QR code site sign-in and an on site now register

Short answer: A sign-in record is who is on site today. Queensland law does not require a daily sign-in book, and it does not require a QR code. It does require an emergency plan with evacuation procedures, and a way to communicate with everyone at the workplace. Safe Work Australia's model construction code says a register of who is there that day should be kept, so people can be accounted for. That "should" is a recommendation. It is not an approved Queensland code.

This is plain English for principal contractors and trades businesses in Australia, written Queensland-first. It covers why sites keep the record, paper versus a QR code, and a short setup checklist. What a commercial site induction has to cover is a separate guide.

General information only, checked against official sources on 19 October 2026. It isn't legal advice. Check the current law and codes with WorkSafe Queensland or your state regulator.

Why sites keep a sign-in record

Three jobs get mixed together: knowing who is there if you have to evacuate, controlling who comes through the gate, and showing that people were inducted before they started. They are related. They are not the same duty.

Emergencies and evacuation

Section 43 of the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld) says a person conducting a business or undertaking must ensure an emergency plan is prepared for the workplace. The plan has to provide for emergency procedures, including evacuation procedures, and for effective communication between the person authorised to coordinate the emergency response and all persons at the workplace. WorkSafe Queensland restates that list. It also says the emergency plan is in addition to a fire and evacuation plan under the Building Fire Safety Regulation 2008.

The approved Managing the work environment and facilities Code of Practice 2021 says those procedures must explain how to evacuate people in a controlled manner. Where relevant, it says the procedures should address the safety of everyone who may be there, including visitors, shift workers and tradespeople. It does not name a sign-in book as the way to do that.

The September 2026 copy of that code labels the emergency-plan duty as section 46. On the Queensland legislation site, section 46 is the worker's duty about personal protective equipment. The emergency plan duty is section 43. This guide follows the legislation site for the section number.

Safe Work Australia's model Code of Practice: Construction work (November 2024) goes further. In the emergency planning section it says:

A register of persons who are at the construction workplace on a particular day should be kept so in the case of any emergency everyone can be accounted for.

The same section gives an example of what happens after an evacuation: a headcount, to see whether the people who were at the workplace have been accounted for. The model code's glossary says "should" indicates a recommended course of action.

Safe Work Australia publishes model codes. It is not the Queensland regulator. Business Queensland's list of current approved codes, checked on 19 October 2026, does not include a Construction work code of practice. Treat the register sentence as national guidance, not as an approved Queensland code.

Visitors and who is allowed in

Section 298 says a person with management or control of a workplace where construction work is carried out must ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that the workplace is secured from unauthorised access. They must have regard to the risks from that access, how likely it is, and how to isolate hazards if access cannot be prevented. WorkSafe Queensland says temporary fencing is one of many ways to manage that risk. Section 298 does not mention a sign-in book. A register can help you see who came through the gate. It does not, by itself, secure the site.

WorkSafe Queensland also says you must make sure a person entering a part of the workplace where construction work is being done has been given a site-specific induction, or is accompanied by you or someone who has. WorkSafe says that induction is not compulsory where housing construction work is being carried out. A visitor line in a book does not replace the induction or the escort.

Proving people were inducted before they started

That is a different record. WorkSafe says: "As the principal contractor you should keep a record of the people inducted and the date it was given." The word is should. On a construction project, section 310 says the principal contractor must ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that each person who is to carry out construction work is, before commencing work, made aware of the content of the WHS management plan. What counts as a construction project, and what the induction covers, is in the QLD site-specific induction guide.

A daily sign-in shows attendance. An induction record shows who was briefed, and when. Keeping both is practical. The Regulation does not say the sign-in book is the induction record.

Read together: the Regulation does not require a daily sign-in register, and it does not require a QR code. A register is a recommended way, in the model code, to account for people in an emergency. Use it because an evacuation needs names, not because a section number demands a particular form.

Paper book versus QR sign-in

Both can be a register of who is there. The differences are practical.

• Legibility. A paper book is only as clear as the handwriting. Rain, a carbon copy, and a rushed signature are hard to read later. A QR check-in stores the worker's account name, or the name a visitor typed, and a time.
• Sign-out. People forget, on paper and on a phone. A name left open is a poor evacuation list. Paper has no automatic close. Software can close a forgotten row later. That out time is when the row was closed, not necessarily when the person left.
• Induction status. A paper name does not tell you whether that person finished this site's induction, or whether it has expired. A gate that checks the induction record before it accepts a worker can refuse the check-in. A visitor line still does not prove an induction.
• Phone signal. Paper works with no coverage. A QR page needs the phone to open. Some apps queue a worker check-in and send it when the signal returns. Do not assume a visitor check-in, or a sign-out, will queue. Check the product you use.
• No smartphone. A QR code does not help someone with no phone. A printed web address still needs a browser. Sites that still have people without smartphones keep a paper line, or lend a phone. The digital board only knows about check-ins that were recorded.

A practical checklist for the gate

These are setup steps, not a format the law sets.

• Put the sign where people stop before they walk in. Show the site name. If you use a QR code, print the web address as well, for a phone that will not scan.
• Record who came in, when they arrived, and when they left. Separate workers from visitors.
• Decide what happens when someone does not sign out. A name still open at knock-off should not be treated as a confirmed headcount.
• Visitors: name, which company or who they are visiting, and that the site rules were explained. WorkSafe still expects a site-specific induction or an escort where construction work is underway, other than housing.
• Each morning, the supervisor looks at who is on site, whose induction is current, who is expired or needs a retake, whether today's toolbox talk is done, and which hazards are still open.
• Keep the principal contractor sign separate if section 308 applies to the job: name, phone numbers including an after-hours number, and the site office location, visible from outside. A QR sticker does not replace that sign.

What to write down after the toolbox talk is in the toolbox talk record template.

How Set2Go does it

Set2Go is the gate record for the induction you already run. It does not write your emergency plan, your WHS management plan, or your site rules.

• An A4 gate sign. The sign says "Scan to sign in", shows the site name and address, the QR code, and three steps: open the camera, scan, finish sign-in before you enter. The check-in link is printed under the code. Up to four short site rules can sit on the sign, each 90 characters or fewer. Longer or more numerous rules stay on the check-in page.
• Invited workers, then a PIN. Workers join because you invite them. They don't self-register. At the gate they sign in, enter a 6-digit PIN (they set one the first time), and step through the site rules if they have not acknowledged the current version.
• Induction before a worker check-in. Check-in is refused when no induction is assigned, or when an applicable induction is not started, in progress, failed, or expired. A pass inside the 14 days before it expires is marked needs a retake. Bumping the induction version does the same. That status still allows check-in, and the board flags it as retake.
• No signal. A worker check-in with no connection queues on the phone and syncs later. Sign-out is not queued. The check-out button needs a connection.
• Visitors. Someone without a worker account can check in: first and last name, an optional company, and an optional phone. If the site has rules, they step through them first. The on site list shows the visitor's name and company. It does not show the phone. The check-in page says induction is for workers, and visitors acknowledge the site rules. That row is not an induction, and it is not an escort. Visitor check-in needs a connection.
• On site now. Open check-ins are the list: name, site, and time in, including visitors. It stays until they check out, a company admin or manager forces them out, or the 8:00 pm Brisbane time (AEST) job closes rows that are still open and that started before 8:00 pm. A forced close and the 8:00 pm job both mark the row auto-closed. The out time is when it was closed. Attendance for a site can be filtered by date and exported to CSV.
• Supervisor QR. This is a second code, not the gate QR. Scanning it asks for a company admin, manager, or supervisor sign-in before any worker details are shown. The board lists who is on site and whether each worker is inducted, expired, not inducted, or due a retake. It shows whether today's toolbox talk is done, and the open hazards.

If the induction is already a PowerPoint, turn it into a phone induction first. Phone delivery does not require a gate. Companies that only induct new starters, with no site QR, start from contractor inductions.

The free plan is 1 active site and up to 10 workers. There is a 14-day trial with no card required. Current plans are at settogo.com.au/pricing.

Important: Set2Go is safety administration software, not a statutory WHS system. It helps you keep records; it doesn't make you compliant on its own. This guide is general information, not legal advice. Check the current law and codes with WorkSafe Queensland or your state regulator.

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FAQ

Sources (checked 19 October 2026)

• WorkSafe Queensland, First aid and emergency plans (page last updated 1 September 2020)
• WorkSafe Queensland, Site specific induction (page last updated 25 January 2019)
• WorkSafe Queensland, Security (page last updated 2 May 2017)
• WorkSafe Queensland, Managing the work environment and facilities Code of Practice 2021 (published September 2026)
• Safe Work Australia, model Code of Practice: Construction work (November 2024)
• Business Queensland, Codes of practice for work health and safety
• Queensland Legislation, Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011, in force: ss 43, 298, 308 and 310

Related

• QLD site-specific induction requirements for a commercial job: what the published guidance says to cover and record.
• Turn a PowerPoint induction into a phone induction with a quiz after the slides.
• Toolbox talk record template: what to write down after a talk, including who attended.
• Contractor inductions when you want the phone induction without a site gate.
• Pricing, including the free plan and the 14-day trial.

Set2Go is operated by Actual Training Pty Ltd trading as Actual IT, ABN 60 626 629 454.