Violence and Aggression at Work | WHS Guide Australia

Violence and aggression at work is a WHS risk that should be managed before someone is threatened, assaulted or psychologically harmed. For builders, subcontractors and tradies, that means identifying where conflict or unsafe behaviour could arise, putting practical controls in place and making sure workers know how to get help, withdraw safely and report concerns.

Information current: 7 August 2026. Local requirements vary, so check current regulator material for the jurisdiction and work involved.

What can violence and aggression look like?

Work-related violence and aggression can be physical, verbal, written or psychological. It may be a single serious event or repeated lower-level behaviour. It can also occur by phone, email, messaging applications or social media.

Construction-related examples include:

threats or abuse from clients, occupants, neighbours or members of the public
pushing, hitting, spitting, throwing objects or displaying a weapon
intimidation during disputes about access, defects, delays, noise or payment
sexual harassment, unwanted touching or threatening messages
aggressive trespassers, thieves or people affected by alcohol or drugs
workers being followed, stalked or targeted after an onsite disagreement
conflict escalating between workers, subcontractors or delivery drivers.

The risk is not limited to the person being targeted. Witnesses and workers repeatedly exposed to threatening behaviour may also experience psychological harm.

What should be sorted before work starts?

Consider the people, location, work arrangements and likely sources of conflict during planning and site establishment. Consultation with workers and subcontractors can reveal earlier incidents, difficult access arrangements, community concerns and tasks where someone may be isolated.

Useful planning questions include:

Who will interact with clients, occupants or the public?
Are workers entering private homes, occupied premises or isolated areas?
Could disputes arise around exclusion zones, traffic, noise, property damage or access?
Can workers contact a supervisor or emergency services quickly?
Is there a safe exit route and a place to withdraw?
Who has authority to stop work, refuse entry or call for assistance?

Known threats should be communicated without circulating unnecessary personal information. Workers should understand the site rules, reporting pathway, emergency contacts and what to do if behaviour escalates.

Controls and documents that commonly help

Higher-order controls should be considered before relying mainly on instructions or individual reactions. Depending on the site, practical measures may include controlled entry, secure fencing, suitable lighting, physical separation, remote communication, paired work, adjusted scheduling and keeping workers away from a known threat.

Administrative arrangements may include visitor rules, a clear escalation process, check-in procedures, conflict-management training, incident reporting and an emergency response plan. Workers should be encouraged to leave an unsafe interaction and seek help rather than continue an argument.

Relevant documentation will commonly include some combination of:

the WHS management plan or site safety plan
a site risk assessment or JSA
a violence and aggression prevention procedure
emergency and duress arrangements
consultation, induction and toolbox records
incident reports, investigation records and corrective actions.

These arrangements should explain prevention, immediate response, reporting, investigation and worker support. Training should reflect the actual work and may cover recognising escalation, communication, withdrawal, duress systems and post-incident actions.

When does a SWMS commonly apply?

A SWMS is commonly used where the work is high risk construction work under the applicable requirements. Violence-related controls may be included where they affect how that work is performed—for example, work in an occupied or publicly accessible area where access, isolation or emergency arrangements form part of the safe work method.

For other work, violence and aggression may be better addressed through the site risk assessment, WHS plan, emergency arrangements and a specific procedure. Principal contractor rules or client requirements may also require additional site-specific documentation. Confirm the correct document for the activity and jurisdiction rather than treating every behavioural risk as a standalone SWMS topic.

Warning signs and incident response

Warning signs can include repeated abuse, escalating complaints, threats, stalking, deliberate access breaches, fixation on a worker, property damage, visible weapons or sudden changes in behaviour. Reports should be taken seriously even where no physical assault has occurred.

If there is immediate danger, workers should move to safety and contact emergency services. After an incident, preserve relevant information, check whether regulator notification is required, support affected workers and review whether controls failed or need improvement. Records of reports, investigations and actions help identify repeated locations, people, triggers or work arrangements.

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. Blue Safe guarantees the document compliance of the WHS documents it provides, including eligible customer documents after Blue Safe has reviewed and upgraded them.

Blue Safe can help align violence and aggression controls with the wider site system, including risk assessments, WHS management plans, procedures, emergency arrangements, inductions and incident processes. Customers actively put the compliant documents into practice through controls, consultation, training, actions, records and evidence.

Official sources

The WA Code is specific to Western Australia. Any national Model Code should be used as general orientation and is not automatically applicable law in every jurisdiction.

Violence and aggression at work: a practical WHS guide