New drug and alcohol testing requirements now part of Code
Three months after new drug and alcohol requirements were introduced for the Victorian construction industry, the Victorian Code of Practice for the Building and Construction Industry 2014 is replacing the 1999 version of the Code and its Implementation Guidelines.
The new Code, which applies to all state government construction projects, will become effective on 8 October 2014. It incorporates the mandatory alcohol and drug testing and site security requirements that were introduced on 1 July 2014 through the Implementation Guidelines.
Alcohol and drug testing
Under the new Code, contractors will continue to be required to:
“have an approach to managing drug and alcohol issues in the workplace that helps to ensure that no person attending the site does so under the influence of alcohol or other drugs”.
Where a Workplace Relations Management Plan (WRMP) is required, the tenderer of a project will need to include a fitness for work policy that sets out its approach to managing drug and alcohol issues in the workplace and the steps the tenderer will take in ensuring that person enters the worksite under the influence of alcohol or other drugs.
The tenderer will have to address the specific issues set out in clause 9.1(f) of the Code. These requirements are consistent with those set out in the Implementation Guidelines.
As was the case currently, the tenderer will bear the responsibility for alcohol and drug testing. It cannot pass on the costs of the testing to its subcontractors.
Tenderers will also have to comply with the Model WRMP.
Site security
Consistent with the existing approach, contractors will be required to implement site security and risk management processes and procedures to maintain the integrity of the site. These processes and procedures must allow the contractor to be able, so far as is reasonably practicable, to:
- determine and verify who is (or was) present on the site at any given time, and
- ensure only authorised persons can access the site.
Provisions for the above will have to be set out in a WRMP in accordance with clause 9.1(e).
Right of entry
The Code also requires union entry to worksites to be in accordance with relevant occupational health and safety laws and the Fair Work Act.
“This article originally appeared on CCH Australia and is reproduced with permission”
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