Four Victorian regulators carried out almost 120 inspections across Ballarat work sites as part of last week’s Build Aware campaign, identifying a range of risks.

Inspectors from Energy Safe Victoria (ESV), WorkSafe, the Victorian Building Authority (VBA) and Environment Protection Authority Victoria (EPA) visited sites across the Ballarat area between Monday, 5 and 9 September.

The Build Aware campaign works to ensure the construction and demolition industries are meeting safety, environmental and building and plumbing compliance obligations with each agency focused on a specific area of safety.

During the week, ESV inspectors saw strong compliance across 20 sites, inspecting battery installations and residential and road construction sites.

Inspectors focused on ensuring construction workers and machinery operators were aware of and maintained appropriate clearance distances from overhead and underground electrical assets, such as high voltage powerlines.

WorkSafe inspectors visited 33 construction sites, identifying issues such as electrical safety, fall prevention, site amenities, fencing and hygiene. Inspectors issued 18 improvement notices, five prohibition notices and ten safety issues that were fixed immediately.

“Our inspectors got a lot out of the week, visiting a range of sites, from road constructions to battery audits with strong compliance right across Ballarat,” ESV commissioner and chairperson Marnie Williams says.