Under Regulation 14 of the Building and Construction Industry Improvement (Accreditation Scheme) Regulations 2005 (the Regulations), it is a condition of accreditation that accredited contractors comply with the reporting requirements of the Scheme.
Accredited contractors are required to provide information to the OFSC on their OHS performance. This is achieved by completing and submitting the range of forms below. The OFSC requires information from accredited contractors at different stages throughout the life of both Australian Government and commercial building contracts on which they are the head contractor.
Reporting on OHS performance enables the OFSC to assess the ongoing suitability of companies to remain accredited under the Scheme. OHS performance reporting enables the OFSC to determine OHS trends and benchmarks. This in turn will allow the OFSC to provide relevant, useful best practice advice to aid in the improvement of OHS awareness and culture in the building and construction industry.
As OHS in the construction industry is constantly evolving, from time to time, the OFSC will make amendments to the type and frequency of data collected from accredited contractors so that it is comparable to other construction industry data that is publically available. As such, the OFSC recommends that accredited contractors bookmark this page, as all current forms will be available here at any time. Should any changes be made to OFSC reporting, accredited contractors will be contacted in advance so as to enable them to ensure that the data is being collected as required prior to the report being due.
The OHS Performance Reporting Pack provides copies of the template forms, detailed guidance on how to complete each of the forms as well as completed examples of each form and general information about the Scheme.
Submit: When agreement is reached on a Scheme project
The guide for completing the Contract Declaration form provides detailed information on how to complete a Contract Declaration form.
Accredited contractors are required to submit a Contract Declaration Form to the OFSC as soon as agreement is reached on a tender, or as soon as a contract is signed, for a project that falls within the scope of the Scheme. Contract Declaration Forms need to be submitted for all Scheme projects. Please see the OHS Performance Reporting Pack for guidance on how to determine if a project falls within the scope of the Scheme.
The purpose of the Contract Declaration Form is to notify the OFSC of Scheme projects so that reporting requirements can be established and communication with all parties can commence regarding requirements under the Scheme.
OHS Plan
Submit: As soon as possible prior to commencement of building work on a Scheme project
Accredited contractors are required to submit their site-specific OHS Plan to the OFSC as soon as possible prior to commencement of building work on Scheme projects.
This document should describe how OHS will be managed on specific building contracts and to enable a schedule of on-site safety audits to be established. Please note that there is no prescribed format for OHS plans, however, amongst other things, accredited contractors may wish to consider including the following elements, which are considered by the Office as being crucial to an effective OHS plan:
- Gives details of any design risk assessment
- Has a process for incorporating and communicating design changes during project life
- Gives details of policy for use of plant, materials and substances used in the project
- Identifies the nominated Senior Manager with OHS responsibility
- Includes a copy of a current OHS Policy
- Details responsible person for on-site OHS and their responsibilities
- Includes a process for inducting subcontractors into project site
- Has a process for ensuring subcontractors are involved in developing SWMS or are inducted into head contractor SWMS
- Outlines the method to assess project risks (eg JSA’s)
- Includes a site-specific risk assessment/hazard identification and control measures
- Includes a process for monitoring safety including OHS audits and inspections
- Includes a process for enforcing site safety rules and dealing with non-conformance
- Includes procedures for consultation on OHS during project life
- Includes project incident reporting procedures
- Includes a project wide performance reporting system
- Includes project record keeping procedures
- Includes a process for identifying and delivering training needs during project life
- Includes details of a site-specific emergency plan
- Includes First Aid procedures and
- Includes requirement and process for training/induction in any emergency procedures or use of equipment.
Please note, if any of the above elements are contained within external attachments or appendices to your OHS plan, these must be submitted along with your plan.
This report should be completed for the following incident types where they occur on building or civil construction sites and the accredited contractor is the head contractor (all subcontractor incidents should be included);
- All fatalities on both Scheme and non-Scheme projects, irrespective of the project value (notify immediately to 1800 652 500 and provide report within 48 hours);
- Any incident resulting in a LTI on a Scheme or non-Scheme project (the OFSC also encourages the reporting of AWIs [Alternate Work Injuries]) where the project value is $3 million or more (provide report within 48 hours if a Notifiable Incident*, otherwise provide report within 3 weeks);
- Any MTI or dangerous occurrence on a Scheme project (provide report within 48 hours if a Notifiable Incident, otherwise provide report within 3 weeks. Non notifiable dangerous occurrences do not need to be reported to the OFSC).
The guide for completing the OFSC Incident Report provides detailed information on how to complete the incident report.
The information supplied by accredited contractors allows the OFSC to maintain a comprehensive incident reporting system for the duration of a contract and helps the OFSC establish priorities for future on-site audit monitoring activities. Audit activities form part of the ongoing Scheme maintenance process. Submission of incident reports on non-Scheme projects allows the OFSC to identify trends in incidents across the industry as well as for individual contractors. The Guide to completing the OFSC incident report above provides detailed information on how to complete the incident report.
*Refer to the Guide for completing the OFSC Incident Report for definition.
Submit: For each Scheme project by 15 October and 15 April each year, also at the completion of a Scheme project.
The guide for completing the Scheme Project Report provides detailed information on how to complete the Scheme Project Report.
The purpose of the Scheme Project Report is to evaluate, at a more detailed level, the OHS strategies applied by companies on individual projects. This evaluation focuses on performance indicators that gauge the cultural uptake of OHS within the project in relation to worker involvement, management commitment and allocation of appropriate costs.
The data collected will be used to inform the OFSC, accredited contractors and the broader construction industry of the type and level of additional OHS measures employed by companies and any correlation that follows relating to OHS outcomes achieved.
This form should be submitted by accredited contractors for each Scheme project (see Section Two of the OHS Performance Reporting Pack above for further information on what defines a Scheme project) on the following schedule:
- April to September (or any part there-of) report by 15 October
- October to March (or any part there-of) report by 15 April
- At end of project submit within two weeks of the project end date
Please complete all parts of the form and verify that all Incident Reports for the period have also been submitted to the OFSC. The Incident Report Form can be found on page 40 of the OHS Performance Reporting Pack above. The Guide to completing the Scheme Project Report above provides detailed information on how to complete Scheme Project Report.
Submit: By 15 February and 15 July each year
The guide for completing the Biannual Activity Report provides detailed information on how to complete the Biannual Activity Report.
All accredited contractors are required to submit a Biannual Activity Report every six months, even if no Scheme projects are undertaken during that period. The first Biannual Activity Report covers the first half of the financial year – that is July to December. The second Biannual Activity Report covers the second half of the financial year, which is from January to June. Biannual Activity Reports are to be submitted to the OFSC by 15 February for the July to December reporting period, and 15 July for the January to June reporting period.
The OFSC uses the data collected in Biannual Reports to assess the ongoing suitability of accredited contractors to remain accredited under the Scheme, as well as to establish trends and track performance.
The Guide to completing the Biannual Activity Report above provides detailed information on how to complete the Biannual Activity report.
Please contact the OFSC via the details below if you have any questions regarding your reporting obligations
Phone: 1800 652 500
Email: ofscreporting@deewr.gov.au
Fax: 02 6276 7133