Principal contractors have multiple duties under the WHS Act. In relation to tower cranes the work health and safety legislation essentially imposes duties on them to ensure that the tower crane is, so far as is reasonably practicable, without risks to the health and safety of any person. This includes ensuring the tower crane is correctly installed, commissioned, maintained, operated, dismantled and removed from site.

While principal contractors will usually contract others to carry out many of the specific tasks they still retain the overall duty. Under Section 272 of the WHS Act, any agreement or contract will become void if it purports to exclude, limit, modify or transfer any duties of the principal contractor owed under the Act.

Once the crane is on site the principal contractor needs to incorporate scheduled maintenance of the tower crane into the build program. The maintenance should be arranged in consultation with the maintenance provider.

To demonstrate the principal contractor’s compliance with their duties the following documents should be readily available on site for verification by the principal contractor, HSR, SafeWork inspector, etc. This is not an exhaustive list and additional documents may be required depending on the type of crane and site specific requirements.