Residential Construction

WorkSafe ACT developed a Residential Construction Strategy (the Strategy) in early 2020 with a mission to detect contraventions in the sector and ensure compliance under the WHS Act and WHS Regulation 2011.

The Strategy was followed by the launch of Operation Safe Prospect; WorkSafe ACT’s ongoing campaign focussed on increasing workplace visits to improve safety standards in the residential construction industry.

An analysis undertaken on the outcomes of the Strategy and Operation Safe Prospect revealed little change in safety behaviours and compliance with the WHS laws in the residential construction industry.

  • In the ACT, the construction sector has had the highest number of workers’ compensation claims for the past five years.
  • Small to medium business make up 97.4% of claims.
  • In 2020-2021, twice as many improvement notices were issued per visit compared to the previous year.

Hazards

The most common breaches in residential construction are:

Residential Construction Strategy 2022-2024

On 29 June 2022 WorkSafe ACT launched its updated Residential Construction Strategy 2022-24 with a focus to improving safety behaviours and compliance in the industry.

The Strategy defines WorkSafe ACT’s approach to improving safety behaviours and compliance in the residential construction industry over the next two years.

View or download the Residential Construction Strategy 2022-2024. (PDF) (WORD)

Objectives

The key objectives of the Strategy are:

Evaluation

WorkSafe ACT is committed to evaluating and reporting on its activities to support its strategic initiatives. This will be achieved through yearly review of implementation and a final evaluation report for the life of the Strategy.

The progress of the Strategy will be reported in WorkSafe ACT’s Annual Reports. The Strategy is developed in alignment with WorkSafe ACT’s governance structure and encompasses the priorities within the:

Resources

To find out more about work health and safety in the construction industry, visit Building and Construction resources.

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