Construction companies should be aware that amendments to the
Implementation Guidelines to the Victorian Code of Practice for
the Building and Construction Industry
(Guidelines) and the Occupational Health and
Safety Regulations 2007 (Vic) (OHS
Regulations) commenced on 1 July. Among
other things, these changes include controversial new drug testing
and site security rules.
New drug testing & site security rules
In accordance with the Guidelines, a Workplace Relations
Management Plan (WRMP) is required for any project
where a Victorian government department or public sector body
contributes (directly or indirectly) $10 million or more (or where
the contribution is at least $5 million and represents at least 50
per cent of the total construction project value).[1]
From 1 July, on sites where a WRMP is required, tenderers must
include in the WRMP:
- a fitness for work policy to manage alcohol and other drugs in
the workplace; and
- security and risk management processes and procedures.
The Guidelines relevantly prescribe that tenderers must outline
their approach to managing drug and alcohol issues in the workplace
and what steps they will take towards ensuring no person attends
the worksite under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Critically,
it states that this will include the tenderer outlining:
- how it will ensure that all subcontractors and their employees
and workers agree to comply with the relevant policy (through a
contract or some other enforceable means);
- which objective medical testing method/s it proposes to
implement to detect the presence of alcohol or specified drugs in a
person's system;
- the medical thresholds against which positive or negative test
results will be determined (noting that, subject to testing
detectable levels, the acceptable level for all substances is
zero);
- how persons will be selected for testing and the frequency of
that testing (including general random testing, voluntary testing,
targeted testing of higher risk activities, on‑suspicion testing
and for‑cause testing);
- how persons returning a positive result will be prevented from
working until it is safe for them to do so; and
- counselling and rehabilitation processes that may apply in the
event of a positive test.
The Guidelines also note that the tenderer must maintain
responsibility for the testing and cannot pass the implementation
or cost of testing to its subcontractors.
Tenderers will also be required to explain the systems,
processes and procedures the tenderer will adopt to ensure site
integrity. The Guidelines state that this should include security
measures in the form of CCTV, swipe card access systems, and
photographic or biometric security systems (or similar). If such
measures are not 'feasible', the tenderer will be required to
include reasons as to why they are not.
Lastly, the Guidelines now require that tenderers commit to
providing the government department or public sector body with a
project-specific health and safety management plan
(HSMP) if they win the project. The successful
tenderer's managing director must also declare that the HSMP
complies with the requirements of the Guidelines and includes a
copy of the fitness for work policy submitted in the WRMP.
For employers
All construction companies undertaking Victorian
government-funded construction work are required to comply with the
Guidelines. Companies seeking to tender for publicly funded
projects need to consider how to satisfy the new requirements under
the Guidelines, which should include reviewing existing fitness for
work policies to ensure compliance.
OHS Regulations
The Victorian Occupational Health and Safety Amendment
Regulations 2014 (Amendment Regulations)
make various changes to the OHS Regulations,
including relevantly to parts dealing with licensing, plant and
construction.
Construction amendments
Principal contractors will be required to prepare fewer health
and safety coordination plans in accordance with changes brought
about by the Amendment Regulations, which provide that the
principal contractor's duties relating to health and safety
coordination plans and signage will now only apply to construction
projects if the cost of the project is $350,000 or more (formerly,
the threshold was $250,000).
The Amendment Regulations have also removed the requirement for
construction employers to keep a record containing details of any
construction induction card for each person employed to perform
construction work (although the obligation to ensure only
registered employees perform construction work has not been
changed).
Licences
The Amendment Regulations also make various changes to the
requirements for and administration of high risk work licences,
such as:
- workers who work with plant for the purpose of testing,
installing, commissioning, maintaining or preparing that plant will
no longer be required to hold a high risk work licence regarding
that work (high risk work licences will be required for work with
scaffolding, dogging or rigging for the purposes of maintenance as
well as for loading or unloading plant onto and from transportation
vehicles);
- the Victorian WorkCover Authority (VWA) will
be required to provide notifications regarding its intention to
grant or refuse applications for high risk work licences within 45
days of receiving an application (formerly 60 days);
- interstate high risk work licence holders will have longer to
apply to renew their licences with the VWA (now within 120 days
prior to the licence expiry date);
- if a worker holds a high risk licence from the VWA and in any
other jurisdiction, s/he will now be able to apply to the VWA for a
consolidated licence at any time (rather than only if any part of
the licence is due to expire within 60 days);
- high risk work licences will no longer be required for
operating heritage boilers.
A new definition of 'forklift truck' has been added to make
clear that tractors fitted with forklift attachments do not need an
associated forklift licence (and forklift licences currently held
for such tractors will not need to be renewed).
Plant
In accordance with the Amendment Regulations, some items of
plant will no longer be required to be registered with the VWA
(this includes the plant listed in Schedule 2 of the OHS
Regulations, such as some boilers and pressure vessels, tower
cranes, self-erecting tower cranes, lifts, building maintenance
units, some amusement structures, concrete placing units
(truck-mounted with boom) and mobile cranes with a safe working
load greater than 10 tonnes).
Several items of plant requiring registration of design have
been added (including the design of new chairlifts and new
truck-mounted concrete placing booms).
For employers
Although it is important to be aware of these changes, they do
not represent a significant change for employers currently
complying with the OHS Regulations.
[1] For other Victorian government construction projects
with a value of under $10 million, contractors are still required
to have policies to address their management of drugs and alcohol
in the workplace, safety and site security measures, which may be
audited to ensure compliance.