WHS Quick Check
Pick your industry and state. See the top hazards, your employer's duties under the Model WHS Act, your worker duties, notifiable incidents that trigger regulator reporting, and the right state regulator to call.
Top hazards in Construction
- •Falls from height (single largest cause of construction fatalities in AU)
- •Struck-by mobile plant / vehicle
- •Crush injuries from collapsing structures
- •Silica dust (engineered stone — banned 1 July 2024)
- •Asbestos exposure (in demolition / refurb)
- •Manual handling injuries
Employer / PCBU duties
- •Safe Work Method Statements for high-risk construction work
- •Site safety plan and induction (white card)
- •PPE provision and enforcement
- •Fall-risk controls for any work where a fall is possible (regs 78-79), and a SWMS where a person could fall more than 2 m (reg 291)
- •Air monitoring and respiratory protection for silica / asbestos work
Penalty for breach (varies by state — check your regulator): Maximum penalties for the most serious WHS offence (Category 1 — reckless conduct exposing a person to a risk of death or serious injury) differ across the country. Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory set a fixed maximum of $3 million for a body corporate (Western Australia $3.5 million), with up to 5 years imprisonment for an individual. The Commonwealth, New South Wales and the ACT index their maximums each year — for 2026-27 about $17.0 million (Commonwealth), $11.6 million (NSW) and $12.3 million (ACT) for a body corporate. Victoria sets its own penalties under the OHS Act 2004. Lesser offences (Categories 2 and 3) carry lower maximums. Source: Safe Work Australia, Jurisdictional Comparison Table: Maximum Monetary Penalties (as at 1 August 2026).
Your worker duties
- •Take reasonable care for own and others' safety
- •Follow safe work procedures and instructions
- •Use PPE provided
- •Report hazards to supervisor
- •Stop work if there's an imminent serious risk (s 84 WHS Act)
Notifiable incidents
Only three kinds of incident are notifiable under the model WHS Act: the death of a person (s35), a serious injury or illness needing the immediate treatment listed in s36, and a dangerous incident listed in s37. The PCBU must notify the regulator immediately (s38) and preserve the site (s39).
Examples on a building site: a fall needing immediate admission to hospital as an in-patient, an amputation, a serious head or spinal injury (s36); the collapse of a structure, an excavation or shoring, plant or materials falling from height, or an electric shock — even if no one is hurt (s37).
A psychological injury on its own is not currently a notifiable incident in any state — record and manage it as a hazard. Not sure? Use the notifiable incident checker.
Your regulator (NSW)
SafeWork NSW (13 10 50)
Notify a notifiable incident immediately — by phone, or in writing using the regulator's notification page. Unsafe-workplace reports are also accepted on your regulator's website.
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