Traffic controller hire
In short: ECTC supplies traffic controller hire across Queensland and New South Wales: accredited Traffic Controllers, Traffic Management Implementers and TMA drivers, allocated from 13 depots to implement your approved Traffic Guidance Scheme or ours. Crews arrive with vehicles, arrow boards, signage, radios and PPE, run a pre-start, set out in sequence and document the shift. Available 24/7, booked through the local Area Manager.
Who hires controllers from ECTC
Civil and building contractors who already hold an approved TMP and need accredited people to implement it. Traffic management companies short of crew for a peak. Councils with their own schemes for routine works. Utilities and their contractors who need a stop/slow crew for a half day. Surveyors, pavement testers, line markers and inspection crews who work in live traffic and need protection for a few hours.
If you do not have a plan yet, start at roadworks and civil or planning instead; those pages cover the TMP and TGS. This page is for the crew.
Who you get, and what they are accredited to do
A traffic control crew has three tiers, and they are not interchangeable. A Traffic Controller (TC) directs traffic with the stop/slow bat or operates a portable traffic control device. A Traffic Management Implementer (TMI) sets out and supervises the Traffic Guidance Scheme on site, checks it against the actual conditions and signs it off; putting a TC in charge of setting out a TGS is a compliance failure. A Traffic Management Designer (TMD) prepares the TMP and TGS; you only need one if the plan does not exist yet. TMA drivers hold separate training to operate a Truck Mounted Attenuator.
Queensland and New South Wales run separate accreditation schemes and there is no mutual recognition. Our Queensland crews hold Queensland accreditation and our NSW crews hold NSW accreditation. We never send a controller across the border on the wrong ticket. Licence details for each state are in our Queensland and NSW licence guides.
- Accredited TCs for stop/slow, PTCD operation, intersections and pedestrian crossings
- TMIs to set out, supervise and sign off your scheme, and to lead crews on complex sites
- TMA-accredited drivers with the attenuator vehicle for high-speed corridors
- Each crew with a ute and arrow board, signage pack, cones, bollards, UHF radios with backup mobile contact, PPE and lighting for night shifts
- Cone deployment trucks, VMS trailers and PTCDs added when the scheme calls for them
- Shift lengths of 4, 8, 10 or 12 hours, day or night, single shifts or ongoing project work
How a hire booking runs
Send the scheme and the dates
Location, your TGS or TMP, start date and time, shift length, number of days and whether it is day or night. The Area Manager confirms the crew size the scheme needs and whether a TMI is required.
Allocation
The depot allocates by accreditation, experience with the setup type, travel distance and fatigue, and familiarity with the region. The crew is briefed on your plan, site map, client instructions and hazards before they leave.
On site, early
Crews aim to arrive ahead of the start time, walk the site against the scheme, run the pre-start with your supervisor, and set out in sequence: advance warning signs, tapers, control point, pedestrian detours and VMS.
Shift, documentation, next day
The TMI monitors the setup, rotates controllers for fatigue and documents the shift. For ongoing work the same crew returns where the program allows.
Compliance when you supply the plan
Our TMI implements your approved scheme, but accreditation makes them responsible for what is set out. If your TGS does not match the site, for example a scheme drawn for a straight rural road being used at a signalised intersection, or device spacing that does not suit the posted speed, the TMI will tell you before the setup goes live. In Queensland the reference is TMR's MUTCD Part 3 and the QGTTM, including the March 2025 changes to sign spacing tolerances and end-of-queue protection; in NSW it is Transport for NSW's Traffic Control at Work Sites standard, TS 05492:1.0. Where the scheme needs amending, our designers can revise it, or you can have your own designer do it.
Where we have supplied crews
Durkin Construction, delivering a project outside NSW: the pavement engineer wrote that our site crews were very active following their crew around, flexible, and ensured the setups were done correctly as required on site. Pavement Management Services: two of our controllers were described as on the ball at all times through an entire survey program. Aurizon network operations: three days on a worksite where the crew kept everyone on site and on the public road as safe as they could and integrated easily. NQ Asphalt and Shadforth: crews praised by the site supervisor and project manager for efficiency and for helping wherever they could to finish faster.
Century Cranes has used ECTC for many years, from the TMP to crews at all hours of the day and night. Rockhampton Regional Council: quick supply of professional controllers for a council event. Those are their words, on our testimonials, with their names.
Scaling up
For a weekend closure in Rockhampton we put 22 traffic controllers and 18 utes on one job in rotation over 36 hours. For a reseal program we can keep the same crew on your sites for months. For a peak you cannot cover, neighbouring depots supply crews to the region that needs them. Tell the Area Manager the number of control points and the hours and the allocation follows from that.
Jobs like this
Closest depots
Common questions
What is the minimum booking for traffic controller hire?
Shifts are booked at 4, 8, 10 or 12 hours, day or night. A single short shift is fine, for example a half day for a survey or pavement test. Tell the Area Manager the start time and the scheme and they will confirm crew size and the minimum for that depot.
Do your controllers come with a vehicle and signage?
Yes. Each crew arrives with a ute fitted with an arrow board, a signage pack, cones, bollards, radios, PPE and lighting for night work. PTCDs, VMS trailers, cone deployment trucks and TMA vehicles are added when your scheme specifies them.
Can I hire a TMI without TCs?
Yes. Some clients need a TMI to set out and supervise a scheme that their own staff will operate, or to audit a setup. Book through the Area Manager and say what the TMI will be responsible for.
Are your controllers accredited for my state?
Yes. Queensland crews hold Queensland accreditation and NSW crews hold NSW accreditation. There is no mutual recognition between the states, so we allocate by the state the site is in, never by who is closest across the border.
What if my scheme does not suit the site?
The TMI will tell you before setting out, because they carry the compliance responsibility for what is on the road. Our designers can usually revise the TGS quickly, or your designer can. We would rather delay a setup by an hour than have an auditor stop the job.
Can you supply crews on short notice?
Often, yes, for an existing scheme from the nearest depot. The operations line runs 24/7. Short notice capacity depends on what else the depot is running that day, so ring 1300 011 203 with the site and start time and the Area Manager will give you a straight answer.
Need crews on site?
Send the job and your local Area Manager takes it from there, day or night.