Bringing in contractors or labour-hire workers doesn’t hand off your safety responsibility — it usually means WHS duties overlap. Under Australia’s model WHS laws, more than one business can owe a duty to the same worker at the same time, and none of them can contract that duty away. This guide explains who is responsible for contractor and labour-hire safety, how shared duties work, and what you must do in practice. It builds on our guide to WHS obligations for employers.
Quick summary
- Duties overlap:
More than one PCBU can owe a WHS duty to the same worker at the same time
- Can't contract out:
You cannot transfer or delegate your WHS duty by contract
- Consult & coordinate:
PCBUs who share a duty must consult, cooperate and coordinate
- In practice:
Induct, verify competencies/licences, and share hazard information
Why duties overlap
A WHS duty is owed by a PCBU to its workers — and “worker” is defined broadly to include employees, contractors and subcontractors, labour-hire staff, apprentices, work experience students and volunteers. So when a contractor works on your site, both your business and the contractor’s business can be PCBUs owing duties to that worker.
The law is explicit that you cannot transfer or contract out of a WHS duty. A clause saying “the contractor is responsible for all safety” doesn’t remove your duty — it just describes how you’ve agreed to divide the work. If something goes wrong, the regulator looks at what each PCBU actually did, not what the contract said.
Labour hire: host and provider both owe duties
Labour hire is the clearest example of shared duties. The labour-hire provider (who employs the worker) and the host business (where the work is done) both owe WHS duties to the worker. The provider can’t just place a worker and walk away, and the host can’t treat the worker as “someone else’s problem”.
In practice that means the host must induct and supervise labour-hire workers like their own, and the provider must satisfy itself the host’s workplace is safe. For the employment-relationship side of this, see our labour hire glossary entry.
What employers must do in practice
Managing contractor & labour-hire safety
-
Consult, cooperate and coordinate with the other PCBUs on shared risks — agree who does what, and check it happens
-
Induct everyone on site to your workplace, hazards and emergency procedures — see our guide on running an effective induction
-
Verify competencies and licences before work starts, and don’t let anyone start without the required tickets
-
Share hazard information both ways — you tell them about site hazards; they tell you about the risks of their work
-
Supervise and monitor the work, and include contractors/labour hire in your incident reporting
-
Document it with a contractor safety policy and a safety induction policy
A lot of this is really about records and coordination — knowing who is on site, that they’re inducted, and that their licences and certifications are current. Tracking certifications in HR software and knowing exactly who is rostered where in your rostering system makes it far easier to prove you met your duty.
Know who’s on site, and that they’re safe to work. RosterElf tracks certifications and licences, keeps induction and acknowledgement records, and shows exactly who is rostered where — the coordination and evidence contractor safety depends on. Start from our free safety & compliance policy templates.
Frequently asked questions
Who is responsible for contractor safety in Australia?
Both the business engaging the contractor and the contractor’s own business can be PCBUs owing WHS duties to the worker at the same time. WHS duties overlap and are shared — you remain responsible for the safety of contractors doing work for your business, alongside their employer.
Can you contract out of a WHS duty?
No. Australian WHS law is explicit that a duty cannot be transferred or contracted away. A clause making the contractor “responsible for all safety” doesn’t remove your duty — regulators assess what each PCBU actually did to ensure safety, not what the contract stated.
Who is responsible for labour-hire worker safety?
Both the labour-hire provider (the worker’s employer) and the host business (where the work happens) owe WHS duties to the worker. The host must induct and supervise labour-hire workers like their own, and the provider must satisfy itself the host workplace is safe. Neither can treat the worker as solely the other’s responsibility.
What does 'consult, cooperate and coordinate' mean?
Where more than one PCBU shares a WHS duty, each must, so far as is reasonably practicable, consult, cooperate and coordinate activities with the others. In practice that means agreeing who controls which risks, sharing hazard information, aligning on inductions and emergency procedures, and checking the arrangements are actually working.
What should you do before a contractor starts work?
Induct them to your site, hazards and emergency procedures; verify their competencies, licences and insurances; share information about site hazards and get information about the risks of their work; agree who manages which risks; and record it all. A contractor safety policy and safety induction policy give you a consistent process.
