The National Code states that OHS&R obligations must be actively addressed by all industry participants. Unequivocal commitment to OHS&R management must be demonstrated in systems that address responsibilities, policies, procedures and performance standards to be met by all parties involved in a project and are directly linked to quality OHS&R outcomes.
The highest priority has been given by all jurisdictions to improvement in the management of OHS&R in the Construction industry.
Service providers must meet their OHS&R obligations according to relevant laws whether working on private or government clients’ projects and sites. Additionally, they are expected to prove that they have an appropriate OHS&R management system operating within their individual enterprise.
They may also be expected to establish a site specific OHS&R management plan before work commences on a government project or site.
Clients will prefer to deal with service providers who recognise that the active management of OHS&R issues leads to superior safety and less costly outcomes than reliance on the lowest common denominator approach typified by simple regulatory compliance.
The Implementation Guidelines require:
9.1 Achievement of the objectives of the Victorian Code and these Guidelines
A tenderer must be able to demonstrate how they will be able to achieve the objectives of the Victorian Code and these Guidelines in relation to safety, including encouragement of best practice and promotion of the highest standards in the industry and application of relevant OHS legislation, regulations and codes.
9.2 Commitment of senior management to safety
A tenderer must be able to demonstrate that its senior managers are proactively involved in, and committed to, achieving safety objectives and improving safety outcomes on the project.
Such commitment may be demonstrated by:
 the tenderer’s OHS policy;
 reference to the OHS obligations of senior management in the tenderer’s OHS management plan;
 governance structures and reporting requirements that enable senior management to understand and respond to OHS issues on the project; and
 involvement of senior management in the project (including attendance, from time to time, on the project site and during project safety meetings).
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9.3 Effective risk management
The successful tenderer must submit to the CCCU for approval, prior to the commencement of work on site, but no longer than 6 weeks after contract award;
 a Project Specific Health and Safety Management Plan (HSMP);
 the program of works; and

the project specific risk assessment.
The HSMP must meet the objectives of the Victorian Code and these Guidelines by addressing the following, at a minimum:
 processes for reviewing, updating and communicating the HSMP;
 provision of adequate OHS resources during the project, including human resources, financial resources and technical resources;
 details of the organisational structure as it relates to safety, including identification of key OHS personnel, key OHS responsibilities and accountabilities and key OHS reporting lines;
 detailed risk management processes that can be applied to both the design and construction phases of the project;
 processes for the preparation and communication of task specific safety procedures (e.g. JSAs and SWMSs), including sample procedures for addressing common construction hazards and risks (e.g. work at heights);
 processes for ensuring all persons working on the project receive necessary information and training, including general induction training, site induction training and task-specific training;
 reporting and investigation of incidents resulting in (or with the potential to result in) personal injury and property damage;
 reporting and responding to regulatory action;
 emergency response and incident management processes, including identification of personnel with specific responsibilities and proposed engagement with emergency services prior to and during the project;
 monitoring and auditing processes for the project, including frequency, responsible personnel and proposed response to non-conformance or non-compliance identified;
 appropriate systems for case management and rehabilitation of injured workers;
 appropriate record-keeping and document management systems; and
 appropriate OHS performance monitoring and reporting.
A tenderer must demonstrate that it has a track record of delivering construction projects safely. However, if this is not possible, the tenderer must demonstrate what actions it has taken to achieve such a track record in the future.
For example, where a tenderer has failed to deliver construction projects safely in the past, that tenderer must be able to identify:
 the reasons for the failure; and
 the steps it has taken to address those matters for future projects.

9.4 Consultation and issue resolution
A tenderer must submit details of how it intends to engage with other parties about safety on the project and resolve safety issues that arise in order to achieve the objectives of the Victorian Code and these Guidelines, including encouragement of best practice, promotion of the highest standards as well as the delivery of the project on time and within budget.
In responding, a tenderer should include a process for each of the following:

Consultation with workers and employee representatives, which addresses: determination of designated work groups, election/training of health and safety representatives, establishment of health and safety committees, agreement on specific roles/rights for HSRs and committee members, establishment of OHS right of entry protocols and the procedural requirements for consultation (e.g. how consultation is to occur – in person, via email, through HSRs);

Consultation, cooperation and coordination with other stakeholders, which addresses: transfer of knowledge and information both before and during the project, allocation of OHS roles and responsibilities, collaboration about risk management and emergency response and communication/reporting protocols.
Relevant stakeholders may include (depending on the project) other contractors/consultants, residents or occupiers near the project site; utility/asset owners and emergency services;

OHS issue/dispute resolution, which addresses: reporting of OHS issues to the tenderer, roles and responsibilities for responding to issues reported, consultation requirements, protocols for involving third parties (including regulators, employee representatives, other stakeholders, independent bodies/experts, etc) and timelines for resolution/escalation; and

Engagement with regulatory authorities, which addresses: proactive engagement and relationship building with relevant regulators; consultation with regulators regarding safety issues and best practice, provision of information regarding the project to regulators and responding to the exercise of regulatory powers and/or enforcement action.
9.5 Project safety performance
The successful tenderer must commit to improved OHS outcomes (both on the project and in the industry more generally) to achieve the objectives of the
Victorian Code and these Guidelines.
The successful tenderer is required to:
 complete the monthly report template found at www.dtf.vic.gov.au/cccu within 7 days of the end of the month and provide it to the CCCU;
 cooperate with the CCCU in transferring knowledge and analysing performance at the end of the project, which may include development of a completion report detailing OHS performance across the project, key safety initiatives and learnings and areas for improvement on future projects; and
 establish processes for engaging with third parties to achieve improvements in safety, which may include appointment of an independent auditor for the project and engagement with industry bodies or experts to address OHS issues that arise.
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9.6 Reportable Incidents
A reportable incident is – a) any incident that must be reported to a statutory body in accordance with
Workplace Health and Safety legislation relevant to the project; and b) any incident resulting in a lost time injury as defined by The Workplace Injury
and Disease Recording Standard (Australian Standard 1885.1-1990).
A Principal Contractor must:
 provide the CCCU with written notification of a reportable incident no more than 48 hours after the event on the CCCU reportable incident form found at www.dtf.vic.gov.au/cccu ; and
 cooperate with the CCCU in the development of a safety alert publication for timely distribution by the CCCU across the industry.