WorkSafe Victoria Improvement Notice Internal Review

The situation

Marcus, 47, owns a construction subcontracting business in Melbourne with 12 employees (concrete formwork and slab crew). In April 2026 a WorkSafe Victoria inspector visits the site and issues an improvement notice: "Contravention of Regulation 306 (OHS Regulation 2017), failure to ensure scaffolding erected to minimum AS/NZS 4576 standard. Remedy required within 14 days."

Marcus believes the scaffolding is compliant, the AS/NZS 4576 standard his crew used covers temporary works scaffold, which he argues is the correct classification for the work being done. He has 14 days to either comply or contest the notice via IRU review.

(a) An IRU review can stay the improvement notice. Filing an IRU review application triggers an independent reassessment. While the IRU review is pending, Marcus has a defensible basis for pausing the specific compliance remedy the inspector specified, as long as he documents his position and the grounds for review.

(b) His grounds are strong. If the scaffold classification dispute is genuinely about which AS/NZS standard applies, that's a factual/technical ground for IRU review, the IRU is not bound by the inspector's standard interpretation and can seek an independent technical view.

(c) WorkSafe VIC cannot help him. The inspector who issued the notice is not the person to argue with. The IRU is the right forum. But the IRU application form is blank, it asks for the grounds but provides no guidance on what those grounds should be or how to document them.

Who receives this

Victorian SMBs receiving WorkSafe VIC improvement or prohibition notices, particularly construction, manufacturing, hospitality, aged care, and transport businesses where WorkSafe inspection intensity is highest. Primary segment: 1–20 employee businesses with no internal OHS manager who cannot justify AU$3,000+ for a consultant to contest a single notice.

Why the agency will not advise you

WorkSafe Victoria cannot advise employers on how to contest its own inspectors' notices. RAS-OHS is the only identified VIC-specific notice response service, a single-person firm confirming the sparse market. The IRU application form is a blank vessel. A structured IRU application builder, covering the OHS Act 2004 contravention grounds, compliance plan documentation, and supporting evidence, fills the gap without a consultant retainer.

Key facts, with sources

• WorkSafe Victoria inspectors can issue improvement notices and prohibition notices under the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 (VIC). An employer who disagrees with a notice can apply to WorkSafe's Internal Review Unit (IRU) within 14 days. The IRU operates independently from the inspectorate and can affirm, vary, or set aside the notice. WorkSafe must complete most IRU reviews within 14 days of receiving the application. Alternatively, VCAT external review is available after an IRU decision. Source: Internal review unit — WorkSafe Victoria · Request a review of an OHS inspector decision — WorkSafe Victoria
• RAS-OHS (healthsafetyadvisory.com.au), run by a former WorkSafe Victoria inspector, is the primary identifiable service offering VIC-specific improvement notice response guidance. RAS-OHS offers a free one-page reference guide written by a former WorkSafe Victoria inspector, plus 15-minute consultations and paid advisory, a single sparse consulting firm, confirming the gap for self-serve tools. WorkSafe VIC's own guidance explains the IRU process but provides no drafting assistance for the grounds-of-contest application. Source: WorkSafe Improvement Notice Response VIC — RAS-OHS · How to Respond to a WorkSafe Improvement Notice — RAS-OHS

When to bring in a professional

Self-serve responses fit routine cases: clear facts, amounts a business can absorb, and a deadline still ahead of you. Bring in a licensed professional when the amount at stake is large relative to their fee, the facts are genuinely disputed, criminal exposure is possible, or the deadline has already passed. A short paid consultation to sanity-check your plan is often worth it even when you handle the filing yourself.

All sources for this guide

1. Internal review unit — WorkSafe Victoria
2. Request a review of an OHS inspector decision — WorkSafe Victoria
3. WorkSafe Improvement Notice Response VIC — RAS-OHS
4. How to Respond to a WorkSafe Improvement Notice — RAS-OHS