The CACC stands for the Construction Agency Coordination Committee. The committee membership is represented by NSW government agencies with exposure and interests in building and construction. Safety improvements in the building and construction industry is one of their primary objectives.

The CACC has developed an OHS Management Systems Guideline and all agencies have agreed that their contractors must comply with the elements of the guidelines. There is an OHS management system accreditation process to permit contractors to tender for NSW government projects, contractors that have not been accredited may not be eligible to tender for lucrative government contracts.

Effectively, the OHSMS Guidelines are a procurement standard and the accreditation of contractors authorises agencies to engage these prequalified contractors based on their OHS systems.

CACC membership consists of: 

The ultimate objective of this scheme is to encourage improved management of safety in the building and construction industry.

While this may appear to be a cumbersome process, there are numerous benefits to be gained from achieving OHS accreditation. Realistically the OHS guidelines follow a standardised approach and any principal contractor should be meeting the OHS criteria contained in the guidelines as part of their standard operations.

 If you are a small or medium sized contractor in the building and construction industry, in NSW, you may be missing competitive advantages by not being accredited.

For more information contact us on 1300 we do ohs (1300 933 664). Or reply to this post with any questions.

The OFSC (Office of The Federal Safety Commissioner) is a federal agency established in 2005 to promote improved OHS performance in the building and construction industry. The Federal Safety Commissioner administers the Australian Government Building and Construction OHS Accreditation Scheme. The “Scheme” was developed as an initiative to promote “sustainable” OHS culture change across the the building and construction industry.

The effectiveness of the scheme is monitored regularly and to date there are mixed results on how the scheme has translated into reductions in the injury rates across the industry.

The scheme requires head contractors, wanting to tender for government work, to become accredited by the FSC. Accreditation is based on a series of desktop ohs audits of the businesses OHS Management System and onsite OHS audits.

At first glance the OFSC process of accreditation can appear onerus. Companies must develop an Occupational Health and Safety Management System, undergo regular OHS audits and be subjected workplace OHS inspections by Federal Safety Officers. However, there are significant competetive advantages for companies obtaining OFSC accreditation. 

Not only through the ability to tender for government building and construction work, but also by improving safety management in the organisation and reducing the costs of workplace injury.

For more infromation on the OFSC accreditation scheme visit: http://www.fsc.gov.au , contact us on 1300 we do ohs (1300 933 664) Or reply to this post with any questions.

There are many options available for small business to get support for their workplace health and safety. The regulator is more interested these days in helping business comply with their OHS obligations than prosecuting. There are a number of consulting firms available to take the pressure off your business.

You can access heaps of free safety information from the regulator in all States and Territories. Why pay for downloading OHS forms and safety plans off the Internet when you can access the same material stuff free from Workcover, Worksafe, Workplace Health and Safety, NT Worksafe. They all offer heaps of safety information free.

If you need a safe work method statement, OHS plan, or safety manual you don’t need to spend a fortune, you can access a lot of material straight from your State regulators website.

Worksafe NSW has a great construction safety plan called the “Subby Pack”. This will pretty quickly get you started.

If you have any questions, post your comments here and we will answer any questions you have. For more information contact us on 1300 we do ohs (1300 933 664). Or reply to this post with any questions.