Can I make the contractor responsible for all safety?

No. A work health and safety duty cannot be transferred to another person (s14 of the model WHS Act). A contract clause saying "the contractor is responsible for all safety" does not remove your duty — at most it allocates work between the parties, but you still hold your own duty and can be liable for it. You cannot contract out of, delegate away or sign away a WHS duty.

Do a labour-hire worker's safety duties sit with the agency or the host?

Both. The labour-hire agency that employs the worker is a PCBU and owes the primary duty of care (s19), and the host business that directs the worker's day-to-day work is also a PCBU and owes the primary duty too. More than one person can hold the same duty at the same time (s16 of the model WHS Act). Neither can offload it onto the other.

What does consult, cooperate and coordinate mean under WHS law?

Where more than one duty holder has a duty for the same matter, each must, so far as is reasonably practicable, consult, cooperate and coordinate activities with the other duty holders (s46 of the model WHS Act). On a shared site that means the host, principal contractor, subcontractors and labour-hire agency share what they each know about the risks, agree who does what, and make sure nothing falls through the gap between them.

Who is liable if something goes wrong on a shared site?

Each duty holder is responsible for its own duty. Where more than one person holds the same duty, each must comply to the standard required and discharge it to the extent they have the capacity to influence and control the matter (s16(2)-(3) of the model WHS Act). A duty holder can be liable even if another duty holder is also at fault — liability is not shifted by a contract.

Does Victoria differ from the other states?

The wording differs but the principle is the same. Victoria is not part of the harmonised WHS scheme — its Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 (Vic) uses "employer" and "employee" rather than "PCBU" and ss14, 16 and 46. But the non-delegation principle still applies: an employer cannot contract out of its safety duty. Western Australia uses the model WHS Act (the Work Health and Safety Act 2020 (WA)) with the same sections.

Overlapping WHS Duties Mapper (Contractors & Labour Hire)

Map who owes what WHS duty when a host, contractor and labour-hire business share a workplace — you cannot contract out of a duty.

Last verified: 21 June 2026

When a host, a contractor and a labour-hire business share a workplace, they are all PCBUs and all owe the primary duty of care at once. You cannot contract out of, delegate or sign away a WHS duty (s14). This tool maps who owes what, why the duties overlap (s16), and the duty to consult, cooperate and coordinate (s46).

Map who owes a WHS duty on a shared site

Tell us your role and who else is on site. We map who owes what work health and safety duty, confirm the duties overlap and cannot be contracted away (s14 and s16), and the duty to consult, cooperate and coordinate (s46). This is general information, not legal advice.

1. What is your role?

Choose your role above to map who owes what duty.

Not sure whether you are a PCBU at all? Start with the Duty Holder Classifier. For more on workplace safety obligations, see the Safety Hub.

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FairWork Mate is an independent commercial service. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or associated with the Fair Work Ombudsman, the Fair Work Commission, or any Australian Government agency. Content is general information and estimates only — not legal, financial, or tax advice. Always verify with the Fair Work Ombudsman (13 13 94) or a qualified professional.

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