Effective date: 1 July 2018
Occupational health and safety (OHS) management criteria for suppliers of Works
The supplier of Works must demonstrate:
1 the supplier of Works or Construction Services’ organisational-specific OHS policy, at the least, states:
- a clear commitment to providing for the health and safety of all employees and other workers and others who may be affected by their activities, and achieving legal compliance, through effective risk management;
- the means by which that commitment will be met (e.g. risk assessment, safe systems of work, training);
- the respective responsibilities and roles of stakeholders at all levels within and external to the organisation in ensuring safety; and
- a commitment to continuous improvement and policy review, including a date or time within which the policy will be reviewed.
2 details of the governance (management) structure and process that provide for:
- the gathering and analysis of relevant information;
- reports on relevant matters to be provided to the officers, in a timely fashion (e.g. regular reporting on some matters and timely reporting of incidents);
- advice to be provided to the officers (from sources within and external to the business);
- monitoring, auditing and review of performance; and
- confirmation that information provided to officers allows them to have the required knowledge and understanding of each of the elements of the due diligence definition (e.g. as to hazards and risks, required resources and policies).
3 expertise and knowledge of OHS advisors:
- the supplier of Works has expertise and knowledge available to it covering all key aspects of OHS relevant to the business and activities of the supplier of Works; and
- advisor(s) are suitably qualified taking into consideration the nature of the activities of the supplier of Works.
4 consultation and issue resolution procedures:
4a management representation for consultation, issue identification and response;
4b elected Health and Safety Representative;
4c consultation and issue resolution procedures;
4d Health and Safety Committee, either:
- details of any Health and Safety Committee and the charter or constitution or rules that show how the Committee operates; or
- certification that there has been no request for the establishment of a Health & Safety Committee;
4e consulting and working with other parties.
5 currency of awareness of OHS.
6 induction and training:
6a that they have in place appropriate processes for induction and training; and
6b that they have in place appropriate records for induction and training.
7 hazard identification and risk control:
7a that they have in place appropriate the means by which hazards and risks associated with the activities are identified, assessed and controlled; and
7b that they have in place appropriate the means for compliance with specific requirements, such as by completed Job Safety Analysis, safe work method statements and the means of coordinating safety activities on site.
8 that they have in place appropriate safety management procedures for the safety of independent suppliers of Works and of the employees of independent contractors and others.
9 emergency response:
9a that they have in place appropriate emergency response procedures including review and testing requirements, the availability of suitable first aid facilities, and employee first aid training, and
9b that they have in place appropriate effective dissemination of emergency response information and of testing of emergency response procedures in the past 12 months.
10 incident notification, investigation and response procedures:
10a that they have in place appropriate system for the notification of all incidents internally and (where relevant) to the employer with management and control of the workplace;
10b that they have in place appropriate system for the notification of incidents to WorkSafe Victoria; and
10c that they have in place appropriate system for investigating incidents to determine causes, identify and implement appropriate action to prevent a recurrence.
11 evidence of enforcement activity, or where there has been no enforcement activity a signed statement to that effect.
12 Workers Compensation insurance, providing evidence of currency of insurance, premium rate and industry classification (e.g. premium notice).
Criteria 1 – 10 may be demonstrated by:
- certification under an approved assurance system listed in Instruction 3.7.5, or
- submission of evidence as described in the Guide to OHS criteria, Guides to acceptable evidence relevant to each criterion.
Criteria 11 – 12 can only be demonstrated by:
- submission of current information as described in the Guide to OHS criteria, Guides to acceptable evidence relevant to each criterion.
Application of the occupational health and safety management criteria for suppliers of Works
Where a supplier of Works does not hold prequalification under an approved Register and submits a tender or other offer to an Agency:
- Demonstration to the satisfaction of the Agency that a supplier of Works has complied with criteria 1 to 12.
Where a supplier of Works submits an application for prequalification under an approved Register:
- Demonstration to the satisfaction of the Manager of the approved Register that a supplier of Works has complied with criteria 1 - 12.
Where a supplier of Works is prequalified under an approved Register or a member of a Supplier Panel submits a tender or other offer to an Agency:
- Demonstration to the satisfaction of the Agency that the supplier of Works has:
- confirmed to the Agency that the supplier of Works remains on the approved Register or Supplier Panel, and
- confirmed to the Agency that there has been no material change to the information submitted to satisfy criteria 1 - 12 that would impact the supplier of Works’ ability to satisfy those criteria.
Occupational health and safety (OHS) management criteria for suppliers of Construction Services as designers of buildings and structures
The supplier of Construction Services as designers of buildings and structures must demonstrate:
1 OHS duties of designers of buildings and structures:
1a the corporate position on OHS in design and how it is disseminated;
1b commitment to addressing health and safety in design at project level;
1c systematic approach to address health and safety risks in design;
1d the means by which the supplier builds, maintains and continuously enhances OHS knowledge and capabilities from a design perspective; and
1e management review of overall OHS performance in design project.
Suppliers of Construction Services as designers of buildings and structures must also demonstrate compliance with Criteria 2 – 12 listed for Occupational health and safety (OHS) management criteria for suppliers of Construction Services.
Application of the occupational health and safety management criteria for suppliers of Construction Services as designers of buildings and structures
Where a supplier of Construction Services as designers of buildings and structures does not hold prequalification under an approved Register and submits a tender or other offer to an Agency:
- Demonstration to the satisfaction of the Agency that a Construction Services as designers of buildings and structures has complied with criteria 1 to 12.
Where a supplier of Construction Services as designers of buildings and structures submits an application for prequalification under an approved Register:
- Demonstration to the satisfaction of the Manager of the approved Register that a supplier of Construction Services as designers of buildings and structures has complied with criteria 1 - 12.
Where a supplier of Construction Services as designers of buildings and structures is prequalified under an approved Register or a member of a Supplier Panel submits a tender or other offer to an Agency:
- Demonstration to the satisfaction of the Agency that the supplier of Construction Services as designers of buildings and structures has:
- confirmed to the Agency that the supplier of Construction Services as designers of buildings and structures remains on the approved Register or Supplier Panel, and
- confirmed to the Agency that there has been no material change to the information submitted to satisfy criteria 1 - 12 that would impact the supplier of Construction Services as designers of buildings and structures’ ability to satisfy those criteria.
Occupational health and safety (OHS) management criteria for suppliers of Construction Services
Note: if the supplier of Construction Services is not being engaged to perform design work, then they do not need to be assessed against Criterion 1.
The supplier of Construction Services must demonstrate:
2 the supplier of Construction Services’ organisational-specific OHS policy, at the least, states:
- a clear commitment to providing for the health and safety of all employees and other workers and others who may be affected by their activities, and achieving legal compliance, through effective risk management;
- the means by which that commitment will be met (e.g. risk assessment, safe systems of work, training);
- the respective responsibilities and roles of stakeholders at all levels within and external to the organisation in ensuring safety; and
- a commitment to continuous improvement and policy review, including a date or time within which the policy will be reviewed.
3 details of the governance (management) structure and process that provide for:
- the gathering and analysis of relevant information;
- reports on relevant matters to be provided to the officers, in a timely fashion (e.g. regular reporting on some matters and timely reporting of incidents);
- advice to be provided to the officers (from sources within and external to the business);
- monitoring, auditing and review of performance; and
- confirmation that information provided to officers allows them to have the required knowledge and understanding of each of the elements of the due diligence definition (e.g. as to hazards and risks, required resources and policies).
4 expertise and knowledge of OHS advisors:
- the supplier of Construction Services has available to it expertise and knowledge covering all key aspects of OHS relevant to the business and activities of the supplier of Works; and
- advisor(s) are suitably qualified taking into consideration the nature of the activities of the supplier of Works.
5 consultation and issue resolution:
5a management representation for consultation, issue identification and response;
5b elected Health and Safety Representative;
5c consultation and issue resolution procedures,
5d Health and Safety Committee, either;
details of any Health and Safety Committee and the charter or constitution or rules that show how the Committee operates; or
certification that there has been no request for the establishment of a Health & Safety Committee;
5e consulting and working with other parties.
6 currency of awareness of OHS.
7 that they have in place appropriate induction and training processes and records.
8 hazard identification and risk control:
8a that they have in place appropriate means by which hazards and risks associated with the activities are identified, assessed and controlled; and
8b that they have in place appropriate means for compliance with specific requirements, such as by completed Job Safety Analysis, safe work method statements and the means of coordinating safety activities on site.
9 emergency management:
9a that they have in place appropriate procedures for the safety of independent contractors and of the employees of independent contractors and others; and
9b that they have in place appropriate effective dissemination of emergency response information and of testing of emergency response procedures in the past 12 months.
10 incident notification, investigation and response:
10a that they have in place appropriate system for the notification of incidents internally and (where relevant) to the employer with management control of the workplace;
10b that they have in place appropriate system for the notification of incidents to WorkSafe Victoria; and
10c that they have in place appropriate system for investigating incidents to determine causes, identify and implement appropriate action to prevent a recurrence.
11 evidence of enforcement activity, or where there has been no enforcement activity a signed statement to that effect.
12 Workers compensation insurance, providing evidence of currency of insurance, premium rate and industry classification (e.g. premium notice).
Criteria 2 – 10 may be demonstrated by:
- certification under an approved assurance system listed in Instruction 3.7.5, or
- submission of evidence as described in the Guide to OHS criteria, Guides to acceptable evidence relevant to each criterion.
Criteria 11 – 12 can only be demonstrated by:
- submission of current information as described in the Guide to OHS criteria, Guides to acceptable evidence relevant to each criterion.
Application of the occupational health and safety management criteria for suppliers of Construction Services
Where a Supplier of Construction Services does not hold prequalification under an approved Register and submits a tender or other offer to an Agency:
- Demonstration to the satisfaction of the Agency that a supplier of Construction Services has complied with criteria 2 to 12.
Where a supplier of Construction Services submits an application for prequalification under an approved Register:
- Demonstration to the satisfaction of the Manager of the approved Register that a supplier of Construction Services has complied with criteria 2 - 12.
Where a supplier of Construction Services is prequalified under an approved Register or a member of a Supplier Panel submits a tender or other offer to an Agency:
- Demonstration to the satisfaction of the Agency that the supplier of Construction Services has:
- confirmed to the Agency that the tender participant remains on the approved Register or Supplier Panel, and
- confirmed to the Agency that there has been no material change to the information submitted to satisfy criteria 2 - 12 that would impact the tender participant’s ability to satisfy those criteria.
Tools and support
Guides and templates for projects valued at more than $750,000 (GST inclusive)
Refer to the Detailed guide on the occupational health and safety management criteria for an explanation of the criteria and the guide to acceptable evidence:
Template occupational health and safety management systems are available:
- Applying for pre-qualification Construction Supplier Register
- Applying for pre-qualification Residential Cladding Rectification Register
Guides and templates for projects valued at less than $750,000 (GST inclusive)
Refer to the Low value works projects Guide on occupational health and safety management criteria for an explanation of the criteria and the guide to acceptable evidence:
Template response to the occupational health and safety management criteria is available at Applying for pre-qualification Construction Supplier Register - category Low value works projects
Practitioners Toolkit and further information
The Practitioners Toolkit includes key documents, guidance and information relating to the Ministerial Directions and Instructions.
For further information about the Ministerial Directions and Instruction for public construction procurement, please contact the Construction Policy Team.