Hi Vis Vest Classes: What Australian Worksites Need to Know I’ve stood on enough sites to know that a faded orange vest isn’t just a bad look—it’s a compliance disaster waiting to happen. Under SafeWork NSW rules, that vest could cop you a hefty fine, and worse, it puts your team at real risk of […]
Last month, a civil construction crew in Western Sydney copped a $12,000 fine from SafeWork NSW after an inspector spotted three workers wearing non-compliant hi-vis vests with 40mm reflective tape instead of the mandated 50mm. The vests had been bought cheap from an overseas online seller, and the site manager didn’t realise they didn’t meet […]
Last month, a SafeWork NSW inspector shut down a Sydney construction site after a labourer wearing a faded Class D vest was nearly struck by a reversing loader in low light. The site manager had bought cheap imported vests to cut costs, ignoring that Class D is only rated for daytime use. He copped a […]
Last month, a SafeWork NSW inspector shut down a Sydney construction site after three workers wearing full-zip hi vis jackets got caught in a sudden downpour. Their zips jammed with mud, leaving them with no reflective coverage when they had to direct traffic at dusk. All three were wearing non-compliant full zips when they should […]
Last month on a Queensland sugarcane farm, a worker’s hi vis vest reflective strip caught on a moving conveyor belt roller. The tear pulled him into the machinery, resulting in a fractured arm and a $48,000 WorkSafe Queensland fine for the site supervisor. It’s a scenario I’ve seen play out across construction sites, paint shops […]
Last month, a Brisbane traffic control crew copped a $14,500 WorkSafe Queensland penalty after a random site inspection found 11 workers wearing faded orange hi-vis vests with no reflective tape. The vests were cheap imports that didn’t meet AS/NZS 1906.4 for reflective material, and the team had been using Class D (day-only) vests for evening […]
Last wet season on a Cairns construction site, a crew of 12 got hit with a $38k SafeWork NSW fine after a concrete truck clipped a labourer at dusk. The issue? The team had sewn their own hi-vis vests using a free online Hi Vis Vest Sewing Pattern they found, thinking they were saving coin. […]
Last month, a civil works crew in Western Sydney got slugged with a $4,800 penalty after a SafeWork NSW inspector flagged 12 workers wearing faded, ill-fitting hi vis vests that had been custom-printed with the company logo six months prior. The kicker? The site manager had picked the vests specifically because they looked sharper than […]
Last month, a Sydney construction site copped a $12k fine from SafeWork NSW because their branded hi vis vests had logos printed directly over the reflective torso tape, invalidating AS/NZS 4602.1 compliance. The kicker? The site manager had approved the design without ever seeing a proper mockup, going off a hand-drawn sketch that didn’t factor […]
Last month, a SafeWork NSW inspector shut down a Parramatta construction site after a 2XL labourer’s ill-fitting hi vis vest rode up while he was unloading steel beams. The crane driver had zero visibility of him, nearly clipping the worker’s shoulder with a 200kg load. The site was fined $1,200 for supplying non-compliant, poorly sized […]