OH Consultant

You're a Tradie, Not a Paperwork Expert

A principal contractor just told you: "No prequalification, no site access." You need SWMS, insurance certificates, training records, and a safety management plan — by Friday. EHS Atlas Trade Solo gives you all of it in one system, accessible from your phone, for less than $8 a week.

$50,000+
SafeWork penalty for no SWMS on high-risk work
WHS Regulation 2025, s.299
$600–$2,000/yr
Average prequalification cost (Cm3/Avetta)
Published platform rates
Yes
Sole traders ARE PCBUs under WHS law
WHS Act 2011 s.5

Sound familiar?

Turned away from a job because you couldn't produce documents

The site manager asks for your SWMS, your insurance certificate, your training records. You have them — somewhere. In an email from 2024. On a USB drive at home. In a photo on your phone. But you cannot produce them right now, and the site manager will not wait. You lose the day's work. Your reputation takes a hit. The builder uses someone else next time.

WHS Regulation 2025 s.299-303 — SWMS required for 19 categories of high-risk construction work. The principal contractor must sight the SWMS before work begins.

Paying for prequalification but not understanding what you're maintaining

The builder told you to get Cm3 prequalified. You signed up, paid the fee, uploaded documents. Six months later your insurance expired and your prequalification lapsed. Nobody told you until you were turned away from the next site. The prequalification platform collected your money but did not help you stay compliant — it verified your status at one point in time and moved on.

No specific legislation requires prequalification — it is a commercial requirement imposed by principal contractors. However, the underlying documents (insurance, licences, SWMS) ARE legal requirements under the WHS Act and Regulation.

A SafeWork inspector asks you for your safety system

SafeWork NSW runs blitz inspections targeting construction. An inspector walks the site and asks every worker: "Who is your employer? Where is your SWMS? When were you inducted?" You are a sole trader. You have a White Card and good intentions. That is not enough. The WHS Act defines you as a PCBU with the same primary duty of care as a company employing 500 people. The difference is the scale of what is reasonably practicable — but having no documentation at all is never reasonably practicable.

WHS Act 2011 s.5 (PCBU definition includes sole traders), s.19 (primary duty of care)

What you get with Trade Solo

FileCheck
SWMS that site managers actually accept
professionally authored SWMS templates for your trade. Select your trade category, add site-specific details, download a professional PDF. Workers sign on their phone before starting. Takes 10 minutes, not 2 hours.
You're an electrician. Select 'Electrical — switchboard upgrade.' The SWMS pre-populates with isolation procedures, electrical hazards, and PPE requirements. Add the site address and specific panel details. Download. Done.
FolderLock
Every document in one place — accessible from your phone
Insurance certificates, licences, training records, SWMS, induction records. All stored, all searchable, all accessible from your phone on site. When the site manager asks, you show them on screen in 10 seconds.
Site manager asks for your public liability insurance. Open the app. Tap Documents. Tap Insurance. Current certificate on screen. 10 seconds.
Bell
Never get caught with an expired document
The system knows when your insurance expires, when your White Card needs renewal, when your trade licence is due. It alerts you 30 days before. You renew. Your prequalification stays current. No surprises on site.
Your public liability expires 15 July. On 15 June, you get an alert: 'Insurance expires in 30 days. Renew now to maintain site access.'
Award
One-click evidence export for any prequalification system
Cm3, Avetta, Veriforce, or the builder's own portal — they all ask for the same documents. EHS Atlas generates a compliance pack with all your current documents, training records, and safety management evidence. One click. PDF or ZIP.
New builder asks for prequalification. Click 'Export Compliance Pack.' ZIP downloads with insurance certificates, SWMS samples, training matrix, incident history, and safety policy. Upload to their portal. Done.
AlertTriangle
Prove your safety record — even when nothing happened
Zero incidents is good. But you need to prove zero incidents. A log showing 'No recordable incidents in 12 months' is evidence for prequalification renewals and insurance premium negotiations. Near-misses logged and closed demonstrate proactive safety culture.
Insurance renewal. Insurer asks for incident history. Export 12 months of logs: 2 near-misses reported and closed, zero injuries. Premium stays flat.
Gauge
See your compliance status at a glance
A single score — green, amber, or red. Green means all documents current, all training up to date, all SWMS reviewed. Amber means something expires soon. Red means something has expired. Check once a week.
Monday morning. Open the app. Score: 94% (green). One item amber: 'First aid certificate expires in 21 days.' Book refresher. Back to 100%.

Pricing that makes sense for a sole trader

Trade Solo starts at $399/year — $7.67 per week, less than a coffee a day. The system pays for itself the first time you do not get turned away from a job.

Get site-ready in 30 minutes

Set up your Trade Solo account, upload your documents, generate your first SWMS. When the site manager asks, you are ready.