Principal contractor WHS management plan builder

Draft the WHS management plan a principal contractor needs before work starts on a construction project, check whether your job meets your state’s trigger, then copy or print it.

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

Project

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

$

A construction project here is $250,000 or more.

Plan content (edit to suit the site)

WHS management plan

WHS management plan
Enter details
Construction project test
$250,000+

In New South Wales a construction project is construction work costing $250,000 or more (s 292 of the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (NSW)). Enter the cost of the construction work to check.

Check before you use it

  • Confirm who the principal contractor is: the business commissioning the project, unless it appoints another business and gives it management or control of the site (s 293 of the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (NSW)). There is only one at a time.
  • Check whether the job is a construction project: construction work costing $250,000 or more (s 292 of the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (NSW)).
  • 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.
Project[Project name]
Site address[Site address]
Client (commissions the work)[Client]
Principal contractor[Principal contractor]
Principal contractor contact (incl. after hours)[Phone, including after hours]
Work starts[Start date]
Expected completion[Completion date]
Prepared by[Name and position]
JurisdictionNew South Wales

Prepared as the written WHS management plan a principal contractor must have before work on a construction project starts (s 309(1) of the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (NSW)), with the content listed in s 309(2) of the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (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.

Construction project test: In New South Wales a construction project is construction work costing $250,000 or more (s 292 of the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (NSW)). Enter the cost of the construction work to check.

1. People with health and safety responsibilities (s 309(2)(a) of the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (NSW))

  • Project manager: overall responsibility for the plan and site safety
  • Site supervisor: daily inspections, inductions, permits and stopping unsafe work
  • First aider: first aid and the first aid register
  • Each subcontractor’s supervisor: their crew’s SWMS, licences and toolbox talks

2. Consultation, cooperation and co-ordination between businesses on site (s 309(2)(b) of the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (NSW))

  • Weekly co-ordination meeting with every contractor on site; minutes kept
  • Daily pre-start briefing on the day’s activities, interfaces and changes
  • Contractors tell the site supervisor before bringing new plant, chemicals or crews on site
  • Health and safety issues raised at any time with the site supervisor

3. Managing incidents (s 309(2)(c) of the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (NSW))

  • Make the area safe and give first aid; call 000 if needed
  • Report every incident, injury and near miss to the site supervisor straight away
  • Notifiable incidents: notify the regulator immediately and don’t disturb the site until an inspector allows it
  • Investigate, record corrective actions and share lessons at the next pre-start

Notifiable incidents (deaths, serious injuries or illnesses and dangerous incidents) must be reported to SafeWork NSW immediately, and the site preserved until an inspector arrives or directs otherwise (ss 38–39 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW)).

4. Site rules and how everyone is told (s 309(2)(d) of the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (NSW))

  • Everyone signs in and completes the site induction before starting
  • General construction induction (white card) required for construction workers
  • Minimum PPE: hard hat, high-visibility clothing, safety boots
  • No alcohol or drugs; no work while impaired
  • Stay out of exclusion zones and barricaded areas

5. Safe work method statements (s 309(2)(e) of the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (NSW))

  • Each contractor gives a SWMS for its high risk construction work before that work starts
  • Site supervisor checks each SWMS against the site conditions before accepting it
  • Supervisor spot-checks that work follows the SWMS; work stops if it doesn’t
  • SWMS are reviewed when the work or controls change, and kept on site

The principal contractor must take all reasonable steps to get a copy of the SWMS for high risk construction work before that work starts (s 312 of the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (NSW)).

6. Site risks the principal contractor manages (s 315 of the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (NSW))

  • Materials and waste: set-down areas, stacking limits and skip bins away from walkways
  • Plant not in use: parked in a secure compound, keys removed
  • Traffic: traffic management plan for deliveries and the street frontage
  • Essential services: services located before digging; isolation permits for power, gas and water

Arrangements are also in place for the site’s facilities, first aid, emergency plan, personal protective equipment, airborne contaminants, hazardous atmospheres, flammable and combustible substances, falling objects and falls (s 314 of the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (NSW)).

7. Telling people about the plan, reviewing it and keeping it

  • Before starting, everyone doing construction work is told what the plan says and that they can inspect it (s 310 of the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (NSW)).
  • The plan is reviewed and revised as needed to keep it up to date, and people are told about revisions (s 311 of the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (NSW)).
  • A copy is kept until the project is finished, or for at least 2 years after a notifiable incident connected with it, readily accessible to everyone doing the work (s 313 of the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (NSW)).
  • Signs visible from outside the site show the principal contractor’s name, phone numbers (including after hours) and the site office location (s 308 of the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (NSW)).

Sign-off

Principal contractorName ____________ Signature ____________ Date ________
Client (acknowledging the appointment)Name ____________ 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 follows the content list in r 309 of the WHS Regulations, with sections for the duty to tell workers about it (r 310), reviews (r 311), getting SWMS before high risk construction work (r 312), keeping it (r 313), site arrangements (r 314) and site risks such as materials, idle plant, traffic and essential services (r 315). In NSW, Queensland and the ACT the regulations call these sections.

The trigger check uses each jurisdiction’s own definition of a construction project, which differs more than most guides say: $250,000 under the model regulations, $450,000 in South Australia, $1,000,000 in the Northern Territory and 5 or more people at once in Western Australia. In Victoria the tool switches to the health and safety co-ordination plan under r 335 to r 337 of the OHS Regulations 2017, for projects of $350,000 or more.

Not included: the SWMS themselves (use the SWMS builder), the emergency plan, traffic management plan and site-specific risk assessments.

Legal basis

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

Questions

When does a construction job need a WHS management plan?

When it is a construction project, which depends on where you are: construction work costing $250,000 or more in NSW, Queensland, Tasmania, the ACT and under the Comcare scheme; $450,000 or more in South Australia; $1,000,000 or more in the Northern Territory; and in Western Australia, construction work with 5 or more people working at the same time on site, whatever it costs. In the ACT, demolishing or refurbishing a structure with loose-fill asbestos insulation is also a construction project. Victoria uses $350,000 and calls the document a health and safety co-ordination plan.

Who is the principal contractor?

Under the WHS Regulations it is the business that commissions the project, unless it appoints another business as principal contractor and gives it management or control of the site. A project has only one principal contractor at a time. In Victoria the owner is the principal contractor unless they appoint one and authorise them to manage or control the workplace.

What must the plan contain?

The names, positions and health and safety responsibilities of the key people; how the businesses on site consult, cooperate and co-ordinate; how incidents are managed; site rules and how everyone is told about them; and how safe work method statements are collected, assessed, monitored and reviewed. Victoria’s co-ordination plan lists the first four.

How long do we keep it?

Under the WHS Regulations, until the project is finished, or for at least 2 years after a notifiable incident connected with the project, and it must be readily accessible to people working on the site. In Victoria, for the duration of the project and available for inspection.

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