17 October 2022
If you work on your own property, have you considered if you have the appropriate license to carry out the work? Often when doing this work, you may not consider your legislative obligations from a Workplace Health and Safety (WHS) perspective, thinking it is private work on a personal residence, but it's not that simple.
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Are you a licensed builder who has decided to undertake construction work on your own house? If so, you have likely asked yourself, “do I have the appropriate license to carry out the work?”. Many will not turn their mind to their legislative obligations from a WHS perspective, thinking it is a private work on a personal residence. However, it is not that simple.
The WHS legislation imposes a variety of obligations, the primary one being that ‘a person conducting a business (PCBU) or undertaking must ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of workers and others.’ A ‘person conducting a business or undertaking’ can be a sole trader or an incorporated entity or partnership.
It is common for a licensed builder to say that the work being undertaken at their personal residence does not form part of their business or undertaking. That may be the case in some instances, however, a close examination of the facts in each case would be required, to determine whether specific obligations under the WHS legislation applies.
Some of the factors WHS will consider when it comes to whether you are a PCBU include:
- Is the work being performed on the property under the business’ builders license?
- Is the property used to store materials used for the business?
- Are employees of the business performing work on the property, whilst being paid their usual wage from the business?
- Have materials been purchased through the business and then used at the property?
While that is not an complete list to consider, if you have answered ‘yes’ to two or more of those points, it's likely the work will be considered to form part of the business or undertaking and therefore specific obligations under the WHS legislation may apply, for example, with respect to high risk construction work. Which means WHS organisations could take enforcement action if you're found to have breached legislation.
Of course, any construction work should be planned to ensure it is performed safely. An important part of that planning is ensuring you understand whether any specific legislative obligations apply.
Contact HBA Legal
Award-winning workplace health and safety experts, Damian Hegarty and Jamie McPherson from HBA Legal (part of Crawford & Company), are pleased to continue their longstanding association with Master Builders, so if you need assistance with any WHS, QBCC or insurance issues, reach out to the team.
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