High Risk Construction Work: the 18 activities
High risk construction work (HRCW) is construction work that falls into any of 18 categories defined in the WHS Regulations. Meeting a single category is enough — and once work is HRCW, a Safe Work Method Statement must be prepared before high risk construction work commences.
Construction work is high risk if it —
The paragraph letters are the Regulation's own, so you can check any item against the source. Where we publish documents for a category, the card links to them.
involves a risk of a person falling more than 2m
Working at heights SWMS →is carried out on a telecommunication tower
involves demolition of an element of a structure that is load-bearing or otherwise related to the physical integrity of the structure
Demolition SWMS →involves, or is likely to involve, the disturbance of asbestos
Asbestos SWMS →involves structural alterations or repairs that require temporary support to prevent collapse
is carried out in or near a shaft or trench with an excavated depth greater than 1.5m, or a tunnel
Excavation & trenching SWMS →involves the use of explosives
is carried out on or near pressurised gas distribution mains or piping
is carried out on or near chemical, fuel or refrigerant lines
is carried out on or near energised electrical installations or services
Electrical SWMS →is carried out in an area that may have a contaminated or flammable atmosphere
is carried out on, in or adjacent to a road, railway, shipping lane or other traffic corridor that is in use by traffic other than pedestrians
Traffic management SWMS →is carried out in an area at a workplace in which there is movement of powered mobile plant
is carried out in an area in which there are artificial extremes of temperature
is carried out in or near water or other liquid that involves a risk of drowning
involves diving work
What follows once work is HRCW
The PCBU must ensure a SWMS for the proposed work is prepared — or has already been prepared by another person — before high risk construction work commences.
The work must be carried out in accordance with the SWMS. If it is not, work must stop and either come back into line with the statement, or the statement must be revised.
A safe work method statement must be reviewed and, as necessary, revised if relevant control measures are revised under section 38 — including when a control fails to control the risk, before a workplace change that creates a new risk, when a new hazard is identified, or when a health and safety representative requests it.
A copy must be kept until the high risk construction work is completed; if a notifiable incident occurs in connection with the work, the statement must be kept for at least 2 years after the incident.
Victoria is not harmonised: for Victorian work the duty sits at r. 327 of the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2017 (Vic), and its list of high risk construction work differs in wording.
Common questions
What is high risk construction work?
High risk construction work (HRCW) is construction work that falls into any of the 18 categories listed in the WHS Regulations — in New South Wales, s. 291 of the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (NSW). The list is exhaustive: work is HRCW if it meets any one category, and is not HRCW if it meets none.
How many high risk construction work activities are there?
Eighteen. They are set out as paragraphs (a) to (r) of the definition, covering falls over 2 metres, telecommunication towers, structural demolition, asbestos, temporary structural support, confined spaces, deep shafts and trenches, tunnels, explosives, pressurised gas, chemical and fuel lines, energised electrical work, contaminated or flammable atmospheres, tilt-up and precast concrete, traffic corridors, powered mobile plant, artificial temperature extremes, drowning risk, and diving.
What does HRCW stand for?
HRCW stands for High Risk Construction Work. It is the trigger concept for the SWMS duty: a Safe Work Method Statement is only legally required where construction work is HRCW.
Is a trench under 1.5 metres high risk construction work?
Not under the shaft-and-trench category — that applies to a shaft or trench with an excavated depth greater than 1.5 metres, or a tunnel. But the same job can still be HRCW under another category, for example work near a traffic corridor, near energised services, or where powered mobile plant is operating. Always check the whole list, not one item.
Is high risk construction work the same in every state?
Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania, the Northern Territory and the ACT apply the model WHS Regulations, so the list is materially the same as New South Wales. Victoria is not harmonised — its equivalent duty sits in the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2017 (Vic) (Part 5.1), and its list differs in wording, so check the Victorian text for Victorian work.
Doing high risk construction work?
Editable, state-specific SWMS documents for every activity above — written against the Regulation, ready to put your details on.
Browse SWMS documentsWhat is a SWMS? · When is a SWMS required? · How to write a SWMS