Australia: When One Principal Contractor Just Isn´t Enough – OH&S Requirements And Large Building Projects

The New South Wales Occupational Health and Safety Legislation requires an owner of a place of work to appoint a principal contractor 'for the construction work' carried out by, or on behalf of, the owner.

But what happens when two separate contractors are employed by the owner to work on the same site simultaneously where neither contractor has possession or control of the entire site?

This commonly occurs on large construction projects with 'green-fields' sites where, for example, both a civil contractor and a building contractor are working simultaneously on the one "site".

The New South Wales Occupational Health and Safety Regulations (Regulations) are silent as to whether more than one principal contractor can be appointed at a place of work.

The Regulations, however, do not prohibit an owner from appointing more than one principal contractor on any one site. In fact, multiple principal contractors appear to be contemplated by the Regulations for the following reasons:

• the Regulations prescribe the obligation on an owner as an obligation to appoint a principal contractor for work being carried out, not for a site or place of work;

• the Regulations define "construction work" as three broad (and different) types of work (i.e. excavation, building and civil engineering) and it is possible that a principal contractor will not be responsible for more than one of these types of work on a site; and

• the Regulations provide that a person cannot be appointed a principal contractor unless that person "is responsible for the construction work at all times".

Principal contractors should understand that the appointment of more than one principal contractor will not alter or diminish their obligations in relation to Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S). The Regulations require that where OH&S responsibilities overlap, these responsibilities are to be discharged in a collaborative and coordinated manner.

Practically, this means that if a principal contractor is required to keep records regarding workers on site, where there are two principal contractors, both are required to keep those records.

Appointing multiple principal contractors in some large projects may be the most sensible approach to ensuring compliance with OH&S requirements for construction work carried out on that project.

Having said that, such an approach may have significant implications for determining who has "operational control" of a "facility" for the purposes of the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Scheme (NGERS) which commences on 1 July 2008.

Please contact us if you require any assistance in determining the extent of your reporting obligations under NGERS or if you require any clarification as to the liabilities that may arise under the new reporting scheme in relation to your business or any current and future projects.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.