The Anvil • Dec 2025
Working Safe to Get Home Safe This Festive Season A Message to All Construct Services Trade Partners Nationwide
As we approach the end of another busy year, Construct Services is reminding all trade partners across Australia to stay focused on safety during the festive season. National WHS regulators consistently report an increase in serious incidents, injuries, and fatalities during November and December. In Victoria alone, WorkSafe has highlighted that 71 workers have lost their lives in the last five years during these months, with more than 20,000 injury claims submitted. Although data varies across states, the trend is clear: the end-of-year period carries significantly heightened risk.
The final months of the year often bring compressed schedules, greater workloads, holiday deadlines, and pressure from clients and insurers to complete works before shutdown. These conditions increase the likelihood of fatigue, rushed decisions, and shortcuts—factors that are known contributors to workplace incidents.
At Construct Services, we want every worker, on every site, to get home safe. No repair, no deadline, and no customer expectation is ever more important than a worker’s wellbeing. That principle must guide all decisions on site.
In the insurance repair environment, where conditions can change rapidly and damaged structures present unusual risks, staying vigilant is crucial. We are asking all trades to double down on safe practices, maintain clear communication, and ensure all work is performed in line with WHS laws, SWMS, and our own safety procedures.
Before any site closes for the holidays, please ensure:
- All your loose materials are secured or removed
- Boundary fencing, where you have installed this, is stable and prevents access
- Excavations are back-filled or safely covered
- Waste is removed
- Plant is isolated and locked down or better still, removed from site to prevent theft or damage
- Sites are left safe for clients, neighbours, and the public
This festive season let’s commit to keeping ourselves and our teams safe. Thank you for your hard work throughout the year—and for helping ensure every worker gets home safely to their family these holidays.
Welcome to HammerTech
As part of our ongoing commitment to safety, compliance, and site accountability, all Construct Services trade partners will continue to see QR code sign-in posters at the entrance of Ensureflow-managed projects, with similar processes used on HammerTech sites for higher-risk or higher-value jobs.
These posters serve an important purpose: they allow Construct Services, as the PCBU, to know exactly who is on site at all times. This is not optional—it is a legal requirement under the WHS Act and WHS Regulations to ensure emergency preparedness, manage authorised access, and uphold safe work practices. If an incident occurs, sign-in records allow us to confirm who is present, who may require assistance, and whether anyone remains inside the property.
What You Will See on Site
- QR-code posters placed on site fencing, boundary signage, or the property entrance. Scan this with your phone.
- The first page displayed after scanning the QR code will be the Site Safety Rules—please read them before proceeding.
- On larger projects or involving high-risk construction, you will see a project-specific QR code or an iPad sign-in device.
- Sign-out is required:
- QR code sign-ins → sign out via SMS text message
- iPad sign-ins → sign out on the iPad
Accurate sign-out supports safety, emergency response, and protects you in cases of attendance or invoicing disputes.
Why Signing In Matters
- Ensures only authorised, inducted workers enter the site
- Creates a clear record for emergency response
- Supports compliance with WHS legislation and regulator expectations
- Protects trades and Construct Services by providing accurate, verifiable attendance records
End-of-Year Competition – Scan for a Chance to Win!
To help everyone get familiar with the QR process, we’re running a fun end-of-year practice draw.
Scan the dummy QR code below – You will see a list of our site safety requirements as a bonus!!!
Select your Employer as ‘other – visitor’ then enter your company name.
Fill out your details as they would appear in a sign in register.
Use the reason for visit: “Merry Xmas”
Everyone who completes the practice sign-in will go into the draw to win:
1 × $100 BWS Gift Voucher
The winner will be randomly selected on 4 January 2026 and announced in the next Construct Services Quarterly Newsletter.
Regulator Update
Model Codes of Practice are practical guides to achieving the standards of health and safety required under the model WHS Act and Regulations.
To have legal effect in a jurisdiction, a model Code of Practice must be approved as a code of practice there. To determine if a model Code of Practice has been approved in a particular jurisdiction, check with your local WHS regulator.
An approved code of practice applies to anyone who has a duty of care in the circumstances described in the code. In most cases, following an approved code of practice would achieve compliance with the health and safety duties in a jurisdiction’s WHS Act and Regulations.
Like regulations, codes of practice deal with particular issues and do not cover all hazards or risks that may arise. Health and safety duties require you to consider all risks associated with work, not only those risks that regulations and codes of practice exist for.
While approved codes of practice are not law, they are admissible in court proceedings.
Courts may regard an approved code of practice as evidence of what is known about a hazard, risk or control and may rely on the relevant code to determine what is reasonably practicable in the circumstances.
https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/law-and-regulation/codes-practice
Commercial Excavation Safety
Underground Services
Before any digging begins, PCBU’s must identify, locate, and protect all underground services such as gas, electricity, water, and communications. Striking buried services can cause serious injury, outages, or major damage. Always plan the excavation, use service plans, pothole to confirm locations, and follow safe work procedures.
Click here to access the Excavation Safety Toolbox.
