Construction industry codes of practice updated
The vast majority of national codes of practice recently reviewed and updated and now in effect in Queensland are for the construction industry.
The review follows a nationwide agreement in 2015 that all Australian work safety regulators will review the codes of practice every five years.
Codes of practice provide information on a specific issue and help you achieve legal standards. They don't cover every risk which may arise. It's best for you to consider all hazards connected to your work, not only those that are regulated. If you're a duty holder, you can use another method to meet your legal duties. But you need to make sure your approach gives the same or a higher standard of work health and safety than the relevant code of practice.
This review was limited to technical accuracy, usability and readability—content was not reviewed at this stage. Some matters in the codes therefore do not represent a contemporary understanding of the work environment and these will be addressed with Safe Work Australia and industry stakeholders in the near future.
Industry feedback on the updated codes is still welcome and Workplace Health and Safety Queensland will raise any issues raised here with Safe Work Australia for consideration at the next full review.
The following codes of practice took effect in Queensland on 1 March:
- Abrasive blasting code of practice 2021 (PDF, 1.13 MB)
- Confined spaces code of practice 2021 (PDF, 1.43 MB)
- Demolition work code of practice 2021 (PDF, 0.66 MB)
- Excavation work code of practice 2021 (PDF, 1.9 MB)
- First aid in the workplace code of practice 2021 (PDF, 0.48 MB)
- Hazardous manual tasks code of practice 2021 (PDF, 1.38 MB)
- How to manage and control asbestos in the workplace code of practice 2021 (PDF, 0.97 MB)
- How to manage work health and safety risks code of practice 2021 (PDF, 0.65 MB)
- How to safely remove asbestos code of practice 2021 (PDF, 2.22 MB)
- Labelling of workplace hazardous chemicals code of practice 2021 (PDF, 1.25 MB)
- Managing noise and preventing hearing loss at work code of practice 2021 (PDF, 1.57 MB)
- Managing risks of hazardous chemicals in the workplace code of practice 2021 (PDF, 1.21 MB)
- Managing the risk of falls at workplaces code of practice 2021 (PDF, 3.9 MB)
- Managing the work environment and facilities code of practice 2021 (PDF, 0.57 MB)
- Preparation of safety data sheets for hazardous chemicals code of practice 2021 (PDF, 1.03 MB)
- Safe design of structures code of practice 2021 (PDF, 0.73 MB)
- Scaffolding code of practice 2021 (PDF, 1.63 MB)
- Spray painting and powder coating code of practice 2021 (PDF, 1.18 MB)
- Welding processes code of practice 2021 (PDF, 0.95 MB)
- Work health and safety consultation, co-operation and co-ordination code of practice 2021 (PDF, 0.49 MB)
- Managing electrical risks in the workplace code of practice 2021 (PDF, 1.25 MB)