Working Over Water Safety Requirements in Western Australia — What PCBUs Need to Know
If your business involves work over or near water in Western Australia, you have legal obligations under WA work health and safety legislation that apply regardless of the size of your project or how long you will be on site.
Understanding these obligations — and what they mean in practice — is essential for project managers and HSE teams planning any activity near water.
Who does this apply to?
The WA Work Health and Safety Act 2020 places the primary duty of care on the Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking (PCBU). If you are a contractor, subcontractor, principal contractor, or employer and your workers are performing tasks over or near water — whether on a jetty, a marine structure, a vessel, or adjacent to a body of water — you are a PCBU and these obligations apply to you.
What are the key obligations?
As a PCBU, you are required to eliminate or minimise risks to workers so far as is reasonably practicable. For work over or near water, this includes:
Identifying all fall-into-water hazards specific to your worksite
Implementing control measures to prevent falls into water
Having a documented rescue plan that addresses how a worker in the water will be retrieved
Ensuring appropriate rescue equipment and personnel are available on site
Maintaining records of safety planning and compliance documentation
What does a compliant rescue plan look like?
A compliant rescue plan for work over water must be specific to your site and your activities. A generic plan is not sufficient. At a minimum it should cover:
The specific hazards present at the worksite
The control measures in place to prevent falls into water
The rescue procedures for both conscious and unconscious casualties
The equipment available for rescue, including personal flotation devices and rescue vessel details
The qualifications and experience of the rescue personnel on site
Communication and emergency response procedures
Why a standby rescue vessel is the most effective control measure
For most work over water environments — jetties, wharves, marine structures, bridges, and scaffolding over water — a standby rescue vessel is the most effective control measure for a fall-into-water emergency. It provides an immediate response capability that throw lines and static rescue equipment alone cannot match, particularly when a casualty is unconscious or incapacitated.
A PWC rescue vessel is particularly well suited to confined marine environments. It can manoeuvre quickly around structures, reach a casualty within seconds, and recover them onto the rescue sled without requiring the rescuer to enter the water.
Hardy Seas can help
Hardy Seas provides AMSA-compliant standby rescue vessel services for PCBUs across Western Australia. We work with project managers and HSE teams to ensure their water safety arrangements meet WA legislative requirements — from rescue plan development through to on-site rescue vessel standby and compliance documentation.
If you are planning work over or near water in WA, get in touch with Hardy Seas to discuss your requirements.
