Site induction requirements in South Australia

Short answer: on residential building work in South Australia, a site-specific induction isn't compulsory. SafeWork SA says you must still get the site safety plan across to workers and provide workplace-specific training. On any job of $450,000 or more, the principal contractor must make every worker aware of the WHS management plan before they start.

Want a record from today? The free site induction register prints on A4, and the SA job checker tells you if your job is over the $450,000 line.

SA at a glance

SA uses the harmonised WHS laws, so the general duty to inform and train works as it does elsewhere. The housing position and the $450,000 threshold are SA's own.

Is a site induction compulsory on a house in SA?

SafeWork SA's guidance on residential building site induction says it in one line:

Site specific induction is not compulsory for workplaces where residential building work is being carried out.

The same page then lists what you still owe:

• Where you don't give a site-specific induction, communicate the contents of the WHS management plan or site safety plan. SafeWork SA says a phone call or an email may be appropriate.
• The PCBU must determine and provide relevant workplace-specific training.
• A subbie can give that training to their own crew on the builder's behalf, after consultation. The builder discusses the site conditions with them, then verifies it happened.

Put together, that's three things to prove: the plan went out, the training happened, and you checked. A short QR induction covers all three and leaves you a dated record of each.

Who doesn't need inducting on an SA house?

SafeWork SA names three groups:

• visitors accompanied by someone who has been inducted
• people briefly on site to deliver plant, supplies, materials or services, where a risk assessment shows the risks are controlled, for example by a visitor sign-in and sign-out procedure
• government inspectors

What changes at $450,000?

In SA a construction project is construction work costing $450,000 or more (regulation 292), where the model law uses $250,000. At or above that, the principal contractor must write a WHS management plan with the site rules, make each worker aware of it before they start (regulations 309 and 310), and put up a sign with their name, phone numbers including after hours, and the site office location (regulation 308).

That sign is the natural home for your induction QR code.

Is SA's fall trigger 2 metres or 3?

Two. High risk construction work in SA includes any risk of a person falling more than 2 metres (regulation 291), and that work needs a SWMS before it starts. SA guidance written before 1 July 2026 may still say 3 metres. You keep the SWMS until the work is finished, and longer if there's a notifiable incident (regulation 303).

The card proves general training. Your induction is where they learn this site, and the natural place to read the SWMS for their task.

With Foreman's site inductions, a worker scans one code, reads your documents in their phone's browser and signs, and the record lands in the register for that site. On paper, record each worker on the free site induction register.

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

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This explains SA's rules in general terms and isn't legal advice. Check your own job with SafeWork SA.