Amendments to the WHS Regulation 1 March 2023
Amendments to the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2017 (WHS Regulation) are due to come into effect on 1 March 2023.
Demolition licensing
The Work Health and Safety Amendment (Demolition Licensing) Regulation 2022 makes some amendments to the WHS Regulation 2017, to transition the existing demolition licensing regime from the repealed Occupational Health and Safety Regulation 2001 to the WHS Regulation.
The Amendment Regulation inserts a new Part 4.6 to the Regulation to provide for the licensing of demolition work. It substantially continues the existing licensing framework and adapts it to the WHS Regulation.
The key changes include:
- amending the definition of licensed demolition work, to align it with an existing requirement for notification of some demolition work under the WHS regulation
- setting consistent and strong criteria that SafeWork NSW must be satisfied of before granting, renewing, suspending or cancelling a demolition licence including extending these criteria to the named supervisor on the licence.
- mandating training for demolition workers who do work under the supervision of a licence holder or nominated supervisor – to ensure their safety, and requiring the licence holder to retain those training records (this provision will commence on 1 March 2025).
- enabling SafeWork NSW to authorise Registered Training Organisations for the delivery of training and assessment for a demolition licence.
- increasing licence duration to five years for applications and renewals.
SafeWork NSW is in the process of developing further guidance material to assist industry with understanding the new requirements.
For more information read the public notice, New regulations for demolition licence holders.