What Queensland requires
General information only, checked against official sources on 20 October 2026. It is not legal advice. The checklist above is a briefing template. Not every box is a separate legal rule. Check current WorkSafe Queensland guidance and your own obligations.
The longer note on a commercial job is the Queensland site-specific induction guide. Section numbers below are from the in-force Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld). The official compilation is current as at 29 March 2026.
Before someone starts
WorkSafe Queensland says a person must have a site-specific induction before starting construction work, other than housing construction work. WorkSafe also says site-specific induction is not compulsory for workplaces where housing construction work is being carried out. Where it is not given, WorkSafe says it is important that the contents of the principal contractor's construction safety plan are communicated effectively.
WorkSafe says the induction needs to address the contents of the work health and safety (WHS) management plan. If you are the principal contractor, WorkSafe says you must provide information, training and instruction to a worker covering the nature of the work, the nature of the risks and the control measures implemented. WorkSafe also says you must make sure each person who is to carry out construction work on the project is, before commencing work, made aware of the content of the WHS management plan and the site-specific rules.
WorkSafe says a person entering a part of the workplace where construction work is being done must have been given a site-specific induction, or be accompanied by you or someone who has.
WorkSafe says that, as the principal contractor, you should keep a record of the people inducted and the date it was given. That word is WorkSafe's. WorkSafe also says you must keep a copy of the WHS management plan for the duration of the construction work.
Separately, section 39 says a person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU) must ensure information, training and instruction provided to a worker is suitable and adequate having regard to the nature of the work, the nature of the risks, and the control measures implemented. It must also be provided, so far as is reasonably practicable, in a way that is readily understandable by any person to whom it is provided.
Construction projects and the WHS management plan
Section 292 defines a construction project as a project that involves construction work where the cost of the construction work is $250,000 or more. WorkSafe's principal contractor page says this increased from $80,000. It says the cost can be determined by the contract price, and can include project management costs, fittings and furnishings, and taxes, levies or charges, excluding GST. WorkSafe says work valued at less than $250,000 is not a construction project, and a principal contractor cannot be appointed.
Under section 293, the PCBU that commissions the construction project is the principal contractor, unless that PCBU engages another PCBU as principal contractor and authorises them to have management or control of the workplace and to discharge the principal contractor duties. A construction project has only one principal contractor at any specific time.
For a construction project, section 309 requires the principal contractor to prepare a written WHS management plan for the workplace before work on the project commences. WorkSafe says the same, and says the plan must be written so it is easy to understand, and signed and dated by the principal contractor. The plan must include:
- the names, positions and health and safety responsibilities of all persons at the workplace whose positions or roles involve specific health and safety responsibilities in connection with the project;
- the arrangements between PCBUs at the workplace for consultation, cooperation and the coordination of activities in relation to compliance with their duties;
- the arrangements in place for managing any work health and safety incidents that occur;
- any site-specific health and safety rules, and the arrangements for ensuring that all persons at the workplace are informed of these rules;
- the arrangements for the collection and any assessment, monitoring and review of safe work method statements at the workplace.
The checklist asks about PPE, hours, access, parking, amenities, smoking, and drugs and alcohol because those are site rules many jobs brief. Section 309 requires the plan to include the site-specific health and safety rules the project actually has. It does not prescribe that list.
The checklist also asks who the supervisor is, and who the health and safety representative is if the site has one. Section 309 requires the plan to name the people whose roles involve specific health and safety responsibilities. It does not say the induction must use the words "health and safety representative".
Section 310: the principal contractor must ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that each person who is to carry out construction work in connection with the project is, before commencing work, made aware of the content of the WHS management plan, and of the person's right to inspect the plan under section 313.
Section 311: the principal contractor must review and, as necessary, revise the plan to ensure it remains up to date, and must ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that each person carrying out construction work is made aware of any revision.
Section 313: keep a copy of the plan until the project is completed. If a notifiable incident occurs in connection with the project, keep the plan for at least 2 years after the incident. The plan means the initial plan and all revised versions. For the period it must be kept, a copy must be readily accessible to any person who is to carry out construction work on the project. WorkSafe also says the plan must be available for the length of the project, and that if a notifiable incident occurs it must be kept for at least two years after the incident.
Section 308: the principal contractor must ensure signs are installed that show the principal contractor's name and telephone contact numbers (including an after hours telephone number), and the location of the site office for the project, if any. The signs must be clearly visible from outside the workplace, or the work area of the workplace, where the construction project is being undertaken.
High risk construction work and SWMS
Section 291 defines high risk construction work. Examples in that section include construction work that involves a risk of a person falling more than 2m, work that involves or is likely to involve the disturbance of asbestos, work in or near a shaft or trench with an excavated depth greater than 1.5m, and work on or near energised electrical installations or services. The section lists other kinds of work as well. Read the section for the full definition.
Section 299: a PCBU that carries out high risk construction work must, before that work commences, ensure that a safe work method statement for the proposed work is prepared, or has already been prepared by another person. A safe work method statement must identify the work that is high risk construction work, state the hazards and the risks to health and safety, describe the measures to control the risks, and describe how those measures are to be implemented, monitored and reviewed.
Section 300: that PCBU must put in place arrangements for ensuring the high risk construction work is carried out in accordance with the safe work method statement. If it is not, the PCBU must ensure the work is stopped immediately or as soon as it is safe to do so, and resumed only in accordance with the statement.
Section 301: a PCBU carrying out high risk construction work in connection with a construction project must, before the work commences, ensure a copy of the safe work method statement is given to the principal contractor. Section 312: the principal contractor must take all reasonable steps to obtain a copy of the safe work method statement relating to high risk construction work before that work commences. WorkSafe says the principal contractor must sign and date safe work method statements that have been received, keep them with the plan, and monitor their implementation.
General construction induction (white card)
This is separate from the site-specific induction. Part 6.5 of the Regulation covers general construction induction training. WorkSafe says that if you are working in the construction industry, you need to complete a general construction induction training course with a registered training organisation. WorkSafe names the unit CPCCWHS1001 Prepare to work safely in the construction industry, and says the training is face-to-face with a registered training organisation.
WorkSafe says that once the unit is completed, the registered training organisation issues a general construction induction training card (previously called a white card). In Queensland the card was previously known as a white card, and before that as a blue card. WorkSafe says you must keep the card with you whenever you are on site. WorkSafe also says construction workers can work in Queensland using general construction induction training cards issued by other states and territories. The same page covers blue cards and replacing a card.
Section 316: a PCBU must ensure general construction induction training is provided to a worker engaged by the person who is to carry out construction work, if the worker has not successfully completed that training, or completed it more than 2 years previously and has not carried out construction work in the preceding 2 years.
Section 317: a PCBU must not direct or allow a worker to carry out construction work unless the worker has successfully completed general construction induction training and, if the worker completed the training more than 2 years previously, the worker has carried out construction work in the preceding 2 years. The PCBU must ensure the worker holds a general construction induction training card or, if the worker has applied for but not yet been issued with a card, a general construction induction training certification issued within the preceding 60 days.
Emergencies, first aid and facilities
Section 43: a PCBU at a workplace must ensure an emergency plan is prepared for the workplace. The plan must provide for emergency procedures, including an effective response to an emergency, evacuation procedures, notifying emergency service organisations at the earliest opportunity, medical treatment and assistance, and effective communication between the person authorised to coordinate the emergency response and all persons at the workplace. It must also provide for testing of the emergency procedures, including the frequency of testing, and for information, training and instruction to relevant workers in relation to implementing the emergency procedures. The PCBU must maintain the plan so that it remains effective, and implement it in an emergency.
WorkSafe says workers should be familiar with who to report to in an emergency, emergency telephone numbers, evacuation procedures and the designated meeting place, and the type of fire extinguisher to use for different fires. WorkSafe says to keep emergency phone numbers handy for the fire service, a doctor and ambulance, and the Poisons Information Centre (13 11 26).
Section 42: a PCBU must ensure first aid equipment is provided for the workplace, that each worker has access to the equipment, and that there is access to facilities for the administration of first aid. An adequate number of workers must be trained to administer first aid, or workers must have access to an adequate number of other persons who have been trained to administer first aid.
Section 41: a PCBU must ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the provision of adequate facilities for workers, including toilets, drinking water, washing facilities and eating facilities, and that those facilities are maintained so as to be in good working order, clean, safe and accessible. WorkSafe's principal contractor page lists, among principal contractor duties, arrangements for ensuring compliance with specified requirements such as facilities and amenities.
Plant, traffic, materials and essential services
Section 315: the principal contractor for a construction project must manage risks to health and safety associated with the storage, movement and disposal of construction materials and waste at the workplace; the storage at the workplace of plant that is not in use; traffic in the vicinity of the workplace that may be affected by construction work carried out in connection with the project; and essential services at the workplace. WorkSafe's principal contractor page describes these as duties to manage risks associated with construction materials and waste, plant, traffic and essential services.
Turn the checklist into a phone induction
The sheet above is something you can print and tick off on site. If the induction you already use is a PowerPoint, Set2Go can deliver that deck on the worker's phone. Set2Go does not write your WHS management plan or your safe work method statements.
- Your PowerPoint, one slide at a time. Workers see the deck you upload. Set2Go timestamps when each slide was viewed. The quiz stays locked until every slide has been seen.
- Inductions without a gate. Contractor inductions run the phone induction with no QR check-in. You can set how long a pass lasts. The records view shows current, expiring soon, or expired. When a pass is about to expire, or has expired, the worker gets an email. You can export the register to CSV.
- Gate check-in. Site sign-in is for sites that do run a gate. Invited workers with a current induction scan the site QR code and enter their PIN. A live board shows open check-ins, so you can see who is on site.
Turn a PowerPoint induction into a phone induction walks through the upload, the quiz, and the slide record.
The free plan is 1 active site and up to 10 workers. There is a 14-day trial, with no card required. Starter is A$79 a month or A$790 a year. Prices are in Australian dollars and include GST. See pricing for the current plans.
Important: Set2Go is safety administration software. It is not a statutory WHS system. Using it does not, by itself, mean you have met your obligations under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld) or the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld). You are still responsible for the content of your induction, site rules and WHS management plan, and for meeting your duties as a PCBU or principal contractor.
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Sources (checked 20 October 2026)
- WorkSafe Queensland, Site specific induction (page last updated 25 January 2019)
- WorkSafe Queensland, Principal contractors (page last updated 2 May 2017)
- WorkSafe Queensland, Work health and safety management plans (page last updated 10 November 2017)
- WorkSafe Queensland, First aid and emergency plans (page last updated 1 September 2020)
- WorkSafe Queensland, General construction induction (page last updated 4 October 2022)
- Queensland Legislation, Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (in-force compilation current as at 29 March 2026): sections 39, 41, 42, 43, 291, 292, 293, 299, 300, 301, 308, 309, 310, 311, 312, 313, 315, 316 and 317
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