Site induction requirements in the ACT

Short answer: WorkSafe ACT says workers and visitors should get a workplace specific induction before work starts. On a single house, it says a short pre-start induction video or on-the-job training could be enough. Keep a signed record of who was trained, on what, by whom and when.

WorkSafe ACT wants a signed record, and the free site induction register has the columns for it. The ACT job checker covers the loose-fill asbestos rule too.

The ACT at a glance

The ACT numbers its regulation provisions as sections. The general duty to inform and train sits in section 19(3)(f) of the Act and section 39 of the Regulation.

What does WorkSafe ACT say about site inductions?

Its induction guidance for building and construction makes four points:

• Workers and other people at the workplace, including visitors, should be given workplace specific induction training before work starts or before they enter an operational construction zone.
• Visitors should be accompanied by someone who has been inducted.
• On a less complex site, such as a single house, the induction could be "a short pre-start induction video and/or on the job training".
• Keep a record of who was trained, what was covered, who delivered it and the date, and have participants acknowledge it, for example by signing a training register.

WorkSafe ACT publishes its own workplace specific induction and visitor induction checklists next to that guidance.

When is an ACT job a construction project?

At $250,000 or more, or when the work demolishes or refurbishes a structure containing loose-fill asbestos insulation, whatever it costs (section 292). That second limb exists only in the ACT.

Once it's a construction project, the principal contractor writes a WHS management plan with the site rules, makes each worker aware of it before they start (sections 309 and 310), and puts up a sign with their name and phone numbers, including after hours (section 308).

Projects over $5 million are "major construction projects" under the Act, with extra consultation rules. A project that only builds a single dwelling house is excluded.

What do silica and asbestos add to an ACT induction?

The ACT's high risk construction work list has a paragraph the model doesn't: processing crystalline silica material with a power tool or another mechanical method (section 291). A PCBU must give silica awareness training to workers doing that work, and keep the record for 5 years after the worker leaves (section 418D).

On a home showing an approved loose-fill asbestos warning sign, the builder must assume asbestos is present (section 422).

If either applies to your job, put it in the induction so every worker hears it before they start.

Who issues white cards in the ACT?

Access Canberra. WorkSafe ACT considers it best practice for owner-builders to hold one too. Cards from other states are recognised (section 318).

With Foreman's site inductions, the induction opens in the phone's browser, so anyone can do it at the gate. On paper, the free site induction register has a signature column for the record WorkSafe ACT describes.

For the other states, see site induction requirements in every state.

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A general guide to the ACT's rules, not legal advice. WorkSafe ACT can confirm what applies to your job.