The Construction Sites (Safety) (Amendment) Regulation 2003

The Construction Sites (Safety) (Amendment) Regulation 2003 was approved by the Legislative Council on 26 November 2003 and was published in the Gazette on 28 November 2003 to take immediate effect. The main provisions of the Amendment Regulation are:

• to extend the duties imposed on the principal contractor under most provisions of the principal regulation to any contractor or sub-contractor who has direct control over any construction work in the site. Direct control is defined to mean the control over the way construction work is carried out;
• to prescribe in regulation 38A the specific measures required to ensure the safety of places of work in construction sites; and
• to prescribe in regulation 44 the specific measures required to effectively guard a prime mover, transmission machinery and dangerous parts of other machinery used in construction sites.

From now on, apart from the principal contractor, any contractor or sub-contractor who has direct control over any construction work in the construction site shall also be liable for offences committed in carrying out the work. However, it must be stressed that the responsibility of the principal contractor to ensure the safety and health at work on the site is in no way diminished.

At the same time, three other amendment regulations extending the duties of the principal contractor to any contractor and sub-contractor were also approved and came into effect on the same date. They are:

The Factories and Industrial Undertakings (Lifting Appliances and Lifting Gear) (Amendment) Regulation 2003

The Factories and Industrial Undertakings (Suspended Working Platforms) (Amendment) Regulation 2003

The Factories and Industrial Undertakings (Loadshifting Machinery) (Amendment) Regulation 2003

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