Contents:

This Code provides information for duty holders about meeting their obligations under Part 3.3 of the OHS Regulations as well as providing information about how to identify hazards and control risks associated with falls in the housing construction industry. This Code also provides information for duty holders about compliance with the OHS Act, where relevant (for example, an employer’s duty to consult with employees).

It is not possible for this Code to deal with all risks associated with falls that a duty holder may encounter at their workplace. The guidance in this Code needs to therefore be considered with regard to the particular characteristics and circumstances of the workplace.

Construction work is any work performed in connection with the construction, alteration, conversion, fitting out, commissioning, renovation, refurbishment, decommissioning or demolition of any building or structure, or any similar activity. OHS Regulations r321(1) It expressly includes:

(a) installation, testing, maintenance and repair work performed in connection with the construction work
(b) the removal from the workplace of any product or waste resulting from the demolition
(c) the prefabrication or testing of elements at a place specifically established for the construction project
(d) the assembly of prefabricated elements to form a building or structure or the disassembly of prefabricated elements, that, immediately before the disassembly, formed a building or structure
(e) the installation, testing and maintenance of gas, water, sewerage, electricity or telecommunications services in or of any building or structure
(f) any work in connection with any excavation, landscaping, preparatory work, or site preparation performed for the purpose of any work referred to in regulation 321(1) or 321(2) of the OHS Regulations (ie this paragraph)
(g) any work referred to in regulation 321(1) of the OHS Regulations performed under water, including work on buoys, obstructions to navigation, rafts, ships and wrecks. OHS Regulations r321(2)

Construction work does not include:

• the assembly, disassembly, prefabrication or manufacture of fixed plant
• the prefabrication of elements, other than at a place specifically established for the construction project
• routine or minor testing, maintenance or repair work performed in connection with a building or structure, or
• the exploration for, or extraction of, minerals or stone. OHS Regulations r321(3)

This Code is not specifically tailored to work in the general construction industry. The Prevention of falls in general construction compliance code needs to be used in the first instance for such work.