Scaffolding Safety Standards

A person conducting a business or undertaking has the primary duty under the WHS Act to ensure, as far as reasonably practicable, that workers and other persons at the workplace are not exposed to health and safety risks arising from the business or undertaking. 

The WHS Regulations for plant include specific obligations for a person with management or control of a scaffold at a workplace. There are also requirements under the WHS Regulations for construction work, high risk work and falls that may need to be complied with when using scaffolds. 

For clarity, the person conducting a business or undertaking who has management and control of the scaffolding work is sometimes referred to in this Code as the ‘scaffolding contractor’.

Designers of plant and structures must ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that the plant or structure is without risks to health and safety when used for a purpose for which it was designed. Pre-fabricated scaffolding requires design registration under the plant regulations.

Manufacturers, importers and suppliers must ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that plant or structures they manufacture, import or supply are without risks to health and safety.

Installers must ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that the way the plant or structure is installed is without risks to the health and safety of persons who install, use, decommission or dismantle the plant or structure and others who are at or in the vicinity of the workplace.

Officers, such as company directors, have a duty to exercise due diligence to ensure that the business or undertaking complies with the WHS Act and Regulations. This includes taking reasonable steps to ensure that the business or undertaking has and uses appropriate resources and processes to eliminate or minimise risks that arise from the construction work.

Workers have a duty to take reasonable care for their own health and safety and that they do not adversely affect the health and safety of other persons. Workers must comply with any reasonable instruction and cooperate with any reasonable policy or procedure relating to health and safety at the workplace.

1. Scaffolding plan

An effective plan will help identify ways to protect persons who are: 

• erecting, using, maintaining, altering and dismantling the scaffold
• near the scaffolding work (for example, other workers and members of the public)

A scaffolding plan should be prepared by a competent person on behalf of the person conducting business or undertaking. In preparing the scaffold plan, the person should consult with:

• the scaffold designer, for example, to discuss the design loads and the capability of the structure to support any additional loadings
• the builder or principal contractor, for example, to assess the location of underground drains or pits. The work should be planned so as to avoid excavating service trenches under, through or adjacent to scaffolds
• workers, health and safety committees, and health and safety representatives regarding erecting, maintaining, altering and dismantling the scaffold
• other competent persons (for example, an engineer) familiar with such structures 
• the electricity supply authority if the scaffold is being erected with in the vicinity of overhead electric lines.

The scaffolding plan should include a site layout plan and detail the elevations and sections of the scaffold. It is to be made available for inspection at the worksite. The scaffolding plan should address the following issues:

• basis of design
• foundations (including ground conditions)
• the weight bearing capacity of the surface where the scaffold is to be erected.
• size and weight of the scaffold (for example, dead, live and environmental loads)
• supporting structure
• access and egress
• tying and anchors (that is, where anchors will be placed on the supporting structure; and types of anchors to be used)
• bracing
• type of scaffold
• edge protection.