The requirements for construction induction training apply to construction work. The definition of construction work under the Work Health and Safety Act 2020 and Work Health and Safety (General) Regulations 2022 (WHS General Regulations) is very broad and picks up a wide range of activities. 

Construction work is defined in WHS General Regulations r. 289 as meaning:

any work carried out in connection with the construction, alteration, conversion, fitting-out, commissioning, renovation, repair, maintenance, refurbishment, demolition, decommissioning or dismantling of a structure.

Without limiting the above meaning, construction work also includes the following:

• any installation or testing carried out in connection with an activity referred to in the meaning above
• the removal from the workplace of any product or waste resulting from demolition
• the prefabrication or testing of elements, at a place specifically established for the construction work, for use in construction work
• the assembly of prefabricated elements to form a structure, or the disassembly of prefabricated elements forming part of a structure
• the installation, testing or maintenance of an essential service in relation to a structure
• any work connected with an excavation
• any work connected with any preparatory work or site preparation (including landscaping as part of site preparation) carried out in connection with an activity referred to in the meaning above
• an activity referred to in the meaning above, that is carried out on, under or near water, including work on buoys and obstructions to navigation.

Some situations will require the person conducting the business or undertaking or person in control of the workplace to exercise judgement in deciding who needs to undertake the construction induction training. Where some judgement is needed to decide whether training should be undertaken it is appropriate to consider the risk factors in making a judgement including:

• the range of duties the person is required to carry out e.g. look at the complexity of tasks and hazards associated with those tasks
• the degree to which the person is escorted and/or directly supervised while working
• the degree to which the construction work undertaken is incidental or peripheral to the main business activity, e.g. a farmer building, an access road on his/her own property, a person doing minor repairs or cleaning in an existing building
• the parts of the workplace the person is required or permitted to access and the stage(s) of construction occurring during the time frame of such access e.g. consider such factors as scope and time frame for a particular construction project and the direct and active involvement of the person in that construction project.

WHS Regulations recognise nationally accredited construction induction training conducted in other States and Territories. This means that workers coming from those States do not need to complete the WA course to be able to work in construction, provided they can show evidence that they completed the induction training in their home State.