OFSC Consultants

The Office of the Federal Safety Commissioner (OFSC) was established in 2005 following the Royal Commission into the Building and Construction Industry. It provides best practices for head contractors in Commonwealth-funded building projects to make sure they use a system-based approach to safety.

The OFSC promotes high workplace health and safety standards through the Australian Government Building and Construction Work Health and Safety Accreditation Scheme (the Scheme). This Scheme requires building and construction companies to adhere to multiple operational and reporting practices to improve site safety.

OFSC accreditation is one of the most difficult accreditations to achieve, and is now a requirement to obtain valuable Commonwealth-funded tenders. Without Office of the Federal Safety Commissioner consulting, your business may be unable to tender for government contracts.

At BusinessBasics, we have decades of experience in safety certification for the construction industry. Our team can prepare you for OFSC accreditation and ensure ongoing compliance through leading compliance management software like Mango. Allow us to make OFSC accreditation and management simple. Contact our OFSC consultants today.

Business Risk Assessments For Your Organisation

What is OFSC accreditation?

The Royal Commission into the Building and Construction Industry (or the Cole Royal Commission) commenced in 2001 to inquire into and report on alleged misconduct in the construction industry. The Commissioners were to investigate matters like:

- The nature, extent and effect of any unlawful or inappropriate industrial or workplace practice or conduct (e.g. conduct relating to occupational health and safety laws, fraud, corruption and inappropriate payments or benefits)
- The nature, extent and effect of any unlawful or inappropriate conduct relating to the inappropriate management of funds and the failure to disclose the reason behind financial transactions undertaken by employee or employer organisations.
- Legislative and administrative changes, improving practices or conduct in the building and construction industry, and deterring unlawful or inappropriate practices or conduct.

The Cole Royal Commission found the incidence of workplace related injuries to be unacceptable and it was in desperate need of reform. The Commissioners submitted 212 recommendations to the Australian Government and almost all Work Health and Safety (WHS) recommendations were implemented including the OFSC.

The role of the OFSC is to develop, implement, administer and promote a WHS accreditation scheme for Commonwealth-funded building and construction work. It has five key functions:

1. 1. Administering the WHS Accreditation Scheme (the Scheme)
  2. Promoting WHS in relation to building work
  3. Ensuring compliance with National Construction Code requirements in regards to building materials
  4. Promoting the benefits of the Scheme
  5. Disseminating information about the Scheme.

Now, only builders that are accredited under the Scheme can enter into head contracts for building work that is Commonwealth-funded (subject to the financial threshold of $4 million). Builders must adhere to a range of operational and reporting practices to improve site safety, and work must be performed safely, on time and on budget.

Why should I obtain OFSC accreditation?

OFSC accreditation can be incredibly valuable for your business. Commonwealth-funded projects are worth millions of dollars and can set your business up for months (if not years) in advance. With one high value tender, you can secure your business and employees in an instant.

Other benefits include:

- Protect your employees with world-leading safety standards.
- Protect your reputation with fewer workplace accidents and injuries, and ensure your business cannot be held liable.
- Receive more Commonwealth-funded work with some projects exceeding $4 million.
- Eliminate the need to work for larger companies and tender your own work.

In order to win tenders over $4 million, you must obtain OFSC accreditation. Right now, there are 500 companies in Australia who have achieved this and the market is only getting more competitive. The time to act is now and with the help of our OFSC consultants, accreditation is easy.

How our ISO 9001 certification consultants can help achieve your goals

Why should I choose BusinessBasics?

At BusinessBasics, we have years of experience in the building and construction industries, providing WHS audits, management and management systems to improve WHS on Australian construction sites.

We will connect you with a member of our team who has experience in your industry, ensuring we can provide a personalised service that accommodates the unique challenges of your business. Not only will we assist with the initial accreditation process, but we will complete ongoing OFSC audits to ensure your business continues to adhere to the Scheme’s strict requirements.

We can also introduce you to our streamlined management system, Mango, which automates OFSC training and work being completed. You can also manage documents and keep meticulous records of training, audits and inspections, demonstrating your commitment to WHS. Our goal is to make OFSC accreditation as simple as possible. We want to streamline the process from application to winning high-value government tenders. Get in touch with the team from BusinessBasics for a consultation now.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I become OFSC certified?

To achieve OFSC accreditation, we recommend preparing ahead of time with BusinessBasics.

Our team will start by completing an on-site OFSC audit. Auditing provides the Government and the community with assurance that the construction work by your company is carried out to the highest possible safety standards.

We will review your existing WHS management system and practices to ensure they are in line with your documented systems and processes, and that they will continue to meet the requirements of the WHS Scheme.

If one or more non-conformances are found, we may need to complete a follow-up audit to ensure gaps in your WHS management system have been addressed and implemented on-site. Once we have confirmed that your system meets OFSC requirements, we can submit a free application online via OFSC Online.

How long does it take to get OFSC certified?

From our first call/consultation, it takes around six months to complete an OFSC audit.

What is the OFSC certification process?

The process is simple with BusinessBasics:

1. 1. In the first one to two months, we will install Mango and complete an in-depth documentation review.
  2. We will complete a new WHS system rollout with new policies and procedures.
  3. We will let the project run to generate records and get the team up to speed with OFSC training.
  4. Submit an application to the OFSC.
  5. Achieve accreditation.
  6. We will complete two or three OFSC audits throughout the year to ensure your business still adheres to OFSC requirements (for high-risk industries and companies, we will complete audits more often).
  7. We will deliver reports every six months on tenders, job incident rates and more.

It is important to note that the WHS Scheme sets a high benchmark for applicants and many businesses need several audits to reach the high WHS standards required for accreditation.

How can Mango help with OFSC accreditation?

Mango is a cloud-based HSEQ management system that integrates your management system documentation through the use of online forms, registers and workflows. This can be quite valuable in terms of OFSC accreditation as Mango automates training and saves training records, audits and inspections.

It can also automate work being completed, document management, maintenance history and high-risk item management.

Plus, Mango can assist throughout the entire supply chain from supplier management to swims, plant and equipment maintenance.

This will all be helpful for gaining and maintaining OFSC accreditation as you will need to provide details about your company’s previous WHS performance, a gap analysis of your WHS management system, information about your company’s operations and any projects you are currently working as the head contractor.

BusinessBasics can help make OFSC accreditation simple. Contact us for an obligation-free consultation.

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