The OHS Body of Knowledge (BoK) has published its chapter on Contractor Safety Management in collaboration with The Australian Institute of Health and Safety (AIHS), highlighting the challenges, risks, and benefits of best‑practice approaches to contractor safety management.
This chapter represents the first BoK guidance focused specifically on contractor management, marking an important step in formally recognising the complexity and critical nature of contractor management within contemporary work health and safety systems.
Obligations for health and safety cannot be contracted out, so understanding where these risks lie and how to address them is critical for effective and robust contractor management. Rather than focusing solely on documentation checks, the chapter reframes contractor safety around how work is procured, how expectations are clearly set, and how working relationships are actively managed in practice.
Expert Insight Supporting Practical Contractor Safety – Bonnie Kite
Cm3 was proud to support Compliance Manager, Bonnie Kite in her peer review of the chapter. Bonnie brought her decades of expertise to the review process, helping to strengthen the chapter’s practical relevance, particularly around the role of contractor capability as a core element of effective prequalification.
Within Cm3, Bonnie leads content governance and the continual improvement of Cm3’s assessment service. Her role ensures assessment criteria continue to evolve alongside regulatory expectations and industry best practice, while remaining relevant and practical for contractors undertaking prequalification through Cm3.
Cm3’s approach is further strengthened by its team of in house assessors, whose industry experience helps to ground assessment outcomes in real safety management practices. This experience ensures Cm3 assessments support organisations and the contractors they engage to build safer, more resilient supply chains.
Further Reading: Cm3 Prequalification: Contractor Capability Management
Using the Body of Knowledge as a resource for best-practice contractor management
The OHS BoK is key resource for anyone engaging or managing contractor relationships. It reinforces that improved safety outcomes are achieved through effective collaboration between clients, principal contractors and subcontractors, supported by clear expectations and active oversight.
Organisations seeking to strengthen their contractor management frameworks are encouraged to explore the chapter for practical insights into safeguarding people and preventing incidents on site.