EXEMPTION 2 – Single dwelling houses | Office of the Federal Safety Commissioner

Where the project is for the construction, repair or restoration of a single-dwelling house or houses, the head contractor builder is not required to be accredited under the Work Health and Safety Accreditation Scheme (the Scheme) to obtain Commonwealth funding.

A ‘single-dwelling house’ is defined as any Class 1a building under the National Construction Code (NCC):

This generally includes detached stand-alone houses or one of a group of attached dwellings such as duplexes, terrace houses, row houses and town houses.
Residential developments that involve dwellings that are above and below each other will not be considered to be single-dwelling houses (such as apartments).

Where attached dwellings have a common space below (such as a common parking garage underneath the building or common basement), the building will be regarded as a Class 2 building under the National Construction Code building classifications and therefore will not fall under the single-dwelling house exemption. A common space is defined as:

accessible by residents from more than one dwelling in the residential development;
any parking garage that is not a private garage (that is, carparking within a building for the use of residents from more than one dwelling).

Only Class 1a buildings are single-dwellings exempted from the application of the Scheme.

More information on the definition of a Class 1a building can be found on the Australian Building Codes Board website in Chapter A6, Building Classification - NCC 2022 Volume Two - Building Code of Australia Class 1 and 10 buildings.

There is no limit to the number of single-dwelling houses on which building work is occurring for this exemption to apply. However, if a single project includes a variety of building classes, the mere fact that some of the buildings may be Class 1a buildings will not be sufficient for the single dwelling house exemption to apply to the project.

EXAMPLE - Single-dwelling exemption

Housing Australia provides $18 million in funding to a community housing provider for the construction of an affordable housing project. The project is exclusively for the building of detached houses, with no dwellings being built above any other dwellings.
The community housing provider engages Terra Constructions as the head contractor builder for the project.
While the funding for the project is above the funding thresholds, the project is exclusively for single-dwelling houses the building is classified as Class 1a under the National Construction Code. Therefore, Terra Constructions are not required to be accredited under the Scheme to undertake the building work.

EXAMPLE – Common carpark below residences

Housing Australia provides $40 million in funding to a community housing provider for the construction of a townhouse complex. Some of the residences are attached, and despite being two-level homes, none of the residences are above or below each other.
The community housing provider engages Roxmouth Builders and Joiners as the head contractor builder for the project.
There is an underground carpark beneath the residences. It is a common carpark that is accessible by all residents of the townhouse complex.
The funding for the project is above the funding thresholds. The project is for exclusively single-dwelling houses, but due to the common-access carpark under the residences the building is classified as Class 2 under the National Construction Code. Therefore, Roxmouth Builders and Joiners are required to be accredited under the Scheme before undertaking building work.

EXAMPLE – Private carpark below residences

Housing Australia provides $33 million in funding to a community housing provider for the construction of forty single-dwellings houses.
The community housing provider engages Montmorency & Sons Limited as the head contractor builder for the project.
Each of the residences has an underground carpark, allowing for access directly to inside of the residence. Access to each carpark is exclusive to the resident living above the carpark.
The funding for the project is above the funding thresholds. The project is for exclusively single-dwelling houses, and all carparks underneath the residences are private carparks, classifying the building as Class 1a under the National Construction Code. Therefore, Montmorency & Sons Limited are not required to be accredited under the Scheme to undertake building work.

EXAMPLE – Detached common carparking

Housing Australia provides $94 million in funding to a community housing provider for the construction of a large complex of single-dwelling houses.
The community housing provider engages Harold Bore Homes as the head contractor builder for the project.
There is no underground carparking for the residential complex. There is a separate carpark, which has common access by all residents.
The funding for the project is above the funding thresholds. Because the project is for exclusively single-dwelling houses, and the common carparking area is not underneath the residents, the building is classified as Class 1a under the National Construction Code. Therefore, Harold Bore Homes are not required to be accredited under the Scheme to undertake building work.

EXAMPLE – Multiple building classes in a single project

Housing Australia provides $77 million in funding to a community housing provider for the construction of a social and affordable housing project that includes multiple buildings.
The community housing provider engages Carraway Construction as the head contractor builder for the project.
There are three separate buildings included in the project. Two of the buildings are single-dwelling residential buildings with no underground common area/parking, and are therefore Class 1a under the National Construction Code. One of the buildings is two-storey, with residences above/below each other, and is therefore Class 2 under the National Construction Code.
The funding for the project is above the funding thresholds. Despite the inclusion of two Class 1a buildings in the project, the Class 2 building inclusion means that the overall project cannot be exempt from Scheme requirements. Therefore, Carraway Construction are required to be accredited under the Scheme to undertake building work.

Other exemptions

See the links below for information on the other exemptions:

EXEMPTION 1 – Building work valued at below the Scheme funding thresholds

EXEMPTION 3 – Joint venture arrangements

EXEMPTION 4 – No Scheme coverage where funding does not assist building work to proceed

Exemptions automatically apply in any relevant scenario. You do not need to apply for or seek approval from the OFSC for an exemption. If you are unsure if an exemption applies to your project, please contact the OFSC at ofsc@dewr.gov.au.

Further assistance

To speak to an OFSC representative please call the OFSC Assist Line 1800 652 500, or email ofsc@dewr.gov.au.