Quick answer
On almost every maintenance job there is more than one PCBU (person conducting a business or undertaking): the contractor doing the work, and the owner or operator who runs the building. The Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, section 34, says that where duties overlap, the duty holders must consult, cooperate and coordinate with each other. In practice that means agreeing who controls the work zone, sharing hazard information both ways, and coordinating day to day, rather than each assuming the other has it covered.
The difference overlapping-duty coordination makes.
Key points
- On a maintenance job the contractor and the building owner or operator are usually both PCBUs at the same time.
- HSWA section 34 makes overlapping duty holders consult, cooperate and coordinate; neither can assume the other has safety covered.
- In practice that is agreed control of the work zone, two-way hazard notification and daily coordination with whoever runs the site.
- A site-specific method statement and induction to the site's own rules is how the coordination is actually documented.
- This is separate from prequalification: being cleared to be on site is one thing, running the shared job safely is another.
Health and safety on a maintenance contract is not only about the contractor being safe. It is about two organisations, each with their own duties, working in the same place at the same time without leaving a gap between them. Get that wrong and the dangerous spots are exactly the overlaps: the corridor that is both a work route and a resident thoroughfare, the isolation that one party assumed the other had done. Getting it right is mostly about coordination, agreed in advance and written down.
What a PCBU is, and why there are usually two
A PCBU is a person conducting a business or undertaking, which is the law's way of naming whoever carries health-and-safety duties for an activity. On a maintenance job the contractor is a PCBU for the work it is doing. The owner or operator who runs the building is also a PCBU, for the site and everyone on it. Both duties are live at once. Neither cancels the other out, and neither party can contract out of its own duty by pointing at the other.
That is the situation section 34 of the Health and Safety at Work Act is written for. Where two or more PCBUs have duties over the same matter, each must, so far as is reasonably practicable, consult, cooperate with and coordinate activities with the others. The law does not want one big duty holder and a passenger. It wants both parties talking to each other and agreeing who does what.
What coordination actually looks like on the ground
The principle is simple; the value is in how it is run day to day. On our jobs that means a few concrete things, agreed before the first tool comes out:
- Agreed control of the work zone: which area is ours while we work in it, how it is marked, and how residents and staff are kept clear.
- Two-way hazard notification: we tell the site about hazards our work creates, and the site tells us about hazards we would not know, from a resident's mobility to where the mains services run.
- A site-specific method statement (SWMS) for the work, and an induction to the site's own rules before we start.
- Daily coordination with whoever manages the building, so the plan survives contact with a real, occupied site.
Who does what: a simple split
| Matter | Contractor (us) | Site owner / operator |
|---|---|---|
| The work method | Leads: SWMS, safe method, our crew | Consulted: fits the site's rules |
| The work zone | Controls it while working | Agrees the boundary and access |
| Site-wide hazards | Informed and works to them | Leads: tells us what we cannot see |
| Residents & the public | Keeps them clear of the work | Leads: communication, scheduling |
| Incident response | Own crew and first response | Site emergency plan and muster |
None of this is exotic. It is the same coordination that makes an occupied job go smoothly at all, which is why it sits so close to the way we run renewals in occupied homes and why the health-and-safety prequalification is only the entry ticket, not the whole job. The paperwork proves the system exists; the daily coordination is what keeps people safe on the day.
Why it matters most on an occupied, vulnerable site
On an empty construction site the overlap is mostly between trades. On an occupied building, especially one with elderly or vulnerable residents, the overlap includes people who are not part of the work at all and did not choose to be near it. That raises the bar. Exclusion has to be real, not a cone and good intentions. Communication has to reach residents, not just the site office. And the coordination has to be daily, because an occupied site changes every day.
Frequently asked questions
What does PCBU mean?
PCBU stands for person conducting a business or undertaking. It is the term the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 uses for whoever carries health-and-safety duties for an activity. On a maintenance job both the contractor and the building owner or operator are usually PCBUs at the same time.
What is section 34 of the Health and Safety at Work Act?
Section 34 covers overlapping duties. Where two or more PCBUs have a duty over the same matter, each must, so far as is reasonably practicable, consult, cooperate with and coordinate its activities with the others. It is the section that governs a contractor working on a site someone else runs.
Does the contractor or the building owner carry the safety duty?
Both do, at the same time. Neither party can contract out of its own duty by pointing at the other. The contractor is responsible for its work method and crew; the owner or operator is responsible for the site and the people on it. Section 34 makes them coordinate the overlap.
What is a SWMS?
A SWMS is a site-specific safe work method statement. It sets out the work, the hazards it creates and how they are controlled, tailored to that particular site. On a coordinated job it is written for the site and paired with an induction to the site's own rules before work starts.
How is safety coordinated on an occupied building?
Through agreed control of the work zone, two-way hazard notification, a site-specific method statement, an induction to the site's rules, and daily coordination with whoever manages the building. On an occupied site that coordination has to be daily because the site changes every day.
Is being prequalified enough on its own?
No. Prequalification, such as a Tōtika rating, clears a contractor to be on site by proving its health-and-safety system meets a standard. Coordinating under section 34 is a separate, ongoing job that keeps the work safe once everyone is on site. A serious contractor does both.
If you run buildings and bring contractors onto them, the contractor you want is one that already works this way: prequalified to get on site, and set up to consult, cooperate and coordinate once it is there. That is how we run every job, on occupied sites especially. Tell us about the site and we will show you the method statement and the coordination plan before anyone starts.