Traffic control ticket expiry catches people out because every ticket runs on its own clock, and the rules change from state to state. A traffic controller might hold a stop/slow ticket, an implementer ticket, a White Card, first aid, CPR and a heavy vehicle licence, each with a different date. This tracker keeps them in one wallet on your phone, counts down to each expiry and tells you how to renew it in your state.
Nothing you add leaves your device. The wallet, the photos and the team list are stored in your browser, not on a TrafWise server.
How long traffic control tickets last in each state
The validity period depends on the ticket and the state that issued it. These are the rules the tracker uses, with how firm each one is:
| Ticket | NSW | QLD | VIC |
|---|---|---|---|
| Traffic controller | Sources conflict: type the date on the card | 3 years (TMR) | 3-year card (provider rule, check) |
| Implement TGS / TMP | Sources conflict: type the date | 3 years (summary of TMR page, check) | 3-year card, separate refresher (provider rule, check) |
| Prepare Work Zone TMP / design | Not found: type the date | Not found | Not found |
| White Card | No expiry, 2-year rule | No expiry, 2-year rule | Check WorkSafe Victoria |
| First aid (HLTAID011) | 3 years | 3 years | 3 years |
| CPR (HLTAID009) | 1 year | 1 year | 1 year |
| High risk work licence (EWP boom 11 m+) | 5 years | 5 years | Type the date |
Queensland is the clearest. TMR grants traffic controller accreditation for 3 years. Renewal needs a TMR-approved refresher course and form F4115, lodged with the fee in person at a transport and motoring service centre. You can't renew online. TMR has said it posts a renewal notice about 7 weeks before expiry, but it's safer not to rely on the mail.
Victoria moved to the Austroads National Training Framework in December 2023. Approved providers say the national digital card is valid for 3 years from issue. They also say a refresher is refused once a ticket has been expired for more than 3 months, which means redoing the full course. A traffic controller refresher doesn't renew an implementer ticket either. Those are provider rules rather than a published government rule, so the tracker marks them "check".
New South Wales is the one to watch. SafeWork NSW issues the Traffic Control Work Training card, and its page doesn't give an expiry period. Some training providers say the card has no expiry. Others describe a 2 or 3-year refresher. Old RMS and TfNSW photocards were recognised only until the date printed on them. So for NSW the tracker never guesses: you type the date on your card, or tick "No expiry printed", and the tool points you to SafeWork NSW on 13 10 50. The NSW traffic control ticket guide covers the card types in more detail.
Other states (WA, SA, TAS, ACT, NT) haven't been verified yet, so you type the date and the tracker shows the general steps.
Tickets that aren't traffic control tickets
White Card. The general construction induction card has no expiry date. The WHS Regulation (s317) still matters: if you did the induction more than 2 years ago and haven't done construction work in the past 2 years, a business can't send you onto a construction site until you redo it. The tracker flags a White Card older than 2 years so you can check.
First aid and CPR. Safe Work Australia's First aid in the workplace Code says CPR refresher training should be done every year and first aid qualifications renewed every 3 years. "Should" means it's guidance, but most principal contractors expect it. See first aid for traffic control crews.
High risk work licences. Under the WHS Regulation (s92) a high risk work licence, including the boom-type EWP licence for booms of 11 m or more, expires 5 years after it's granted.
Driver licences, TMA tickets and EWP yellow cards have no single rule. Type the date on the card.
How the tracker works it out
- Days left is the expiry date minus today. A ticket that expires today shows 0 days.
- Colours: red for expired or 7 days or less, orange for 8 to 14 days, yellow for 15 to 30 days, green for more than 30 days.
- Suggested expiry is the issue date plus the state's validity period, where one is held. You can accept it with one tap, but the date printed on your card always wins.
- Refresher window (VIC): if the ticket has expired, the tracker adds 3 months to the expiry and tells you whether you're still inside it.
- Calendar reminders: the .ics file adds an all-day event on each expiry date with three alerts, at 9 am 30, 14 and 7 days before.
Worked example: one traffic controller's wallet
Jess works in south-east Queensland. On 27 October 2026 she adds four tickets:
| Ticket | Issued | Expiry | Days left | Colour |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traffic controller (QLD) | 10 Nov 2023 | 10 Nov 2026 (suggested: 3 years) | 14 | Orange |
| First aid HLTAID011 | 3 Feb 2025 | 3 Feb 2028 (suggested: 3 years) | 464 | Green |
| CPR HLTAID009 | 3 Feb 2025 | 3 Feb 2026 (suggested: 1 year) | Expired 266 days | Red |
| White Card | 15 Mar 2019 | No expiry | – | Grey, 2-year note |
The dashboard leads with the expired CPR. The TC accreditation shows the TMR steps: book the refresher now, then lodge F4115 in person with the fee before 10 November. The White Card note reminds her it's still fine because she's worked in construction within the last 2 years. She downloads the calendar file, so her phone reminds her about the first aid renewal 30, 14 and 7 days before 3 February 2028.
Team mode for owners and allocators
In Team mode you:
- add each worker's tickets by hand, or import a CSV with the columns name, ticket, expiry (optional: state, number)
- tick the tickets a worker must hold to be rostered, for example Traffic Controller and White Card
- pick the roster date
The matrix shows every worker against every ticket, coloured by days left. Under it, Can't be rostered lists anyone missing a required ticket or with one expired on the roster date, and the reason. Export the matrix as a CSV for your rostering system or print it for the depot wall. It pairs well with the traffic controllers needed calculator when you're planning crews, and with the Take 5 card, where each controller confirms on site that their ticket is current.
Moving crews interstate? Recognition rules are changing under the National Training Framework. Read interstate traffic control qualification recognition before you send anyone across a border.
Keeping your data on the device
The wallet uses your browser's own storage. Card photos are shrunk to about 1000 pixels wide, JPEG, so several fit. If the storage is full, the tracker tells you and saves the ticket without the photo. Because nothing is uploaded:
- the wallet is only on the phone or computer where you made it
- a private or incognito window may forget it when closed
- clearing your browser data deletes it, so keep the original cards
When to check with the regulator
Use the tracker as a reminder system, not as proof a ticket is valid. Check with the issuer when:
- you hold a NSW traffic control card and aren't sure whether it expires
- your ticket has lapsed and you need to know whether a refresher is still allowed
- you're moving to work in another state
- the date the tracker suggests doesn't match the date on your card
For NSW call SafeWork NSW on 13 10 50. For Queensland use the TMR accreditation pages. For Victoria ask your Austroads-approved training provider. The implement traffic control plans course guide explains the step up from stop/slow to implementer.