Regulators descend on Mildura

Regulators have inspected construction sites across Mildura in a five-day blitz as part of the Build Aware campaign, which aims to educate workers and identify safety risks.

Energy Safe Victoria, Victorian Building Authority (VBA) and WorkSafe carried out 120 inspections between Monday, 22 May and Friday, 26 May, to ensure industry was meeting safety, environmental and building obligations.

Build Aware allows regulators to collaborate, sharing resources, knowledge and information to ensure compliance standards are met and communities are kept safe.

Energy Safe inspectors focused on basic safety, electrical licence checks and ensuring heavy machinery remained clear of powerlines.

“The week gave us the opportunity to inspect worksites across Mildura and we were pleased to find that most of the worksites were compliant,” said Energy Safe CEO Leanne Hughson.

“We also got to educate workers on a range of electrical safety issues, while continuing to inspect potential safety breaches at a solar farm.

“Our inspectors were also able to talk directly to the next generation of tradies at SuniTAFE Mildura, instilling important safety messages they can carry through their respective careers.”

WorkSafe identified issues surrounding the safety of elevated work platforms, working at height and housekeeping. The organisation spoke with a number of employers to ensure safe systems of work were in place to control trenching risks. Inspectors issued five improvement notices and called out a further four safety issues that were fixed on the spot.

VBA found issues surrounding timber and steel structure framing, gutter and downpipe installations and the installation of multilayer piping.

Representatives from all three agencies visited SuniTAFE Mildura throughout the week.

Build Aware has visited Shepparton, Bairnsdale, Geelong, Bendigo, Ballarat and Warrnambool in recent years.

Image credit: iStock.com/Kings Access