply Chain Operations

The formal qualification for the industry, TLI30321. It has no entry requirements and can be done as a traineeship, so a lot of people complete it while already employed. It bundles in the practical units, covers stock control, load handling, safety and workplace systems, and is often what an employer looks for when they are promoting someone into a coordinator or supervisor position.

Forklift Driver

Forklift operators move stock between receiving, storage and dispatch. In practice, the job is more than driving. You will be checking loads, reading pick slips or RF scanner instructions, doing pre start inspections on the machine, reporting damage, and working around people on foot in tight spaces.

What it pays. Casual forklift roles around Perth commonly advertise in the range of $33 to $36 an hour, which reflects the casual loading. Permanent full time positions sit around $70,000 to $75,000 a year. Night shift, cold storage and resources supply bases generally pay above that.

Tickets that help. LF is the baseline. Add LO if you want high bay work. From there, experience on specific machines is worth as much as another certificate: high reach, ride on pallet jacks and narrow aisle equipment are all things employers ask for by name. RF scanning and warehouse management system experience, particularly SAP or PRONTO, lifts your rate because it removes the training gap. Dangerous goods handling helps for chemical and fuel distribution.

If forklift work is where you want to land, browse jobs on our forklift recruitment page.

Warehouse Supervisor

Supervisors run the floor. That means allocating labour across a shift, managing pick and dispatch deadlines, chasing stock discrepancies, running toolbox meetings, handling inductions, and being the person accountable when a truck misses its window. It is a people job built on top of an operational one.

What it pays. Warehouse supervisor salaries in Perth typically run between about $76,000 and $95,000, with figures reported anywhere from the low $70,000s at smaller sites to well over $100,000 at large distribution or resources operations where the role includes budget and compliance responsibility.

Tickets that help. Most supervisors come up off the floor, so the operational licences stay useful. On top of those, the things that get you promoted are Certificate IV in Leadership and Management or Certificate IV in Logistics, first aid, a fire warden or emergency warden ticket, and WHS training such as a Certificate IV in Work Health and Safety. Sites also value people who can run inductions and complete incident reports properly, because that work otherwise lands on a manager.

Other logistics roles worth knowing about

Storeperson. Goods receiving, dispatch, stock control and cycle counting, usually with a forklift licence attached. A good middle rung between general warehouse work and a coordinator role. See our storeperson page for the sorts of positions available.

Pick packer. The most common entry point. Usually no ticket required to start, and a straightforward way to get warehouse experience on your resume while you organise a forklift licence.

Delivery driver. Needs a car, LR, MR or HR licence depending on the vehicle. Adding a forklift ticket makes you far more employable, because many delivery runs involve loading yourself.

Inventory controller. Systems focused. Strong WMS and Excel skills matter more than physical tickets here, and Certificate III in Supply Chain Operations is a common qualification.

Dispatch and transport coordinator. Scheduling, load planning and customer service. Often filled by someone who has done the floor work and understands what is realistic. Certificate IV in Logistics suits this path.

Freight handler and dock hand. Physical, fast paced, often night based. Forklift and manual handling training are the main requirements.

There is more detail on the full range of positions on our logistics recruitment page.

Why Choose a Warehousing Role?

There is steady demand. Jobs and Skills Australia assessed 1,022 occupations in its most recent Occupation Shortage List and found 29 per cent in shortage, with forklift operators, freight handlers, delivery drivers and truck drivers among the roles employers are struggling to fill. WA feels this more than most states. Unemployment here sat at 3.4 per cent in January 2026, the lowest in the country, and the resources sector pulls experienced operators out of general warehousing constantly. If you have a current forklift ticket and a reliable work history in Perth, you will not spend long looking.

You can start without experience and build quickly. Very few industries let you walk in with no qualification, pick up a licensed ticket within your first few months, and move up in rate on the back of it. Warehousing does.

The hours suit different lives. Day, afternoon and night shifts are all common, and casual, temp-to-perm and permanent arrangements all exist side by side. That flexibility is genuinely useful if you are studying, have caring responsibilities, or want to work more hours during a peak season and less afterwards.

It leads somewhere. Forklift operator to storeperson to supervisor to operations coordinator is a well worn path, and none of it requires a university degree. Certificate III and Certificate IV qualifications can usually be completed while you are working.

On safety, be realistic. Warehousing and logistics is not a low risk industry. Though, most of the harm comes from manual handling done badly, from people on foot around moving plant, and from rushing. Sites that induct properly, separate pedestrians from forklifts, and let you take the time to lift correctly are the sites worth working at, and they are the ones we place into.

When You’re Ready to Find Your Job, Contact Flexistaff

You do not need every ticket on this list before you start. Get a forklift licence, get some site experience behind you, and add the rest as roles call for them.

Flexistaff places warehouse and logistics workers with employers across Perth and regional WA, in casual, temp-to-perm and permanent roles across day, afternoon and night shift. Tell us what you hold and what you are looking for, and we will match you to work as it comes through rather than making you apply role by role.

Browse our current jobs, or submit your resume.