Drug and alcohol policies for residential builders (Australia)

What it is

A drug and alcohol (D&A) policy is the written document that turns a residential builder's safety duty into enforceable site rules. It tells workers what they can and cannot bring on site, when they will be tested, how the test will run and what happens if the result is positive or refused. Without a written policy, a builder relying on a verbal "no booze on site" rule will lose almost every disciplinary case that follows a positive test.

The policy is a control measure under the primary duty in section 19 of the model Work Health and Safety Act 2011. It also satisfies the consultation duty in section 47 if it was developed with workers, not handed down.

What a compliant policy contains

A workable policy for a residential builder runs to about six to ten pages. The Commission and the courts care less about elegance than completeness.

Scope and definitions

Name everyone the policy covers: direct employees, apprentices, sub-contractors, labour hire workers, suppliers making deliveries and any visitor at a height or near plant. Define "drugs" by reference to AS/NZS 4308 and AS/NZS 4760 cut-off panels, and define "alcohol" with a numeric blood alcohol concentration limit.

Cut-off limits

Cut-offs should be set at site level and stated in the policy. The widely used thresholds are:

• Alcohol: 0.02 g/100 mL blood, or zero for any work at height, in confined spaces or near operating plant
• Cannabis (THC): 50 ng/mL on urine screen, 10 ng/mL on oral fluid screen, per the Standards
• Amphetamines and methamphetamines: 300 ng/mL urine, 50 ng/mL oral fluid
• Opiates, benzodiazepines and cocaine: per AS/NZS panel cut-offs

Adopting the Standards-based cut-offs gives the builder a defensible answer when a worker challenges the result.

Testing methods and triggers

State which test method will be used (oral fluid is the typical site choice for speed and recency) and the three trigger types: pre-employment, for-cause and post-incident. If random testing is included, the policy must explain the selection method, the frequency and how the builder consulted with workers under section 47 before introducing it.

Prescription and over-the-counter medicines

A common gap. The policy must require workers to disclose any prescribed or over-the-counter medication that could impair safe work, give the supervisor a clear pathway for re-allocating duties and protect the worker's medical privacy. Codeine-based painkillers and some antihistamines are the usual culprits.

Procedure on a non-negative result

Set out the steps in order: stand the worker down on full pay pending the confirmation result, send the sample to a NATA-accredited laboratory, give the worker the chance to explain, then make the disciplinary call. Treating an on-site screen alone as proof of impairment is a common and expensive mistake.

Consequences

Be explicit. A first non-negative confirmed result might mean a final warning and a return-to-work agreement. A second result, or a refusal to test, might be summary dismissal for serious misconduct. The policy must say so before any incident.

Consultation and rollout

The policy must be issued in writing, with a signed acknowledgement on every worker's file. Toolbox talks should walk through the cut-offs and the procedure, and apprentices need extra time on the prescription disclosure step. State-based unions usually want to be consulted; the CFMEU site agreement on union sites often dictates the exact text.

Refusal and the unfair dismissal lens

The Fair Work Commission has accepted that refusal to provide a sample can be treated as a deemed positive where the policy spells it out and the worker had notice. The Commission will not back the builder where the policy is silent or the worker had a genuine medical or religious objection that was ignored.

Review and records

Review the policy every two years, after any positive result of note and whenever the Standards are updated. Keep the signed acknowledgement, the test request form, the chain-of-custody document, the laboratory report and any disciplinary correspondence for at least five years. WorkSafe inspectors will ask for it.

A policy is not a tick-box. It is the document a builder relies on the first time a worker tests positive at the top of a roof truss. Get it right before that day arrives.