OH Consultant

You Started Solo. Now You Have a Team. Your Safety System Did Not Grow With You.

When it was just you, a folder of documents worked. Now you have 6 workers and a folder does not scale. Who is trained? Who is inducted? Whose licence expires next month? You do not know — and that is a potential $150,000 liability if SafeWork visits.

~$223,000
Category 2 penalty for individual PCBU
WHS Act 2011, $123.31/penalty unit
1 employee
Workers comp obligation triggered at
NSW Workers Compensation Act 1987
10 June 2020
WHS fines uninsurable since
WHS Act 2011 s.272A

Growing pains that create liability

Transition from sole trader to employer

When you hire your first worker, your obligations multiply. Workers compensation insurance becomes mandatory. You must provide information, training, instruction, and supervision under s.19. You must consult with workers on WHS matters under s.47. You must have emergency procedures. The step from sole trader to employer is one person — the step in legal obligation is enormous.

WHS Act 2011 s.19, s.47; NSW Workers Compensation Act 1987

Keeping track of multiple workers' documents

With 6 workers, you have 6 White Cards, 6 trade licences, 6 first aid certificates, multiple high-risk work licences, and site-specific inductions for every project. Each document has a different expiry date. A spreadsheet works until it does not — and it usually fails at the worst possible time, when a site manager or inspector asks for a document you thought was current.

WHS Regulation 2025 Chapter 4 (high-risk work licences); s.317 (White Card)

Understanding when you need a safety management plan

As a sole trader, SWMS for high-risk work was the primary documentation requirement. As an employer with a growing team, you need a safety management plan that covers your business operations, training arrangements, emergency procedures, and incident management. Principal contractors increasingly require this as part of prequalification, and SafeWork NSW expects it as evidence of a systematic approach to WHS.

WHS Regulation 2025 s.309 (WHS management plan for projects >$250,000); WHS Act 2011 s.19

What you get with Trade Team

Users
Every worker's compliance at a glance
Add workers as your team grows. Each worker has a profile with their training, licences, inductions, and document status. System scales from 2 workers to 10 without changing the plan.
You hire a new apprentice. Add them to the register. System immediately identifies: White Card needed, site induction needed for current project, first aid training due within 3 months. Gap list generated on day one.
GraduationCap
Who needs what training and when
Define training requirements per role. System tracks completions and flags gaps. Expiry alerts ensure nothing lapses without notice.
Two workers need confined space entry training for next month's project. Training matrix flags the gap 6 weeks out. Book the training. Upload certificates. Workers are qualified before the project starts.
FileCheck
Professional SWMS for your growing team
professionally authored templates that scale with your team. Multiple worker sign-on. Version control as processes evolve. Mobile access for field signing.
New project requires working at height and electrical work. Generate two SWMS from templates. Customise for the specific site. All 6 workers sign on their phones before starting. Principal contractor approves both.
Shield
A professional safety plan that grows with you
Structured safety management plan template covering your business operations, training arrangements, emergency procedures, and incident management. Updates as your business evolves.
New builder requires a safety management plan for prequalification. System generates a plan based on your trade, team size, and current documentation. Review, customise, and export. Professional document in 30 minutes.
Bell
Nothing expires without 30 days notice
Single dashboard showing every document, licence, and certificate with its expiry date. Traffic light per item. Alerts to both you and the affected worker.
Dashboard shows: 2 items amber (first aid certificates expiring in 3 weeks), 1 item red (workers comp renewal due in 5 days). Act on red immediately. Schedule amber renewals.
AlertTriangle
Log incidents as your team grows
As your team grows, incident reporting becomes more important. Log near-misses and incidents, investigate, assign corrective actions, and track close-out. Evidence for prequalification and insurance renewals.
Worker reports a near-miss — unsecured material on a scaffold. Logged, photographed, corrective action assigned to site supervisor. Closed in 24 hours. Evidence of safety culture for your next prequalification audit.

Scale your safety system as your team grows

From 2 workers to 10 without outgrowing the platform.