High Risk Construction Work (HRCW): The 18 Categories
Updated 24 September 2026
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High risk construction work (HRCW) is defined in reg 291 of the WHS Regulations as construction work that involves any of 18 listed activities (the same list is variously called the 18 high risk construction work activities or categories; they are one list), from a risk of falling more than 2 metres to work near energised electrical services. If any category applies, a site-specific SWMS must be prepared before the work starts. Victoria has its own similar list (19 categories) in reg 322 of the OHS Regulations 2017.
The full list
- ✓ Risk of a person falling more than 2 metres
- ✓ Work on a telecommunication tower
- ✓ Demolition of a load-bearing structure
- ✓ Work likely to disturb asbestos
- ✓ Structural alterations or repairs requiring temporary support
- ✓ Work in or near a confined space
- ✓ Work in or near a shaft or trench deeper than 1.5 metres, or a tunnel
- ✓ Use of explosives
- ✓ Work on or near pressurised gas distribution mains or piping
- ✓ Work on or near chemical, fuel or refrigerant lines
- ✓ Work on or near energised electrical installations or services
- ✓ Work in an area that may have a contaminated or flammable atmosphere
- ✓ Tilt-up or precast concrete work
- ✓ Work on, in or adjacent to a road, railway or other traffic corridor in use
- ✓ Work in an area with movement of powered mobile plant
- ✓ Work in areas with artificial extremes of temperature
- ✓ Work in or near water with a risk of drowning
- ✓ Diving work
Why these 18 and not others
These are the activities where the consequence of getting it wrong is death or serious injury, and where a documented method genuinely changes the outcome. Falls, trench collapse, asbestos, energised electrical, and powered mobile plant are consistently among the biggest causes of construction fatalities in Australia. The SWMS requirement forces the crew to think through the method, the hazards, and the controls before anyone starts, rather than working it out on the run.
The HRCW categories people miss
Most trades know the obvious triggers. The categories that catch people out are:
- ✓ The 2 metre fall rule, because it sweeps in painters on trestles, tilers on balconies, and anyone on a ladder near an edge, not just roofers
- ✓ Powered mobile plant movement, because a worker on foot near an excavator or forklift is in a high risk area even if their own task looks low risk
- ✓ Traffic corridors, because work next to a live road or rail line counts, not only work on it
- ✓ Temporary support, because propping during alterations is high risk work in its own right
What to do when a category applies
Prepare a SWMS before the work starts (reg 299), covering every applicable category, with the hazards of each work step and controls in hierarchy order. Consult the workers doing the work, give the SWMS to the principal contractor, keep it available on site (reg 303), and review it when the work or conditions change (reg 302). One activity commonly triggers several categories at once: a trench near a road with an excavator working hits three.
Common questions
▸What are the 18 high risk construction work activities?
They are the 18 activities listed in reg 291 of the WHS Regulations: falls over 2 metres, telecommunication towers, load-bearing demolition, asbestos disturbance, structural alterations needing temporary support, confined spaces, shafts trenches or tunnels deeper than 1.5 metres, explosives, pressurised gas mains, chemical fuel or refrigerant lines, energised electrical installations, contaminated or flammable atmospheres, tilt-up or precast concrete, roads and rail corridors in use, powered mobile plant, artificial temperature extremes, water with drowning risk, and diving work. The full list on this page explains each one and when it triggers a SWMS.
▸Is 18 or 19 the right number?
The harmonised WHS Regulations list 18 categories. Victoria’s OHS Regulations 2017 (reg 322) has its own similar list commonly counted as 19, with different wording. The overlap is nearly complete in practice.
▸Does one SWMS cover multiple categories?
Yes. One SWMS covers one work activity and must address every HRCW category that activity involves. You do not write one SWMS per category; you write one per activity, covering all its categories.
▸Who decides which categories apply?
The PCBU carrying out the work, when preparing the SWMS. In SWMS Pack’s questionnaire, your trade pre-selects the usual categories and you confirm what applies on this site.
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Start the questionnaireMore on swms basics
SWMS vs JSA: What Is the Difference?Do I Need a SWMS?SWMS Requirements Under the WHS RegulationsWhat Is a PCBU?Does my job need a SWMS? (checker)Free SWMS template (PDF + Word)
Official sources
WHS Regulation 2025 (NSW): the SWMS and HRCW duties (NSW legislation)SafeWork NSWWorkSafe Victoria (OHS Regulations 2017)
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