An incomplete floor can look firm enough to cross. A ceiling joist may appear capable of supporting a worker. Open framing can also become an informal access route when it seems quicker than installing a proper platform.
That does not make it safe.
A recent fall from height prosecution in NSW followed an incident in which a worker stepped onto a ceiling joist that collapsed. The worker fell approximately six metres and sustained serious injuries. The carpentry business involved was convicted and fined $120,000 after pleading guilty to failing to meet its primary health and safety duty.
The practical lesson is straightforward: before workers rely on joists, open framing or temporary surfaces, the builder must confirm that the surface can support the expected load, that openings and fall paths are controlled, that safe access is provided and that someone with appropriate knowledge has authorised its use.
A surface that looks walkable is not automatically a safe or verified work platform.
What happened in the six-metre fall?
The incident occurred on 9 March 2023. According to SafeWork NSW, a worker stepped onto a ceiling joist, which collapsed and caused the worker to fall about six metres.
The worker sustained serious injuries. The business later pleaded guilty to an offence under section 32 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 for failing to ensure, so far as was reasonably practicable, the health and safety of workers as required by section 19(1). The sentence was announced on 15 July 2026.
It would be easy to look at an incident like this and focus only on the worker’s decision to step onto the joist. That misses the wider safety question.
How did an incomplete structural element become available as a place to walk or work?
On a busy construction site, workers will often use the most direct route available to them. If an area looks accessible, is not barricaded and has been crossed by other workers, it can quickly become accepted as an informal walkway.
The control system must account for that foreseeable behaviour. It should not depend on every worker recognising the structural capacity of every surface they encounter.
When is a temporary surface safe to walk or work on?
NSW WHS laws require businesses to manage the risk of a person falling from one level to another where the fall is reasonably likely to cause injury. This includes falls near openings and edges, as well as falls through a surface.
Where reasonably practicable, work involving a fall risk must be carried out on the ground or on solid construction.
Under the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025, solid construction has four important features:
- The surface can structurally support every person and item that may be placed on it.
- Barriers are installed around the perimeter and openings.
- The surface and gradient are even and readily negotiable.
- Safe entry and exit are provided.
These requirements provide a useful test for temporary work surface safety.
A joist may be part of a permanent structure once construction is complete, but that does not mean it is suitable as a temporary walkway during construction. It may be incomplete, unsecured, temporarily supported or designed for loads that differ from those created by workers, tools and materials.
Confirm what the surface is designed to support
Before access is permitted, establish the purpose and capacity of the surface.
Consider:
- whether the framing has been fully installed and secured
- whether temporary bracing or support is still required
- whether the surface was designed for pedestrian access
- the number of workers who may use it
- the weight of tools, materials and equipment
- whether concentrated loads could be placed on one point
- whether movement could cause a component to shift, rotate or become dislodged.
A visual check alone may not establish load-bearing capacity. Where structural capacity, temporary support or installation sequencing is uncertain, verification may be needed from the designer, engineer, supplier, installer or another competent person.
Workers should not be expected to make their own structural assessment while moving through the site.
Look beyond the outside edge
A work at height risk assessment must consider every direction in which a worker could fall.
That includes:
- gaps between joists
- stair and service voids
- incomplete flooring
- penetrations
- leading edges
- unsupported sections
- fragile materials
- openings beside access routes
- surfaces that could collapse beneath a worker.
Some fall risks are obvious from the edge of a slab or scaffold. Others are less noticeable because the worker is surrounded by framing and appears to be standing within the building.
The NSW Regulation specifically recognises the risk of falling through a surface, not only falling over an exposed edge.
Use fall-prevention controls before relying on instructions
The first question should not be, “What should we tell workers?”
It should be, “Can we remove the need for workers to enter this area?”
Where reasonably practicable, complete the task from the ground or from solid construction. This may mean changing the work sequence, prefabricating part of the structure at ground level or completing flooring before another activity begins.
When the fall risk cannot be eliminated, the NSW Regulation requires a safe system of work that gives priority to a fall-prevention device. If that is not reasonably practicable, a work-positioning system must be considered, followed by a fall-arrest system where the higher controls are not reasonably practicable. Fall-prevention devices include edge protection, working platforms, secure fencing and covers.
Depending on the site and task, practical fall prevention construction controls may include:
- installing a properly designed temporary work platform
- completing secure flooring or decking
- using scaffolding or an elevating work platform
- covering and securing penetrations
- installing edge protection around openings
- preventing access to incomplete framing
- providing a designated access route
- changing the order in which trades complete their work.
Signs, inductions, toolbox talks and instructions remain important, but they do not make an unsuitable surface structurally safe.
Telling workers not to step in a particular area may also be ineffective if the area remains physically accessible, the exclusion is not clearly marked or the work cannot be completed without entering it.
When is a working-at-heights SWMS required?
Construction work involving a risk of a person falling more than two metres is classified as high-risk construction work under the NSW Regulation. A safe work method statement must be prepared before that work begins.
A SWMS for working at heights must do more than include a general statement such as “use fall protection” or “follow site procedures”.
It must:
- identify the high-risk construction work
- identify the related hazards and risks
- describe the control measures
- explain how those controls will be implemented
- explain how they will be monitored and reviewed
- reflect circumstances at the workplace that may affect how the work is carried out.
For work involving joists or open framing, the SWMS should address the actual method of access and movement.
For example:
- How will workers reach the work area?
- Where can they stand?
- Which surfaces must not be used?
- How will tools and materials be moved?
- Where are the openings and fall paths?
- What controls must be installed before access begins?
- What happens if the flooring, framing or access route changes?
A SWMS that describes the main carpentry task but ignores how workers get to the task can leave a serious gap.
Stop when the work no longer matches the SWMS
A signed SWMS does not remain suitable simply because it was accepted at the beginning of the project.
If high-risk construction work is not being carried out in accordance with the SWMS, the work must be stopped immediately, or as soon as it is safe to do so. It can only resume in accordance with the statement. A SWMS must also be reviewed and revised where relevant control measures are changed.
This is particularly important during framing and structural work, where site conditions can change within hours.
A new penetration may be created. Flooring may be removed. Bracing may change. Materials may be stored on a surface that was previously clear. Another contractor may alter an access route.
When the physical conditions change, the risk assessment and controls must be checked again.
Who verifies the surface and authorises access?
The WHS laws do not prescribe a standard “temporary surface authorisation form”. However, a clear inspection and authorisation process is a practical way to prevent workers from relying on assumption.
Your process should identify:
- who confirms that the surface is complete
- who verifies its structural capacity
- who inspects fall-prevention controls
- who can authorise access
- how incomplete areas will be isolated
- how approval will be communicated to workers
- what conditions will trigger another inspection.
The person making the technical assessment must have the knowledge and skills needed for the task. That may be different from the supervisor performing the daily visual check.
For example, a designer or engineer may need to verify structural capacity, while the site supervisor checks that supports, covers, barriers and access controls remain in place.
A practical handover could follow these steps:
- The area reaches the required stage of construction.
- Its structural condition and intended use are confirmed.
- Openings and fall paths are inspected.
- Fall-prevention controls are installed.
- Defects and incomplete sections are isolated.
- The inspection is recorded.
- A supervisor authorises access and informs the affected workers.
This removes uncertainty. Workers can see which areas are open, which are restricted and who has made that decision.
Principal contractors need more than a copy of the SWMS
On a construction project, the principal contractor must prepare a written WHS management plan before work begins. The plan must include arrangements for consultation and coordination between businesses, site-specific rules, and arrangements for collecting, assessing, monitoring and reviewing SWMS documents.
Businesses carrying out high-risk construction work must provide their SWMS to the principal contractor before the work commences. The principal contractor must also take reasonable steps to obtain it.
Receiving the document is only one part of the process.
Principal contractor fall controls should also address how different trades interact with the incomplete structure. A carpentry contractor may understand what stage the framing has reached, while workers from another trade may see the same area as a convenient access route.
Coordination should establish:
- who controls the area
- which surfaces are available for access
- how restrictions will be communicated
- what happens when one trade changes the structure
- who reinspects the area before another trade enters.
The principal contractor also has a specific duty to put arrangements in place for compliance with the fall provisions in Part 4.4 of the Regulation.
Recheck the area as construction conditions change
An area that was safe at the start of the day may not remain safe.
Temporary surfaces and open framing should be checked again when:
- flooring, joists, supports or bracing are altered
- a new opening or penetration is created
- edge protection or covers are moved
- materials are stored on the surface
- another contractor takes control of the area
- weather or water exposure may have affected the structure
- damage, movement or instability is reported
- the access route changes
- the work no longer matches the SWMS.
From 1 July 2026, approved Codes of Practice became minimum performance standards in NSW. A business must comply with an applicable code or use another method that provides an equivalent or higher standard of health and safety.
For construction businesses, that makes it even more important to compare site practices against the relevant falls and construction Codes of Practice, rather than treating those documents as optional background reading.
Pre-start check for temporary work surfaces
Before workers step onto joists, open framing or another temporary surface, check the following.
Purpose
Was the surface designed, installed or verified for people to walk or work on?
Do not assume that a structural component is a work platform simply because it is possible to stand on it.
Capacity
Can the surface support the workers, tools, equipment and materials that may be placed on it?
Has its capacity been confirmed by someone with the appropriate knowledge?
Completion
Is the surface fully installed, supported, braced and secured?
Are temporary components still being adjusted or removed?
Openings and fall paths
Are voids, edges, penetrations, gaps and fragile areas protected?
Could a person fall through the surface or between structural members?
Safe access
Is there a designated and stable way to enter, leave and move through the area?
Does the access route prevent workers from stepping onto incomplete framing?
Fall-prevention controls
Are platforms, covers, edge protection or other physical controls in place before access begins?
Are the controls suitable for the actual task and work sequence?
SWMS
Does the SWMS describe the real conditions on site, including the access route, temporary surfaces and openings?
Do workers understand the controls that apply?
Inspection and authorisation
Who checked the area?
Who authorised access?
How will workers know whether the surface is open or restricted?
Changes
Has anything changed since the previous inspection?
Does the area need to be checked again before the next shift or trade begins?
A simple record can include:
Area or surface:
Date and time checked:
Checked by:
Structural capacity confirmed by:
Fall-prevention controls:
Access authorised by:
Access restrictions:
Next review trigger:
The main lesson for builders
The lesson from this NSW prosecution is not limited to one ceiling joist or one worker’s actions.
The wider issue is whether the construction process made an incomplete surface available for use without confirming that it was a safe work platform.
Builders and principal contractors should be able to answer four questions clearly:
- Who verified that the surface could support workers and materials?
- What prevented a worker from falling through or beside it?
- Who authorised workers to enter the area?
- What would trigger another inspection?
Where those answers are unclear, the work should not proceed on assumption.
Before the next shift, identify any surface workers may step onto that has not been confirmed as a safe work platform. Record who checks it, who authorises access and what fall-prevention control is in place.
Where these checks, responsibilities or records are inconsistent, The Safety Dept. helps businesses keep working-at-heights controls, SWMS documents and site-verification processes current as construction conditions change.