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regulation Health and safety (WHS) 10 min read

SafeWork NSW: what the regulator does and how it affects your site

SafeWork NSW enforces the WHS Act 2011 in NSW. Learn about inspector powers, improvement notices, prohibition notices, notifiable incidents, and licence checks.

By Dan Waring. Last updated 10 May 2026. Verified 10 May 2026.

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In plain English

SafeWork NSW is the work health and safety regulator for New South Wales. It sits under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW) and has the power to enter any workplace, issue notices that stop work immediately, and prosecute for breaches. As of 1 July 2025, SafeWork NSW became a fully independent statutory agency with its own Commissioner, separate from the Department of Customer Service (Work Health and Safety Amendment (Standalone Regulator) Act 2025, verified 2026-05-10).

For builders running residential projects in NSW, SafeWork NSW is the body that:

  • Responds to serious incidents and notifiable events
  • Issues improvement, prohibition, and penalty notices
  • Administers high risk work licences, asbestos removal licences, and demolition licences
  • Runs the online licence register at verify.licence.nsw.gov.au

Call them: 13 10 50 (24/7 for incident notification).

TL;DR

SafeWork NSW enforces the WHS Act 2011 across all NSW workplaces including residential construction. An inspector can walk onto your site unannounced, issue an improvement notice with a compliance deadline, or issue a prohibition notice that stops work immediately. If a notifiable incident occurs (death, serious injury, dangerous incident), you must call 13 10 50 immediately; failure to notify carries a penalty of up to $50,000 for a company. Category 1 WHS prosecutions can reach $11.15 million for a body corporate. Before any licensed worker starts high-risk work or asbestos removal, verify their licence at verify.licence.nsw.gov.au.

What it requires

Regulator functions (s 152 WHS Act 2011)

Under section 152 of the WHS Act 2011 (NSW), SafeWork NSW must:

  • Monitor and enforce compliance with the Act and regulations
  • Advise and make recommendations to the Minister on the operation of the Act
  • Provide advice and information on WHS to duty holders and the community
  • Collect, analyse, and publish WHS statistics
  • Foster cooperative relationships between duty holders and workers
  • Promote education and training on WHS matters

(Verified 2026-05-10, SafeWork NSW: Our approach to WHS regulation)

Inspector powers

SafeWork NSW inspectors can enter any premises they have reason to believe is a workplace, without notice. On entry they can:

PowerWhat it looks like on-site
Enter without noticeInspector arrives at your residential site, presents ID, access cannot be refused
Conduct interviewsCan interview workers privately, separately from the site supervisor
Take photographs, measurements, samplesPhotos of the incident scene, scaffolding, fall-arrest systems
Examine and copy documentsSWMS, site induction records, subcontractor licences
Secure or seize evidenceCan preserve the incident scene, seize plant or equipment
Request expert or police assistanceMay bring a technical specialist or police if warranted

Obstructing or hindering an inspector is an offence under the WHS Act.

(Verified 2026-05-10, SafeWork NSW: SafeWork Inspectors)

Notice types

SafeWork NSW inspectors can issue three types of notices. Understanding the difference matters: two of them let work continue and one doesn’t.

Improvement notice

Issued when an inspector has reasonable belief that the duty holder is contravening (or has recently contravened and is likely to again) a WHS obligation. The inspector specifies what must be fixed and by when. The workplace can generally continue operating while the improvement notice is being actioned.

Typical trigger: slip hazard not managed, equipment safety training not completed, SWMS not in place before HRCW started.

Prohibition notice

Issued when there is a serious risk to health or safety requiring immediate action. Work stops immediately in relation to the activity. Work may only resume once the notice is complied with to the inspector’s satisfaction.

Typical trigger on a residential site: unsafe scaffolding, fall-arrest anchor not certified, structural element at risk of collapse.

Penalty notice (infringement notice)

Issued for prescribed offences without going to court. The amount is set in legislation and is lower than the maximum court-imposed penalty. You can pay it (finalises the matter) or elect to have it dealt with by a court. Non-payment goes to Revenue NSW for enforcement.

Typical trigger: operating without an asbestos removal licence, failing to display safety signage required under the WHS Regulation.

(Verified 2026-05-10, SafeWork NSW: Improvement, prohibition and penalty notices)

Challenging a notice: internal review must be requested within 14 days of receiving the notice. External review by the NSW Industrial Relations Commission is available within 14 days of the internal review decision.

Notifiable incidents

Under section 38 of the WHS Act 2011 (NSW), a PCBU must notify SafeWork NSW immediately upon becoming aware that a notifiable incident has occurred in connection with their business.

A notifiable incident is any of the following:

TypeDefinition
DeathThe death of any person (worker or member of the public) at the workplace
Serious injury or illness (s 36)Requires immediate hospital in-patient treatment; or treatment for amputation, serious head injury, serious eye injury, serious burn, degloving, spinal injury, loss of bodily function, serious laceration; or medical treatment within 48 hours of exposure to a substance
Dangerous incident (s 37)Exposes any person to a serious risk even if no-one was hurt: uncontrolled escape/spillage/leakage of a substance, uncontrolled implosion, explosion or fire, collapse or overturning of plant required to be registered, collapse or partial collapse of a structure

How to notify: Call 13 10 50 (24/7). Notification must be immediate, not after the site is cleaned up or after a management meeting.

Scene preservation: Do not disturb the incident site until an inspector arrives or gives direction, except to the extent necessary to make the site safe, assist an injured person, or comply with a lawful requirement.

Penalty for failing to notify: Up to $50,000 for a body corporate and $10,000 for an individual (verified 2026-05-10, SafeWork NSW: Incident notification).

Insurer notification: You must also notify your workers compensation insurer within 48 hours of a notifiable incident.

WHS penalties in NSW (from 1 July 2025)

Penalties under the WHS Act are expressed in penalty units. From 1 July 2025, one penalty unit equals $123.31 (indexed to CPI). Maximum court-imposed penalties are:

CategoryWhat it coversBody corporateOfficer/PCBUIndividual
Category 1 (s 31)Gross negligence or recklessness that exposes a person to risk of death or serious injury$11,150,183$2,318,844$1,114,475
Category 2 (s 32)Failure to comply with a duty that exposes a person to risk of death or serious injury$2,235,363$447,122$223,561
Category 3 (s 33)Failure to comply with a duty (no risk of death/serious injury required)$748,491$149,698$74,849
Industrial manslaughterReckless/negligent conduct causing death$20,000,000N/A25 years imprisonment

(Verified 2026-05-10, SafeWork NSW: Increases to penalty provisions from 1 July 2025)

These are maximums. The actual penalty in a prosecution depends on the court.

Licence verification

SafeWork NSW administers licences for high-risk work, asbestos removal (Class A and Class B), demolition, and explosives/fireworks. Before a licensed worker starts:

  1. Go to verify.licence.nsw.gov.au
  2. Search by name or licence number
  3. Confirm the licence has not expired, covers the relevant classes, and the name and photo match the worker

The register shows licence status, conditions, prosecution summaries, and any penalty notices issued since 1 July 2018.

White cards (General Construction Induction) are verified separately at Service NSW. The glossary/white-card article explains the white card requirement.

What the register does not include: holders of explosives and fireworks licences are excluded from the public register.

(Verified 2026-05-10, SafeWork NSW: Regularly check licences)

What it doesn’t cover

SafeWork NSW covers work health and safety for all NSW workplaces. It does not cover:

  • Building licensing and consumer protection: that’s Fair Trading NSW (contractor licences under the Home Building Act 1989, HBCF home warranty insurance)
  • Workers compensation claims: managed through icare for most employers; SafeWork can investigate incidents but the claims scheme is separate
  • Commonwealth workplaces: federal government agencies, certain corporations, and defence sites fall under Comcare, not SafeWork NSW
  • Other states: SafeWork NSW jurisdiction is NSW only. Builders working in Victoria use WorkSafe Victoria, Queensland uses WorkSafe Queensland

Practical implications

Residential construction focus areas. SafeWork NSW regularly inspects residential construction sites. Its Building and Construction WHS Blueprint to 2026 sets out priority areas including falls from height, asbestos, and plant safety. Inspectors can arrive unannounced; common triggers include complaints from workers, neighbours, or other tradies on site.

The SWMS is your first line of defence. If a prohibition notice lands or a notifiable incident occurs, the first thing the inspector will ask for is the SWMS. If there isn’t one for the HRCW in progress, you’re exposed to a Category 2 or Category 3 breach on top of any incident-related charges. See SWMS: when it’s required.

Verify licences before mobilisation, not after. Under WHS law, the principal contractor must take reasonable steps to verify that subcontractors hold relevant licences before high-risk work starts. Checking after an incident is not a defence. See WHS duties when engaging subcontractors.

Keep records accessible. Inspectors can ask for SWMS documents, induction records, plant inspection logs, and subcontractor licence copies on the spot. Electronic copies on a tablet or phone are acceptable provided they are available immediately.

Incident: stop, notify, preserve. Builders often underestimate the scene-preservation obligation. The instinct is to clean up and resume. That instinct increases prosecutorial risk. If in doubt, call 13 10 50 before touching anything.

References

See also

Last updated: 2026-05-10. Verified: 2026-05-10. Quarterly review for currency.

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