South Australia is decreasing the fall threshold for what is considered high risk construction work from July 1
From July 1, 2026, South Australia will lower the high risk construction work fall threshold from three metres to two metres under the Work Health and Safety (WHS) Amendment Regulations 2025.
The change aligns South Australia with the national model WHS framework and means any construction work where a person could fall more than two metres will require a Safe Work Method Statement (SWMS) and appropriate fall protection measures under the hierarchy of controls.
The regulatory change responds to a documented safety gap.
SafeWork SA and ReturnToWorkSA data show 1,585 workers’ compensation claims from construction falls since 2016/17, costing more than $64 million.
Between 2020 and 2022 alone, 149 SA construction workers fell from above two metres.
Of those, 68 per cent occurred in the two- to three-metre range, the exact height band now captured by the lower threshold.
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SafeWork SA executive director Glenn Farrell has previously stated that the change will mean employers can no longer erroneously rely on the higher height threshold to avoid providing adequate fall protection, particularly in the residential sector.
Single-storey residential builders in SA will be most affected. Under the previous 3m threshold, much of the roof work on single-storey homes sat below the high risk construction work line.
Under the new 2m threshold, the majority of that work now crosses it.
Buildsafe, an Australian scaffold and height safety company, has recently opened a new site in Lewiston, north of Adelaide.
Buildsafe CEO Mike Shipton says the South Australian expansion is a direct response to the regulatory shift and the state’s growing construction pipeline.
“South Australia’s residential construction sector is one of the fastest-growing in the country, with approvals up more than 10 per cent year-on-year,” Shipton says.
“The 1 July threshold change means every builder working above two metres now needs compliant fall protection on site.”
For more information, visit: https://safework.sa.gov.au/news-and-alerts/news/news/2025/lowering-height-threshold-will-raise-safety-standards