Do I need an SSSP as a subbie?
If you are working on a site run by a main contractor, expect to be asked for an SSSP before you start: it is how they meet their duty to co-ordinate the PCBUs on site. Working directly for a homeowner with no main contractor, no one will ask for the document, but your duties under HSWA 2015 to identify and control the hazards of your work apply exactly the same.
Who actually asks for the SSSP
The request nearly always comes from the main contractor, not from WorkSafe. Under section 34 of HSWA 2015, every PCBU sharing a workplace must consult, co-operate and co-ordinate with the others, and collecting each subcontractor’s SSSP is how a main contractor demonstrates that. No SSSP usually means no start.
Larger clients, councils and prequalification schemes ask for the same thing in their own paperwork. If you tender for that work, a current SSSP is table stakes.
Small jobs and residential work
Working directly for a homeowner, there is no main contractor to hand a document to. Your legal duties do not shrink: you must still identify the hazards of the work and control them so far as is reasonably practicable, and notify WorkSafe of particular hazardous work (a fall of 5 m or more, an excavation deeper than 1.5 m, certain scaffolding).
For a genuinely small, low-risk job, a task analysis for the risky parts of the work may be a proportionate way to meet that duty. The moment the job involves height, excavation, other trades, or a main contractor, the full SSSP is the right tool.
The one-crew trap
A common misunderstanding is that SSSPs are for big companies. The duties in HSWA 2015 attach to the PCBU, which includes a self-employed tradie. If something goes wrong, "it was just me on the job" is not a defence for having done no hazard identification at all. The paperwork can be short; it cannot be absent.
Common questions
Is an SSSP legally required for every job in NZ?
No law names the SSSP for every job. What the law requires is that you identify and control the hazards of your work (HSWA 2015 and the 2016 Regulations). The SSSP is how that is demonstrated on shared sites, and main contractors require one in practice.
Can I use the same SSSP for every job?
No. It is a Site-Specific Safety Plan: the site details, hazards and emergency arrangements change with each job. Reusing one unchanged is the fastest way to have it rejected, though a good SSSP for a similar previous job makes the next one quicker.
What if I only have a task analysis?
For a small direct job, a task analysis covering the risky tasks may be proportionate. On a main contractor’s site, a task analysis is normally part of the SSSP, not a substitute for it.
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