Hierarchy of controls — CPCCWHS2001

Tap a level of the pyramid to explore it

How risk control works

Start at the top, work down

Under Australia’s model WHS laws, when you find a hazard you must eliminate the risk if it is reasonably practicable — and if you can’t, minimise it using the highest-level controls available. This ranked system is the hierarchy of controls.

Why the order matters

Controls at the top remove the hazard itself. Controls at the bottom only shield individual workers — they fail the moment someone forgets, rushes, or wears gear that doesn’t fit.

Step through the five levels from most to least effective, then see all of them applied to one real construction task.

Level 1 · Most effective

Elimination

Remove the hazard completely. If the hazard isn’t there, nobody can be exposed to it — on any shift, in any weather.

On site

Don’t work at height at all: assemble the roof frame at ground level and crane it into place. Order timber pre-cut to length so the cutting never happens on site.

Why it sits at the top: nothing relies on people, procedures or equipment behaving perfectly. The risk is simply gone.

Level 2 · Highly effective

Substitution

Swap the hazard for something safer that still does the job.

On site

Replace a solvent-based adhesive with a low-toxicity, water-based product. Choose lighter blocks to cut the manual-handling strain.

Some risk usually remains — read the safety data sheet (SDS) for the new product too, and keep working down the hierarchy for what’s left.

Level 3 · Effective

Isolation & engineering

Keep people away from the hazard, or physically change the plant or workplace so the hazard can’t reach them.

On site

Guardrails at the slab edge. Machine guards kept fitted on the drop saw. Fencing around the excavation. On-tool dust extraction on grinders.

Works without depending on behaviour — but guards and barriers must be installed, maintained and never bypassed (PC 4.2 territory: guards to manufacturers’ specifications and Australian Standards).

Level 4 · Less effective

Administrative controls

Change the way people work: safe work procedures, training, signage, job rotation and permits.

On site

Toolbox talk before the task. Follow the SWMS and JSA. Put up warning signs and barricades. Rotate workers on noisy or repetitive jobs.

These controls rely on everyone doing the right thing, every time. They reduce exposure to the hazard — they don’t remove the hazard itself.

Level 5 · Least effective

Personal protective equipment (PPE)

PPE protects one person, and only while it is worn, correctly fitted, maintained and stored properly.

On site

Hard hat, safety boots, gloves, hi-vis, hearing protection, safety glasses, and a fit-tested P2 respirator for dusty work.

PPE on its own is never adequate control. It’s the last line of defence — use it to back up higher controls, not replace them.

Worked example

One task, layered controls

The task: cutting concrete pavers on site. The hazard: silica dust. Watch how the controls stack up — starting at the top of the pyramid, finishing with PPE.

1 · Eliminate
Order pavers pre-cut to size from the supplier — most cuts never happen on site.
✓
2 · Substitute
Where cutting remains, choose a paver product with lower crystalline silica content.
✓
3 · Engineer
Wet-cut with water suppression on the saw, and set the cutting station away from other trades.
✓
4 · Admin
Follow the SWMS, run a toolbox talk on silica, and put up signage and an exclusion zone around the cutting area.
✓
5 · PPE
Fit-tested P2 respirator plus eye and hearing protection — the final layer, not the first.
✓

0 of 5 controls applied

✓

You’ve stepped through all five levels

Next time you spot a hazard on site, run it through the pyramid before you reach for the PPE box.

1.Start at the top. Ask “can we eliminate this?” before anything else.
2.Layer your controls. Real tasks usually need controls from several levels at once, applied immediately.
3.PPE is the last line of defence — never the whole plan, and never adequate on its own.

If a control isn’t working, or a new hazard appears, report it to the designated person on site straight away.