A Guide to Working Safely At Heights Requirements for WA Mining & Construction
Falls from height remain one of the most common causes of serious injury and death on Australian worksites, and mining and construction are two of the highest-risk industries for it. If you manage a team, or you're the one climbing the scaffold or platform yourself, understanding what WA law actually requires isn't optional — it's central to keeping your crew safe and your business compliant. Here's a plain-English guide to where things currently stand.
The law behind it: WHS General Regulations 2022
Since 31 March 2022, working at heights in WA has been governed by the Work Health and Safety (General) Regulations 2022, which replaced the older OSH Regulations 1996. Under these regulations, the person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU) — essentially, the employer or site controller — has a legal duty to manage the risk of falls at the workplace.
Importantly, WA's current approach is based on managing risk, not a single fixed height trigger. Older rules used a flat "2 metre" threshold, but the modern regulations focus on whether a person could be injured falling from one level to another, whatever that height happens to be. In practice, most WA employers and sites still use 2 metres as a practical planning benchmark, but the legal duty applies more broadly than that number alone.
A note for mining and construction specifically: transitional arrangements have applied to these two industries as WA phases in the newer falls requirements, with a compliance deadline of 30 September 2026 for construction sites to fully align their site controls with the current regulations. If your site's fall protection systems and documentation haven't been reviewed recently, this is worth checking now rather than later.
The hierarchy of controls
WorkSafe WA's Managing the Risk of Falls at Workplaces code of practice sets out a clear order of preference for controlling fall risk, and inspectors expect to see this hierarchy actually applied on-site:
Eliminate the risk — can the task be done from the ground, or with the item lowered to ground level instead of someone going up?
Fall prevention devices — guardrails, secure edge protection, working platforms, and covers over openings, so a fall physically can't happen.
Work positioning systems — equipment that holds a worker in place so they can't reach a fall-risk zone in the first place.
Fall arrest systems — harnesses and lanyards that stop a fall after it starts. This is treated as a lower-preference control, not the default.
Fall injury minimisation — administrative controls or systems like safety nets, used only when higher-order controls genuinely aren't practical.
The key point: a harness is meant to be a last resort, not the first thing reached for. If a site can eliminate the risk or use edge protection instead, that's what the law expects to see first.
What this means practically on-site
A documented risk assessment (or SWMS/JSA) should be in place for any task involving a fall risk, identifying the hazard and which controls are being used and why.
Guardrails and barriers, where used, need to meet Australian Standards — generally 900–1100mm high with midrails, and gaps no greater than 300mm on platforms with a drop risk.
Anchor points, harnesses, and lanyards must be installed, inspected, and maintained by a competent person, with regular re-inspection — not just checked once and forgotten.
Training is non-negotiable. Anyone required to work at height, or supervise others doing so, needs to actually understand the hazards and how to use the relevant equipment — this is where formal training comes in.
The training that covers this: RIIWHS204E Work Safely at Heights
The nationally recognised unit for this is RIIWHS204E – Work Safely at Heights, which is exactly what our Working Safely at Heights course is built around. It's designed for the resources and infrastructure sectors specifically — mining, construction, and related industries — and covers hazard identification, control selection, and correct use of fall protection equipment, so your team isn't just wearing a harness but actually understands why and how.
If your crew also works in confined spaces, it's worth knowing this pairs naturally with our RIIWHS202E Confined Spaces course — many WA mining and construction sites need both, and we offer them as a combined course set to save time and cost.
Staying compliant going forward
With the construction industry's transitional deadline landing on 30 September 2026, now is a sensible time to:
Review whether your site's current fall protection matches the hierarchy of controls above
Confirm your documented risk assessments are current
Check that everyone working at height holds current, valid training
Not sure what your site needs, or want to arrange group training for your whole crew? Get in touch — we're happy to talk through your specific setup.
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