Your First Week as a Traffic Controller: What to Expect

In your first week as a new traffic controller you will finish onboarding paperwork, complete the company induction and work supervised shifts alongside experienced crew. Expect early starts, a lot of new names, set-ups and pack-downs, and stop/slow or pedestrian work with a partner close by. Ask questions, follow the briefing and record your own hours.

The course taught you the rules. The first week teaches you how one particular company applies them, and that is where most new starters either settle in or get overwhelmed. Here is what that week usually looks like, written by people who have inducted a lot of new controllers.

Before your first shift: onboarding

Most companies get the paperwork done before they roster you, often through an app or online forms. Have these ready:

• Your traffic control card or accreditation for the state, and your white card. In NSW, an employer must not direct you to do traffic control work without the right SafeWork NSW card. If you have a Statement of Completion and are waiting on a final assessment, tell the employer: SafeWork NSW allows supervised work in that situation until the assessment is done. Check the details on the SafeWork NSW website.
• Driver licence, and its class if you can drive heavier vehicles.
• Tax file number declaration, bank account and super fund details. If you do not choose a fund, your employer may need to look up an existing fund for you.
• Emergency contact and any medical information you choose to share for first aid.
• PPE sizes. Hi-vis shirts, pants and jackets for day and night, hat or helmet brim, wet weather gear. Ask what the company supplies and what you need to bring.
• The company app. Install it, log in and check you can see the roster, sign documents and submit a docket before day one.

Tip: send photos of your cards from your own phone through the company's official system, not to a personal number or social media account.

The company induction

Every company runs its own induction, even if you have done the same course as everyone else. It covers how this business works. Listen properly, because these are the rules you will be held to:

• How shifts are offered, accepted and cancelled, and how much notice you must give.
• The company's SWMS for common activities, and how you sign on to them.
• Fatigue limits, breaks and what to do if you are not fit for work.
• Drug and alcohol policy.
• Radio procedures, call signs and what to do if the radio fails.
• Vehicle rules, if you will drive company utes.
• How to report incidents, near-misses, abuse and damage.
• Heat, cold and sun protection.

If something in the induction differs from what your course taught, ask about it. There is usually a reason, such as a client requirement or an updated standard. NSW, for example, replaced the TCAWS manual with TS 05492:1.0 Traffic Control at Work Sites on 25 June 2026, and training materials and company documents may still be catching up.

Your first shift, step by step

Every traffic control shift follows the same rhythm. Learn it in week one and the rest gets easier.

1. Arrive early. Fifteen minutes before the start time is normal. Find the supervisor and introduce yourself.
2. Sign in. On the app, a paper sheet or the client's site register.
3. Pre-start and toolbox. The supervisor explains the job, the hazards and who is doing what. Ask if anything is unclear.
4. SWMS sign-on. Read it before you sign. It describes how the work will be done safely and what controls are in place.
5. TGS walk-through. Look at the traffic guidance scheme and walk the site if you can. Know where every sign goes and where you will stand.
6. Set-up. Usually in a set order, with signs placed working towards the work area. Follow the ITCP holder or implementer.
7. Radio check. Before the first vehicle is held, confirm you can hear and be heard, and agree how the last vehicle in each release will be described. Our guide to traffic control radio communication covers good practice.
8. The work. Stay alert, keep your escape route clear and never turn your back on traffic.
9. Breaks and relief. You should be relieved for breaks. Do not just walk off your position.
10. Pack-down. Usually in reverse order of set-up. Stay alert: pack-down is a high-risk time.
11. Docket. Start and finish times, breaks, crew and equipment, signed off by the client representative. Note your own times too.

What you will probably do in week one

Every company is different, but new controllers commonly start with:

• Set-up and pack-down support: carrying and placing signs, cones and stands under direction.
• Pedestrian management: guiding people, prams, wheelchair and mobility scooter users and cyclists safely around the work.
• Site gate control: managing trucks in and out of a construction site while keeping the footpath safe.
• Stop/slow with an experienced partner: usually at one end of a shuttle while a more experienced controller runs the other end. Our guide to stop/slow traffic control explains how these sites work.
• Watching and learning: how experienced controllers read traffic, judge gaps and deal with drivers.

A typical first week

This pattern is common, but it is an illustration, not a rule.

Looking after yourself

The physical side catches many new controllers out. You are on your feet for long periods, in all weather, often very early or overnight.

• Sleep. Night works need a plan. Sleep before the shift, not just after.
• Heat and sun. Drink regularly before you feel thirsty, use sunscreen and shade, and tell your supervisor early if you feel unwell. See our guide to heat stress for traffic controllers.
• Cold and wet. Layers you can add and remove, and wet weather gear that stays visible.
• Food and toilets. Pack food that does not need heating, and ask at the pre-start where the nearest toilet is and how relief works.
• Abuse from drivers. Some drivers will be rude or aggressive. Do not argue, keep your distance, note what you can safely note and report it.
• Fatigue. Your company has fatigue limits. If you are too tired to work safely, say so before you take your position, not halfway through.

The free shift hours and breaks tool is handy for keeping track of long days and how much rest you are getting between shifts.

Check your first pay

Mistakes in the first pay run are common, usually because hours or classifications were entered wrongly. Check rather than assume.

• Keep your own record of start, finish and break times for every shift.
• Your employer must give you a payslip within one working day of payday.
• Check the award or agreement that covers you, your classification, casual loading if you are casual, penalty rates for nights and weekends, and allowances.
• Super must be paid into your fund. Since 1 July 2026, super is generally paid each time you are paid.
• Compare a shift with the Pay Calculator on the Fair Work Ombudsman website.

If something looks wrong, raise it politely in writing with your records attached. Our guide to traffic controller salary explains how pay is built.

Mistakes new controllers make, and questions worth asking

Common first-week mistakes:

• Taking a position before understanding the TGS or the plan for the last vehicle.
• Looking at a phone while controlling traffic.
• Standing in the path of approaching vehicles or with no escape route.
• Being too polite to say they did not hear a radio call.
• Leaving a covered or uncovered sign wrong at the end of a shift.
• Saying yes to every shift, then running out of sleep by day five.

Questions worth asking your supervisor in week one:

• "What do you want me to do if a vehicle does not stop?"
• "Who do I call if I cannot reach you?"
• "How do you want the last vehicle described on the radio?"
• "What should I work on to be ready for more responsibility?"

Supervisors remember the new starter who asks good questions far longer than the one who pretends to know everything. If you want a broader picture of the job beyond the first week, read a day in the life of a traffic controller.

Next steps

Get your onboarding documents ready, install and test the company app, and go into your first week planning to listen more than you talk. Many companies use TrafWise for rosters, SWMS sign-on and dockets, so you will see your shifts, sign your paperwork and keep a record of your hours in one place.