What Is a PCBU?
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A PCBU is a Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking, the primary duty holder under the harmonised Work Health and Safety laws. It covers companies, sole traders, partnerships, and other businesses, whether or not they make a profit. A PCBU must ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of workers and others affected by the work. For high risk construction work, the PCBU carrying out the work is responsible for preparing the SWMS. In Victoria, which is not harmonised, the equivalent duty holder is the employer or self-employed person.
Who is a PCBU
- ✓ A company or business, whether large or a one-person operation
- ✓ A sole trader or self-employed person
- ✓ A partnership or unincorporated association conducting work
- ✓ Not an individual worker or an officer personally (they have separate duties)
- ✓ In Victoria: the term used is "employer" or "self-employed person", not PCBU
What a PCBU must do
A PCBU has the primary duty of care: to ensure health and safety so far as is reasonably practicable. That includes providing a safe system of work, safe plant and structures, information, training, and supervision, and consulting workers on matters that affect them. For high risk construction work, part of that duty is preparing a SWMS before the work starts, keeping it available, and reviewing it when things change.
Common questions
▸Is a sole trader a PCBU?
Yes. A self-employed sole trader is a PCBU and carries the primary duty of care, including preparing a SWMS for any high risk construction work they do.
▸Is a PCBU the same as an employer?
Broadly, but PCBU is wider: it covers businesses with no employees, like a sole trader. In Victoria, which kept its own OHS laws, the duty holder is called the employer or self-employed person rather than PCBU.
▸Who is the PCBU on a construction site?
There can be several. The principal contractor is a PCBU, and each subcontractor is a PCBU for their own work. Each prepares the SWMS for the high risk construction work they carry out.
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