In our experience, we’ve seen that a significant portion of Sydney’s buildings carry safety infrastructure that met the standards when installed, but hasn’t kept pace with updated legislation.
The Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 in NSW operates on what’s called the Hierarchy of Control, which means passive, engineered solutions must be prioritised wherever they’re practicable. A harness and anchor point is a last resort under this framework, not a default solution.
So if your roof has a single anchor where a guardrail or walkway could reasonably be installed, you may already be non-compliant, regardless of whether that anchor was inspected last month. At Abseilers United, we call this systemic non-compliance, and it refers to buildings that were never set up with the right physical infrastructure in the first place.
What are the penalties for height safety failures in NSW?
Since July 2024, the penalties for height safety failures in NSW have been substantially increased. Industrial manslaughter (gross negligence leading to a worker’s death) now carries body corporate fines of up to $20 million and prison sentences of up to 25 years for responsible individuals.
Category 1 breaches, which cover reckless or grossly negligent conduct, can attract fines exceeding $11 million for a company. The landmark Darby Strata prosecution in 2024 saw an Owners Corporation held liable after a worker died on common property. So, strata committees carry the same duty of care as any business. Volunteer status is no defence.
SafeWork NSW runs targeted inspection blitzes in areas like Bondi Junction and Wolli Creek, and on-the-spot fines for inadequate roof fall protection can reach $8,750 per company.
How do you make a building compliant?
Here are some of the key systems that will protect you and your building’s users:
Permanent anchor points
Governed by AS 5532:2025, anchors must now be tested on the actual material they’re bolted into (specific grades of concrete, brickwork, or metal sheeting. Generic testing no longer cuts it). Substrate-specific certification matters with a modern compliant anchor that should be stainless steel or high-grade aluminium, clearly labelled with the installer’s details, installation date, and load rating, and positioned to eliminate swing-fall risk.
At Abseilers United, we install anchors with energy-absorbing technology that limit the peak load on both the structure and the worker to 6 kN in the event of a fall. Every installation comes with a compliance certificate.
Static lines/horizontal lifelines
Where a roof has a long straight edge or a section that workers need to traverse regularly, a static line system provides a continuous connection so a worker can move from one end to the other without unclipping at any point. Under the 2025 standards, these systems require correct tensioning and annual checks on swaging integrity to remain compliant.
For buildings with extensive HVAC infrastructure, solar arrays, or regular maintenance requirements, a static line is often the difference between a workable safety solution and an anchor point that nobody can actually use effectively.
Roof walkways and guardrails
Under AS 1657:2018, guardrails are mandatory on any edge where falls could occur and where regular maintenance access is required. Top rails must sit between 900mm and 1100mm high, and walkway surfaces need to be non-slip and load-rated for intended use. Beyond the regulatory requirement, walkways also protect the building itself. They keep workers off fragile roof sections (aging polycarbonate skylights, thin metal sheeting, old asbestos) that could give way underfoot.
Fixed Access Ladders and Hatches
An improperly secured ladder, one without the correct step-through stiles extending at least a metre past the landing, or one positioned dangerously close to a roof edge, is a serious liability. Lockable hatches also matter as they restrict unauthorised roof access and limit the exposure of non-trained personnel to fall hazards.
Do your solar panels create a problem?
Roof-mounted PV systems are inadvertently dismantling the safety infrastructure that was already there. Panels can be installed over existing anchors, rendering them inaccessible, and walkways may be removed to fit more panels. We’ve seen arrays extend right to the roof edge, leaving no safe standing position for maintenance workers, and the added weight and wind load from panels can compromise the structural integrity of areas where anchors are embedded.
For these reasons, the Abseilers United team conducts post-solar installation audits specifically to catch this and can design FRP walkway systems that restore safe access through and around solar arrays.
Ongoing compliance is important as well
Under AS/NZS 1891.4:2025, fixed anchors and static lines require professional inspection every 12 months, and a visual check before and after every use. Harnesses and lanyards need formal inspection every six months. Walkways, guardrails, and ladders are also on a 12-month cycle.
Crucially, inspection records must be retained for a minimum of seven years. These records are your legal evidence of due diligence. Without them, your position in any WorkSafe investigation or civil proceeding becomes very difficult very quickly.
Abseilers United offers maintenance contracts that take this off your plate entirely, including pull-testing of anchors to verify they remain secure in the substrate. If an anchor fails, it gets replaced immediately, not at the next scheduled service.
The roof safety systems Sydney relies on
If you’re a building owner, strata manager, or facility director who isn’t completely certain that your roof systems meet the 2025 standards, the starting point is a professional height safety audit. These audits assess whether your building has the right systems in place at all.
Abseilers United has been doing this across Sydney since 2007. Our audit process covers foreseeable hazard identification, system layout compliance, structural verification, and full certification documentation for insurance and WHS purposes. For buildings with nothing yet installed, we handle design, installation, and certification end-to-end. Let’s make sure your building is compliant today.