Contractor compliance in Australia carries vocabulary and duties that do not translate directly from the UK. Shared duties, SWMS and state-by-state variation all change what you have to keep and who has to keep it.
The terms that differ
| Australia | Rough UK equivalent | What it is |
|---|
| PCBU | Employer or duty holder | Person conducting a business or undertaking |
| SWMS | Method statement | Safe work method statement for high-risk construction work |
| WHS | Health and safety at work | The model work health and safety framework |
| Regulator by state | HSE | SafeWork NSW, WorkSafe Victoria and others |
Shared duties are the part people miss
Where two businesses control the same site, both hold duties and both must consult, cooperate and coordinate. A duty cannot be contracted away. In practice that means your contractor records are evidence for both parties, and the principal contractor cannot simply assume the subcontractor holds everything.
What to hold for each contractor
Insurance with the expiry date recorded, not just the certificate. Competency evidence for the actual task. A SWMS where the work is high risk, available on site while the work happens. An induction record with the version shown. And a permit where the task requires one.
Roll call has to include them
Contractors belong on the same live list as staff and visitors, grouped by company so you can contact a site supervisor. This is the single most common gap found during a drill. Our comparison of visitor management software options covers the shortlist in depth.
Benchmarking the risk
Safe Work Australia’s data portal breaks work-related fatalities and serious claims down by industry, and construction consistently sits among the highest-risk sectors. That is the external justification for the paperwork this page describes: the screening depth applied to a contractor should track the risk profile of the work, and the national statistics are the defensible way to calibrate it.
How long to keep the records
Keep induction, permit and sign-in records at least as long as the limitation period for injury claims, which runs years rather than months in every Australian jurisdiction. Practically that means the contractor register needs an archive that survives staff turnover and system changes, not a spreadsheet on a site manager’s laptop. An audit trail that cannot be produced three years later is the same as no record at all.
Multi-state reality
Victoria runs its own OHS framework rather than the model WHS laws, and other jurisdictions have made variations. Confirm what applies to each site rather than writing one national procedure and assuming it covers everything.
The contractor compliance pack has the full checklist and records template.
References
General information, not legal advice. Confirm what applies to your jurisdiction, sector and site.