Examination of the definition of “construction project” under the Model Work Health and Safety Regulations 2014

Summary

In Australia, national harmonisation of occupational health and safety (OHS) regulation was pursued through the development of model Work Health and Safety legislation. The model Work Health and Safety Regulations specify that construction works above a threshold monetary value are deemed to be construction projects requiring the appointment of a principal contractor with duties relating to OHS planning and coordination. The research explored the effectiveness of the monetary threshold as a suitable trigger for specific OHS planning and coordination duties.

The monetary threshold was perceived to be subject to two forms of capture problem, reflecting inadvertent capture of low risk works or failure to capture high risk works. Organisations were also reported to deliberately split contracts to avoid capture by the threshold. The cost estimate modelling revealed inequalities and variation in the operation of the monetary threshold by geographic location and design specification.

Team

• Helen Lingard
• Amanda Warmerdam
• Salman Shooshtarian

Partners

• Safe Work Australia

Testimonial

Safe Work Australia was very satisfied with the quality and standard of the final report produced by the applicant in relation to this project. RMIT employed innovative techniques to analyse qualitative information and the report revealed thought provoking insights into the policy question.

Peer-reviewed papers/outputs

• SHOOSHTARIAN, S., LINGARD, H. & WONG, S. P., (2020), Using the cost of construction work to trigger legislative duties for WHS: the Australian experience, Built Environment Project and Asset Management, https://doi.org/10.1108/BEPAM-02-2019-0015
• LINGARD, H., WARMERDAM, A. & SHOOSHTARIAN, S., (2019), Getting the balance right: Regulating occupational health and safety planning and coordination in the Australian construction industry, Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management