Unions Push for National Safety Standard Allowing Tradies to Stop Work in Extreme Heat

Introduction
Australia’s peak union body is calling for a new national workplace safety standard that would allow tradies and other outdoor workers to automatically stop work during extreme heat, warning that climate-driven heatwaves are becoming a serious and escalating threat to worker safety.

Union Call for Heat Thresholds
The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) is pushing for clearer, enforceable rules that would give workers the right to cease work when temperatures reach dangerous levels.

While the ACTU has not nominated a specific national temperature threshold, the CFMEU in Queensland has proposed construction workers should stop work when:

• the temperature reaches 35 degrees Celsius, or
• the temperature reaches 29 degrees with 70 per cent humidity

Unions argue the current approach — which treats heat as a general workplace hazard — is no longer sufficient in the face of increasingly frequent and severe heatwaves.

Heat as a Workplace Safety Risk
ACTU President Michele O’Neil said no worker should be pressured to continue working in dangerous conditions.

“No worker should be told to push through the brutal heat and risk their own life,” she said.
“When it’s dangerously hot, your boss should either change your work or stop your work.”

O’Neil said rest breaks or stoppages in extreme heat could be the difference between workers returning home safely or suffering serious injury or death.

She also argued heat exposure should be regulated in the same way as other known workplace hazards such as asbestos and silica.

“There is no excuse for Australia to leave workers exposed without clear, enforceable rules,” she said.

Industry Response
The Master Builders Association has pushed back against fixed temperature thresholds, arguing instead for flexible risk controls tailored to individual sites.

The association says employers should focus on:

• adequate shade
• regular hydration
• designated cool-down areas
• scheduled rest breaks

Industry groups argue that a blanket temperature cut-off may not account for differing conditions, work types and mitigation measures.

Health and Compensation Implications
O’Neil said heat-related illness should be treated like any other workplace injury, including eligibility for workers’ compensation.

“If you get sick from working in extreme heat, it should be treated like any other workplace injury,” she said.
“That means workers’ compensation coverage, so you can focus on getting better instead of worrying about paying the bills.”

She warned government modelling already projected heat-related deaths would more than quadruple in major Australian cities if protections were not strengthened.

Conclusion
The push highlights growing tension between unions and industry as Australia grapples with the safety impacts of climate change. As heatwaves intensify, pressure is mounting on regulators to decide whether extreme heat should be governed by enforceable national limits rather than discretionary risk controls.