Published 24 February 2026 by the RLM Consult Certify Comply team
February has been busy for anyone who builds in New South Wales. On 19 February the Government announced a Construction Compliance Unit inside NSW Industrial Relations, effective 1 March 2026, with a subcontractor database and a local supplier mandate. From the same date, unions gain the power to bring proceedings for work health and safety offences in defined circumstances. And on 12 February Parliament passed the Work Health and Safety Amendment (Digital Work Systems) Bill, assented on 18 February, which will create a duty around the digital systems used to allocate and monitor work once it is proclaimed. Here is what each one means on site.
1. The Construction Compliance Unit
The new unit will monitor compliance with employment, tax, licensing and payment obligations on government construction projects, and it comes with two features contractors should read closely.
- A subcontractor database. Contractors on government projects will be recorded, with compliance history visible to procuring agencies. In effect, performance on one government job follows you to the next tender.
- “If not, why not” for local suppliers. On projects worth more than $7.5 million, head contractors must engage with local NSW suppliers before going to tender, and explain themselves if they do not. For NSW subcontractors this is an opportunity: being findable, prequalified and certified is what turns the mandate into work.
Our advice is to treat the database the way you treat a contractor performance report: every notice, every late payment dispute and every licensing lapse is now a data point that a procurement officer can see. The systems that keep that record clean (competency and licensing registers, payment schedules, WHS management) are exactly the ones an ISO certified integrated management system already runs.
2. Union proceedings for WHS offences
From 1 March 2026, registered unions in NSW can commence proceedings for work health and safety offences, subject to consultation with SafeWork NSW and only where the regulator has decided not to act itself. The number of such cases will be small. The effect on behaviour will not, because a union safety representative on a major site now has a credible path from an unresolved issue to a courtroom. The response is the same as it has always been: a safety management system that documents the hazard, the control, the consultation and the close out, so that the record speaks for you.
3. The digital work systems duty
The amendment creates a duty for persons conducting a business or undertaking to manage the risks to health and safety arising from digital work systems, the software and platforms used to allocate, schedule, direct and monitor work. The examples in the debate were rostering and gig economy platforms, but the drafting is broad enough to catch a scheduling app that pushes crews into fatigue, or a productivity dashboard that drives unsafe pace. The duty commences on a day to be proclaimed, so there is time, and the sensible first step is to list the systems you use to direct work and ask what psychosocial and fatigue risks they create.
Also in February
Transport for NSW published the Registration of Interest for the Parramatta Light Rail Stage 2 main works early contractor involvement on 6 February, closing 26 February. And in Western Australia, the final METRONET rail project, the new Midland Station, opened on 22 February, closing out a decade long program. Both are reminders that the pipeline keeps moving and the requirements to get on it do not get lighter.
What to do before 1 March
- Check that every licence, registration and insurance in your business is current and recorded, because the Construction Compliance Unit will.
- Make sure your WHS consultation records are real: toolbox talks with attendance, hazard reports with close out, and health and safety representative issues with responses.
- Review your payment processes against the Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act, since late payment to subcontractors is one of the unit’s stated targets.
- Register with the local supplier programs of the head contractors you want to work for. The mandate only helps the suppliers they can find.
Frequently asked questions
What is the NSW Construction Compliance Unit?
A unit within NSW Industrial Relations, announced on 19 February 2026 and effective from 1 March 2026, that monitors compliance with employment, tax, licensing and payment obligations on government construction projects. It maintains a subcontractor database and enforces an ‘if not, why not’ requirement to engage local NSW suppliers on projects worth more than $7.5 million.
Can unions prosecute WHS breaches in NSW?
From 1 March 2026 registered unions in NSW can commence proceedings for work health and safety offences in defined circumstances, after consulting SafeWork NSW and only where the regulator has decided not to bring proceedings itself.
What is the digital work systems duty?
A new duty under the NSW Work Health and Safety Act, passed by Parliament on 12 February 2026, requiring businesses to manage health and safety risks arising from the digital systems used to allocate, schedule, direct and monitor work. It commences on a date to be proclaimed.
Does the $7.5 million local supplier rule apply to subcontractors?
The obligation sits with the head contractor on government projects above $7.5 million, which must engage with local NSW suppliers before tendering the work. Subcontractors benefit by being registered, prequalified and certified so they can be found and engaged.