Yes — in part. At FMS Training your forklift training is completed in one full day of hands-on instruction on the machine with an experienced trainer. Your licence assessment, which takes about two hours, is held on a separate day. So it is one day of training, not a one-day licence — and most students are trained, assessed and finished inside the same week.
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Can I do a 1 day forklift course?
You can do one day of forklift training. What you cannot do is walk in with no experience in the morning and walk out that afternoon holding a High Risk Work Licence, because the licence is not issued by the training provider at all — it is issued by Workplace Health and Safety Queensland after you have been assessed by an accredited assessor and lodged your own application.
That is the distinction hiding behind most “1 day forklift course” advertising, and it is worth understanding before you book anywhere.
What a one-day forklift licence provider is actually offering
There is no rule that stops a provider running training and assessment on the same day. Some do, and they advertise it as a one-day forklift licence. What changes is not the paperwork at the end — it is what happens in the middle.
When training and assessment are compressed into a single day, that day has to carry both. Time on the forklift is shared with time being tested. There is no gap between learning something and being assessed on it, which means no evening to go over the load charts, no chance to think of the question you did not know you had, and no second run at a manoeuvre that did not feel right the first time.
For an experienced operator who has been driving a forklift on a worksite for years and simply needs the ticket, that can be perfectly fine. For someone genuinely new to the machine, it is a lot to absorb and be graded on in a single day.
Why we run it as one training day plus a separate assessment
We split it deliberately. Day one is yours — a full day on the forklift, theory and practical, with a trainer who is teaching rather than marking. You then have time to study before you come back for the assessment, which runs about two hours.
If you want more seat time before your test, extra practice is included at no additional cost. We would rather you turned up to the assessment ready than turned up to it surprised.
So how fast can you actually get a forklift licence?
Quickly. Training runs seven days a week at our Brisbane site, and most students complete day one and their assessment within the same week — sometimes within a few days, depending on the dates you pick.
Once you pass, you receive a Candidate Assessment Summary from the accredited assessor and a Statement of Attainment in TLILIC0003 from us, then you lodge your own licence application with Workplace Health and Safety Queensland. That application must be made within 60 days of your practical assessment, so it is worth doing straight away rather than leaving it in the glovebox.
1 day forklift training — what day one covers
- Forklift theory: load charts, stability, the load centre, hazards and traffic management
- Pre-start checks and shutdown procedures
- Practical operation on the machine — travelling, loading, stacking, de-stacking, ramps and confined areas
- Written and practical preparation for your assessment
Day two — the assessment
About two hours, conducted by an accredited assessor, with a theory component and a practical component. If you want extra practice beforehand, it is included.
What you need before you apply
- You must be at least 18 years old
- You do not need a car licence — but to lodge your licence application you will need a Queensland Digital Identification and a customer reference number from a Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads card: a driver licence, proof of age card, marine licence indicator card or industry authority card
- Photo identification on the day
- Enclosed footwear and long clothing for the practical
Your High Risk Work Licence (class LF) is then valid for five years and recognised in every state and territory in Australia.
Looking for a forklift course near you?
Our main site is at Lawnton in Brisbane, an easy run from the northside, the city and the bay. We also run forklift courses on the Sunshine Coast, the Gold Coast, at Ipswich and at Toowoomba, and for group bookings we come to your workplace anywhere in South East Queensland.
The short version
If a provider tells you the training takes a day, that is normal and we do the same. If a provider tells you the licence takes a day, ask them when the assessment happens and who issues the licence. The answer to the second question is always Workplace Health and Safety Queensland.
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Or call 1300 699 150 and we will talk you through the dates.
FMS Training is a nationally recognised registered training organisation (RTO 45189) at Lawnton, Brisbane, rated 4.9 stars from more than 1,380 Google reviews, and named Outstanding Education Service at the Moreton Bay Local Business Awards in 2025 and 2026.