The purpose of a contractor prequalification is to show your health and safety processes and prove that you undertake work being asked of you in a healthy and safe way. You will need to show that you have certain procedures in place to deal with health and safety issues effectively and in accordance with legislation, regulations, approved codes of practice, good and best practice guidelines.

The procedures requested throughout a prequalification are generally as follows:

All of these processes should be in place. You will need to provide evidence of these processes for any pre-qualification that you undertake.

We have designed this guide to assist you with answering your contractor pre-qualification and direct you to where to find the information and forms required within your HazardCo Hub.

Providing that you are using the HazardCo App you will find all your completed reports in the Hub, for any additional forms you can access these from the Templates section. To navigate this area, you can search for the template name in the search bar, or you can flick through the pages using the back and forward arrows at the bottom of the screen.

Please ensure that any document submitted meets the following criteria:

Receiving an accreditation means that you have been assessed and approved by an authorised third party and they have ensured that you have demonstrated your competence, credibility and adherence to the law, regulations, good and best practice guidelines. An accreditation could be one of the following:

If you have a safety accreditation, upload your certificate provided by the auditor. If requested, supply the expiry date of the certification. Often, prequalification providers may allow you to skip questions based on holding an accreditation.

When completing a pre-qualification attach your signed and dated policy documents provided with your HazardCo membership. Your policies and procedures can be accessed via the HazardCo Hub in the Company details section. Under ‘Email Policy & Procedures’ enter your email address to receive a copy of your Policy and Procedures as shown below:

Prior to uploading, ensure all policies are signed by directors/officers of the company within the past 12 months.

Part of your HazardCo membership your not only have access to a H&S Policy but also:

You may be asked to provide copies of certain insurance certificates, you are usually required to provide the certificate of currency which shows the period of cover, the entity covered and the amount of insurance. Contact your insurance company to obtain a copy of your certificate of currency, if you do not already have one.

Some examples of the types of insurance that may be requested:

Inductions need to be performed for all workers and visitors, records must be kept. Sufficient information should be included with inductions for workers and visitors, so that they understand the hazards and risks they may come into contact with.

If it is not practical to induct a person they should still sign in, but be accompanied by an inducted person throughout the visit.

Refer to the induction sections of your Health and Safety Procedures document for more information.

Completed examples which can be included under this heading are:

You can find these templates in the ‘Templates’ section of your HazardCo Hub.

If you engage any contractors or volunteer workers you should ensure they are trained and competent in the work they will perform, and that they have an effective health and safety system in place. One way to do this is by prequalifying your own contractors using the Pre-Qualification form found in your HazardCo Hub.

Contractor management pre-qualification questions will likely involve:

Completed examples which can be included under this heading are:

You can find these templates in the ‘Templates’ section of your HazardCo Hub.

Refer to the Contractor Management section of your Health and Safety Procedures document for further information on Contractor Management.

Once a hazard has been identified, controls need to be put in place in accordance with the Hierarchy of Controls, shown below, to ensure that the risks are appropriately managed.

Review the Hazard Identification and Risk Management processes outlined in your Policy and Procedure document for further information.

Completed examples which can be included are:

You can find these templates in the ‘Templates’ section of your HazardCo Hub.

For more complex or high-risk tasks a Task Analysis (TA) should be developed. High-risk hazards include but are not limited to:

Please review the High-Risk Work section of your policies and procedure document for more information on the different types of high-risk work.

All high-risk work must be carried out in accordance with the relevant standards, codes of practice, guidelines and regulations.

A Task Analysis (TA) should be completed for each individual high-risk activity specific to the site to ensure that the risks associated with the task are managed.

Completed examples which can be included under this heading are:

It is a legal requirement to have an Emergency Plan set up for every workplace. An Emergency Plan should contain the following information:

Refer to the Emergency Management section of your health and safety policy and procedures document for further information.

All workers and contractors must be taken through the Emergency Plan as part of their workplace/site induction.

The supervisor in control of the workplace is responsible for keeping the emergency plan up to date.

Completed examples which can be included under this heading are:

You can find these templates in the ‘Templates’ section of your HazardCo Hub.

As required in the regulations, where there is a reasonable chance of contracting a disease or illness through hazard exposure (such as noise exposure or airborne contaminants) and these cannot be eliminated, you are required to minimise these risks by monitoring the health of your workers.

You should seek approval from your workers and take responsibility for informing them of health monitoring results. When sharing worker health monitoring records ensure you comply with privacy requirements.

Refer to the Health Monitoring section of your health and safety policy and procedures for further information.

Completed examples which can be included under this heading are:

Remember as a HazardCo member you are eligible to receive a 10% discount at HabitHealth for health monitoring.

Incidents fall into one of the following 4 categories:

As part of an active Health and Safety Management System (HSMS) you should record all incidents using your HazardCo App, this automatically creates your Incident Register in your HazardCo Hub - found in the ‘Incidents’ section.

You should also be familiar with notifiable incidents - you can find information on notifiable incidents from WorkSafe by clicking here.

Your incident management processes are found in your HazardCo policy and procedures document.

All incidents should be:

Completed examples which can be included under this heading are:

Worker participation is more than just ‘telling your workers what to do’ in regards to health and safety. You are required to involve them in your health and safety processes and decision making, such as allowing workers to:

Your health and safety policy and procedures outline the Worker Participation and Engagement procedures.

You must consult, cooperate and coordinate with workers and other PCBU’s on your site and ensure that everyone is aware of health and safety matters that affect them, and what is required of them to effectively manage any risks they face while undertaking work.

Feedback and involvement in health and safety discussions, by workers or contractors, can be documented in meeting minutes.

Completed examples which can be included under this heading are:

You can find these templates in the ‘Templates’ section of your HazardCo Hub.

You should be conducting regular reviews of the workplace/site using the HazardCo reviewing tools available to you. Use the App to complete Site Reviews, it is recommended for good practice that 4 site reviews are completed per month.

You can find out more information on the requirements to monitor and review in your health and safety policy and procedures under ‘Monitor and Review’. Any issues identified in Site/Safety Reviews are to be discussed at Toolbox/Safety Meetings and the corrective action/s are to be assigned to the appropriate person to resolve (using Tasks).

Regular reviews of the businesses health and safety system can be captured by completing the Health and Safety Checklist, discussing the results at the Toolbox/Safety Meetings and implementing corrective actions to improve.

Completed examples which can be included under this heading are:

You can find these templates in the ‘Templates’ section of your HazardCo Hub.

You must ensure that all workers (including contractors) are trained and competent in any task being completed in the workplace, and where applicable they hold the required current license, or trade qualification. If they are not trained and competent then they must be supervised until deemed as such.

Please review the Training and Supervision section in your policy and procedures document for further information.

Training and competency can be recorded on the Training Register and future training can be stated on the Training Plan.

Completed examples which can be included under this heading are:

Induction (Ag/hort);

You can find these templates in the ‘Templates’ section of your HazardCo Hub.

All plant, machinery and equipment supplied and used by workers must be of the required standard, in good working order, with all safety mechanisms and guards intact.

A procedure or process for the use or maintenance, testing and/or calibration of equipment (slings, lifting devices, fall arrest systems) must exist e.g. SOPs or manufacturer instructions. All plant, machinery and equipment should be entered into a register and maintenance records kept.

Refer to the Safe Plant, Machinery or Equipment section of your health and safety policy and procedures for further information.

Completed examples which can be included under this heading are:

You can find these templates in the ‘Templates’ section of your HazardCo Hub.

Hazardous Substances are substances that are known, or suspected, to cause harm to health or the environment. Hazardous substances are commonly used or found in the building and construction industry include paints, solvents, glues, sealants, particle fibreboard, medium-density fibreboard, insulation material, concrete, cements, cement finishes, grease, oils, fuels, asbestos and wood dust. You must ensure the correct and safe use, handling, storage, transportation and disposal of hazardous substances through training and safety procedures.

As part of legislation, you are required to hold a Hazardous Substance Register and all Safety Data Sheets (SDS) for any hazardous substances you use. If you need further information on what is required for the quantities of your hazardous substances please use the WorkSafe Hazardous Substances Toolbox.

Please review the Hazardous Substances and Dangerous Goods section of your policy and procedures for further information on the management of Hazardous substances.

Completed examples which can be included under this heading are:

Clients may also request referees from recently undertaken projects or services. Confirm with your referee that they are happy to act in this capacity before providing their details.

If you have any questions around completing a prequalification or require other documentation or further information, please do not hesitate to contact the HazardCo Advisory Team on 0800 555 339.