Tradie Run Sheet Builder / Before you start / Digging
Digging
Printed on a job only when this tag is ticked or digging is in its tags column. Never read from the task text.
What the sheet prints
- Underground services information obtained before digging WHS Regs r 304; AS/NZS 4836:2023 6.3; Excavation Code of Practice 3.6
The clauses behind it
Each clause below is our statement of it, cited to it, not the text verbatim.
the model WHS Regulations, r304
r 304 Obtain and use underground essential services information before excavation. Before directing or allowing excavation work to start, the person with management or control of the workplace takes all reasonable steps to obtain current information on underground essential services in and adjacent to the excavation area (the services affected, the location and depth of pipes, cables and plant, and any conditions on the work), gives it to anyone engaged to do the excavation, has regard to it (as must those given it), and keeps it available for inspection until the work is completed or for at least 2 years after a notifiable incident.
AS/NZS 4836, 6.3
6.3 Excavating at or near cables and services. Cables met or expected during excavation must always be treated as live until proven otherwise, and excavation must follow a site assessment and be done with extreme caution because cables may lack enclosures or warning tape: a safety observer must guide the excavator continuously with that as their only task; jackhammers and crowbars must not be used to expose cables; mechanical digging must use a toothless bucket and only down to the enclosure or warning tape; and the final exposure must be by hand tools or hydro or vacuum excavation.
the model Code of Practice for excavation work, 3.6e
3.6 Obtain current underground essential services information before work starts (WHS Regulation 304). Under WHS Regulation 304, before excavation is directed or allowed to start, whoever manages or controls the workplace has to take all reasonable steps to obtain up-to-date information on underground essential services in the parts of the workplace to be excavated and in the areas next to the excavation site, and must have regard to all of that information when planning and doing the work.
the model Code of Practice for excavation work, 3.6f
3.6 Sources of underground services information: Before You Dig Australia, authorities and property owners. For excavation in a public place, the PCBU has to take all reasonable steps to find out which electrical cables are there. Information can come from Before You Dig Australia, which answers enquiries about underground assets across Australia free of charge and is reached through an online form on its website, which reports whether its member organisations own cables near the site; exact locations can be found by special arrangement with those organisations. The PCBU can also ask relevant authorities about cables they may have laid nearby, such as water authorities, local government, communication companies and electricity supply authorities. Some customers of electricity suppliers may also be authorised to lay cables in public places. On private property, the owner or occupier should be asked about buried cables before work begins.
the model Code of Practice for excavation work, 3.6i
3.6 Verify service locations by potholing before digging. Service information on hand may be inaccurate, so the excavation method should begin with an initial examination of the dig area, for example exposing a short length of the service by potholing, usually with water pressure and a vacuum system. Where the exact position of an underground cable is unknown, potholing should be used to find it carefully and avoid accidental contact. Potholing means digging with hand tools to a set depth to confirm whether assets are present at that spot; insulated hand tools rated for the voltage, or vacuum excavation, may be used to locate the cable.
the model Code of Practice for excavation work, 3.6j
3.6 Use underground locators with trained operators and prepare a SWMS for work involving services. Underground services can also be found with locating equipment such as ground penetrating radar and electromagnetic cable locators. The PCBU has to make sure the workers using this equipment have had the relevant training and are competent with it. A SWMS must be prepared to manage the risks of excavation work that involves underground services. The construction work code and the SWA guidance on working near overhead and underground electric lines.
the model Code of Practice for excavation work, 3.6b
3.6 Control excavators and earthmoving plant near overhead powerlines. Specific controls must be put in place before excavators or other earthmoving machinery are used near overhead powerlines. Approach distances, and the controls needed to keep the plant, any part of it, or a load it carries from coming too close to or touching the lines, should be discussed with the relevant authority. Where a service is kept in place during the work it should be protected as the relevant authority requires, for example protection of overhead powerlines.
the model Code of Practice for excavation work, 3.6c
3.6 SWMS for work on or near gas mains, chemical, fuel or refrigerant lines and energised electrical installations. Construction work carried out on or close to energised electrical installations, chemical, fuel or refrigerant lines, or pressurised gas distribution mains or piping is high risk construction work, so a SWMS has to be prepared before it starts. This sits within the essential services guidance of section 3.6, alongside the principal contractor's duty to manage those risks through the Chapter 2 process.
In Victoria
A Victorian sheet prints, in place of the lines above:
- Authority notified in writing at least 3 days before excavating a trench, shaft or tunnel, naming the supervisor, the dates and the location; risks eliminated first, then reduced by substitution, isolation or engineering controls OHS Regs (Vic) r 355(1), (2), r 325
Victoria: the lines below cite the Victorian OHS Act and OHS Regulations; the Regulations are due to sunset, so check the version in force.
Each clause below is our statement of it, cited to it, not the text verbatim.
the Victorian OHS Regulations, r355-1
r 355(1) Notify the Authority at least 3 days before construction excavation work. Any employer, and any self-employed person, planning construction excavation of a shaft, a trench or a tunnel must notify the Authority, in the form required by r 355(2), no less than 3 days before the work starts. Maximum penalty: 60 units (individual), 300 units (company).
the Victorian OHS Regulations, r355-2
r 355(2) Include the required details in the excavation notice. The excavation notice must be written and must state: the name of whoever is giving the notice; who will directly supervise the excavation, with that supervisor's contact details; the notice date; the type of excavation proposed; whether explosives will be used; the likely start and finish date or dates; and the location or locations. One notice may cover an excavation for a single project spanning several locations and a period of time.
the Victorian OHS Regulations, r325
r 325 Control risks associated with construction work. Employers and self-employed persons must eliminate risks associated with construction work as far as reasonably practicable. Where elimination is not reasonably practicable, the risk must be lowered as far as reasonably practicable by one or a combination of: substituting a lower-risk activity, procedure, item of plant, process or substance for the hazard; isolating people from the hazard; or engineering controls. If risk still remains after those steps, administrative controls must be used to reduce it further, and after that, appropriate personal protective equipment must be provided to people at risk. The employer must consult employees and any HSR on control decisions (Act Part 4, r 21). Act compliance is through ss 21, 23 and 24.
Trades that meet it most: plumbers, landscapers.