Information current: 6 August 2026
The direct answer is that children and young workers need work, controls, instruction and supervision matched to their age, experience, maturity and capability. On a building site, do not assume a young person recognises a hazard, understands site language or will speak up when unsure. Check their understanding, demonstrate the task and supervise them closely enough to keep the work safe.
The Children and Young Workers Code of Practice 2006 is a Queensland approved Code. It covers workers under 18, including apprentices, trainees, casual workers, unpaid family workers and work experience students. It also addresses children who may visit, enter or live at a workplace.
Requirements vary across Australia. Check current material from the WHS or OHS regulator in the state or territory where the work is done. National Model Codes provide useful general orientation but do not automatically apply as law in every jurisdiction.
Main hazards on building sites
Young workers face the usual construction hazards, but limited experience and confidence can increase the risk. Pay particular attention to:
- manual handling, repetitive work, awkward postures and fatigue
- noise, vibration, heat, sun and hazardous substances such as silica dust
- power tools, machinery, vehicles and mobile plant
- falls, scaffolds, ladders, excavations and incomplete areas
- electricity, temporary power and damaged leads
- bullying, teasing, rushing, peer pressure and working alone
- unfamiliar tasks or changes that have not been properly explained.
Children who are not workers can also enter sites out of curiosity. Secure access, excavations, chemicals, ladders, electrical hazards, stacked materials, plant and keys. Physical barriers and elimination of access are stronger than relying on someone to watch an unsafe area continuously.
Sort these matters before work starts
Before a young person begins, identify the work they will perform and assess their knowledge, physical capacity, experience and competency. The Code says this risk-management process needs to occur before a young person starts work.
Practical pre-start steps usually include:
- choose tasks suited to the person's demonstrated capability
- identify hazards and apply higher-order controls where reasonably practicable
- provide site and task induction in language they readily understand
- show the safe method, then ask the worker to explain and demonstrate it
- set clear boundaries for plant, vehicles, heights, chemicals and restricted areas
- nominate a competent supervisor and explain when that person must be present
- explain emergency procedures, incident reporting and how to stop and raise concerns
- consult the worker and relevant contractors when conditions or tasks change.
A licence, course card or confident answer may not establish that someone can safely perform the actual task. Competency should be checked in the work context.
What good controls and documents cover
Good arrangements combine physical controls with clear responsibilities. Depending on the job, that may mean isolating plant, guarding machinery, separating pedestrians from vehicles, providing edge protection, suppressing dust, using mechanical lifting aids and supplying correctly fitted PPE.
Supporting documents commonly include a site induction, task procedure, risk assessment, competency and training records, supervision arrangements, toolbox or consultation records, plant checks, emergency plans and corrective-action records. Keep them consistent with what workers actually do.
Induction is more than a first-day chat. The Code recommends documented induction covering workplace risks, followed by ongoing information, training, instruction and supervision. Training should be refreshed when tasks or conditions change. High-risk tasks call for deeper instruction, demonstrated competency and close oversight.
When a SWMS or another site document applies
For construction work, check whether the activity is high risk construction work under the requirements applying in your jurisdiction. If it is, a site-specific SWMS will commonly be needed before the work starts. It should match the real task, hazards, controls and site conditions, and the young worker should be taken through the parts affecting their work.
Other site-specific documents may include a traffic management plan, isolation procedure, permit, rescue plan, hazardous chemicals register or a short supervision plan. The document set should reflect the risk, not the worker's age alone.
Practical warning signs
Pause and review the work if:
- instructions are vague or only given once
- the worker copies others but cannot explain the controls
- nobody is clearly responsible for supervision
- PPE does not fit
- a young worker is rushed, teased or afraid to ask questions
- plant, heights, electricity or chemicals are accessed without verified competency
- a near miss, task change or site change is not followed by review and retraining.
How Blue Safe can help
Blue Safe provides compliant WHS documents tailored to the client's activities, applicable Australian WHS/OHS requirements, jurisdiction and industry. These may include SWMS, risk assessments, policies, procedures, induction materials, registers and supporting records suited to young-worker arrangements.
Blue Safe guarantees the document compliance of the WHS documents it provides, including eligible customer documents after Blue Safe has reviewed and upgraded them. Customers actively put the compliant documents into practice through controls, consultation, training, actions, records and evidence.
Blue Safe can help connect the document set to the actual work, site hazards, supervision structure and regulator expectations, so supervisors and tradies have clear, usable requirements.