Contractor safety management plan builder

Draft a safety plan for a contractor’s job: who controls what, what they provide before starting, hazards, permits, how you co-ordinate, incidents and checks, then copy or print it.

Figures checked 5 November 2026. Free to use, no sign-in.

The job

Victoria and Western Australia have their own Acts; the tool switches to them.

Adds a check on whether the job is a construction project that needs a principal contractor’s plan.

Plan content (edit to suit the job)

Contractor safety management plan

Check before you use it

  • Agree this plan with the contractor before work starts: consultation between businesses is a legal duty (s 46 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW)), not a courtesy.
  • Check licences, insurance and the SWMS yourself; don’t rely on the contractor’s word.
  • Consult the workers who will be affected, and their health and safety representatives if you have them (s 47 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW)).
  • Replace every [bracketed] item and delete defaults that don’t fit your workplace.
  • Check the current law and guidance from SafeWork NSW before relying on the document.
Business engaging the contractor[Business name]
Contractor[Contractor name]
Work location[Site and work area]
Work starts[Start date]
Work finishes[Finish date]
Host contact[Name and phone]
Contractor supervisor[Name and phone]
JurisdictionNew South Wales

Prepared to record how two businesses that share health and safety duties for this work will meet them. Each keeps its own duty and must meet it to the extent it can influence and control the matter, even if a contract says otherwise (s 16 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW)), and both must consult, cooperate and co-ordinate with each other (s 46 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW)). This is a draft prepared from the details entered. It does not by itself show that your obligations are met: check it against your workplace, consult the people who will use it, and update it when things change.

1. Scope of work

  • [Describe the work the contractor will do]

2. Who controls what

The business engaging the contractor controls:

  • Access to the site, sign-in and the site induction
  • Isolation of our plant and services before the contractor starts
  • Other work going on nearby, and keeping our staff and visitors clear
  • Our emergency procedures, first aid and amenities

The contractor controls:

  • How the work is done, including methods, tools and equipment
  • Supervision, training and licences of the contractor’s workers
  • The contractor’s plant, chemicals and personal protective equipment
  • Permits, barricades and signs for the contractor’s work area

Splitting control this way records who does what. It doesn’t transfer either business’s duty: where both influence a matter, both remain responsible for it (s 16).

3. Before work starts

  • Licences and tickets for the work (e.g. electrical, high risk work, asbestos)
  • Public liability insurance and workers compensation cover
  • Safe work method statement or risk assessment for the task
  • Plant registration, inspection and maintenance records
  • Safety data sheets for any chemicals brought on site

Every contractor worker signs in and completes the site induction before starting.

4. Hazards and controls for this job

  • Work near operating plant: isolate and lock out before starting
  • Working at height: elevating work platform or scaffold with edge protection
  • Hot work: hot work permit and fire watch
  • Traffic: exclusion zone around the work area and a spotter for deliveries

5. Permits

  • Hot work permit
  • Isolation and lockout permit
  • Confined space entry permit (if any confined space is entered)

6. Consultation, cooperation and co-ordination (s 46 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW))

  • Pre-start meeting before the work begins to agree this plan
  • Daily check-in between the host contact and the contractor’s supervisor
  • Either side can stop work if it becomes unsafe
  • Changes to the scope, crew or method agreed before they happen

7. Incidents

  • Make the area safe and give first aid; call 000 if needed
  • Tell the host contact straight away about any incident, injury or near miss
  • Notifiable incidents are reported to the regulator immediately and the site is left undisturbed
  • Both businesses take part in the investigation and share corrective actions

Notifiable incidents must be reported to SafeWork NSW immediately and the site preserved (ss 38–39 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW)).

8. Monitoring and review

  • Host contact inspects the work area at least daily
  • Non-conformances recorded and fixed before work continues
  • This plan is reviewed if the scope, site or controls change, and at the end of the job

Sign-off

For the business engaging the contractorName ____________ Signature ____________ Date ________
For the contractorName ____________ Signature ____________ Date ________

Draft prepared with a free tool. Tailor it before use. General information, not legal advice.

Highlighted text in [brackets] still needs your input. Nothing you type is saved or sent. General information, not legal advice.

How this works

The plan records how your business and the contractor will meet the duties you share. It is laid out around s 16 (more than one person can have the same duty), s 19 (the primary duty, which covers contractors and their workers) and s 46 (consult, cooperate and co-ordinate) of the WHS Act, with the same sections in Western Australia’s Act.

In Victoria it follows the OHS Act 2004 instead: s 21(3) for contractors, s 23 for other people, s 26 for whoever manages or controls the workplace, and s 35(2) for consultation.

Tick “This is construction work” to check whether the job is a construction project under your state’s rules. If it is, the principal contractor also needs a site-wide plan: use the principal contractor plan builder.

Not included: contract terms, insurance amounts and the contractor’s own SWMS or risk assessments.

Legal basis

Checked against these sources on 5 November 2026. Spotted a figure that looks wrong? Tell us.

Questions

Can we hand our safety duties to a contractor in the contract?

No. Under the WHS Act each business keeps its own duty and must meet it to the extent it can influence and control the matter, even where an agreement tries to limit that control (s 16). In Victoria, an employer’s duties extend to independent contractors it engages, and their employees, for matters it controls or would control but for such an agreement (s 21(3) of the OHS Act 2004).

Do we have to consult the contractor?

Yes. Under the WHS Act, businesses that share a duty must consult, cooperate and co-ordinate activities with each other so far as is reasonably practicable (s 46). Contractors and their employees are also workers of your business, so the duty to consult workers applies. In Victoria the employer’s duty to consult employees extends to independent contractors it engages (s 35(2)).

Is this the same as a principal contractor’s WHS management plan?

No. That plan is required for construction projects over your state’s trigger and covers the whole site. This plan covers one contractor’s job and can be used for any kind of work, such as maintenance, installation or cleaning. On a construction project, keep it consistent with the principal contractor’s plan.

Is anything I type saved?

No. The draft exists only in your browser tab. Copy it, download it as text, or print it before you close the page.

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Questions the calculator can’t answer?

Workfloor answers pay, award, leave and termination questions for your team, with the Fair Work Act section or award clause behind each answer.

See plans