Falls from heights are the most common cause of traumatic injury in the building industry. They are the second leading cause of workplace deaths in Australia and have accounted for more than a quarter of all serious compensation claims in the sector between 2012 and 2022.

During the same period, falls from height in the building industry alone claimed 33 people, according to Safe Work Australia (SWA).

Everyone on a building site is responsible for safety, but as ‘person conducting a business or undertaking’ (PCBU), builders can face serious consequences if someone is killed or seriously injured, including prosecution for safety breaches and, in the case of a death, industrial manslaughter in some jurisdictions.

Penalties can be fines of millions of dollars or jail terms.

SWA Branch Manager of Evidence, Communications and Industries Policy Meredith Bryant says employers are responsible for ensuring that workers are not exposed to the risk of a fall.

'If work needs to be done at height, employers must provide adequate fall protection,' she says. 'No-one should ever work at height without fall protection in place.

'All workers should be trained to work at heights safely and be provided with adequate supervision.'

Meredith says employers should do a site risk assessment, and be aware of and follow the requirements of the relevant WHS regulations in their jurisdiction and the associated codes of practice that provide detailed information on meeting safety standards.

Head of SafeWork NSW Trent Curtin says a Safe Work Method Statement and risk assessment using the hierarchy of control, which ranks the highest level of protection and reliability to the lowest and least reliable protection, is a common tool to identify the most effective way to work safely.

Trent says edge protection and fall prevention devices such as scaffolds, roof guard rails and temporary work platforms are more effective than fall arrest systems such as harnesses.

Harness training

HIA OH&S Assistant Director Tony Lopez says there have been many instances where people have fallen to their death while wearing a harness because they hadn’t been trained properly or attached it to an anchor point incorrectly.

'Harnesses require a lot of training to ensure they are worn correctly on the right location and with a proper anchor point,' he says.

On single-storey homes, they should be worn in restraint mode to prevent a worker from reaching the edge of the roof. Otherwise, if they go over, they will still hit the ground, given a person’s height, dynamic stretch on the harness, and shock absorber that extends two metres.

The best protection, and one required by law, is not having to work at height at all if it can be avoided – for example, installing an air-conditioning unit on the ground. 'If reasonably practicable, that’s what is required,' Tony says.

Following guidelines

Equipment is only as good as those using, installing or erecting it.

Tony says that scaffolding from which a person can fall more than four metres needs to be erected by a licensed person, and even below that, they need to be competent.

'It might look good, but you may not have raised it properly, so it collapses, or don’t secure it to the building, or put excessive weight on it and it collapses,' he says.

Even if erected properly, users sometimes modify it by removing handrails or planks to do their job or lift materials to the worksite.

Whether it’s scaffolding or a guard rail, Tony says it’s imperative that this protection stays in place until all other work requiring fall protection is complete, not just one particular job.

'You need to make sure it’s left there for any trades that may come afterwards,' he says.

Stairwell risks

One of the most overlooked risks, says Tony, are stairwells. That void needs to be protected, either with a cover, working platform or barrier, but people sometimes forget and workers fall through.

It’s also a myth that if you’re working below two metres, you don’t need protection. Falls can also occur at ground level, where there may be a trench or pit.

Ladders can be a major cause of falls if not set up properly, stabilised or used incorrectly. 'How to set up a ladder correctly and what to and not to do are critical,' says Tony.

If a surface isn’t flat, use a ladder with leg levellers, anti-slip gutter guards and stabilisers. Don’t carry tools by hand; always maintain threeppoints of contact when climbing or descending the ladder – two hands and one foot or two feet and one hand.

Tony says communication onsite is vital, and builders should not make any assumptions about the experience or competency of their workers.

The builder should induct everybody onto the site and explain the risks and what’s expected of them.

'They need to talk about how risks are going to be mitigated and who’s going to do what,' says Tony.

Trent Curtin says ‘toolbox talks’ with workers about safety matters are effective. SafeWork NSW recently released toolbox talks on ladder and scaffold safety, and a roof edge protection fact sheet to help make working at heights safety simple.

Tony says building site safety has improved over the years and, more often than not, fall protection is in place.

'Twenty years ago, you hardly saw people installing handrails on perimeters on roofs on single-storey houses,' recalls Tony.

'Now everyone does it and everyone is expected to do it.'

However, falls still happen because people forget or think protection may be unnecessary. This is often the case if it’s a quick job, despite the legal requirements to manage that risk.

Anything can happen, says Tony. 'You could have a heart attack or slip or trip over something, or the wind can blow you off the edge,' he says.

HIA provides a range of resources online about height safety and fall prevention, as do the various WorkSafe authorities in each state and territory.

SafeWork NSW is also holding free symposiums on workplace health and safety for the building and construction industry across NSW in October 2024.

First published on 18 September 2024.