Which New South Wales laws apply?

PCBU primary duty of care (NSW WHS Act s 19), Notify SafeWork NSW of notifiable WHS incidents, Pay long service leave under the LSL Act 1955 (NSW) and Comply with Workplace Surveillance Act 2005 (NSW)

Construction (residential & commercial) compliance obligations in New South Wales: partnership

Computed by the Rules Mate applicability engine for a partnership with 1–5 employees, turnover $100K–$1M, in construction (residential & commercial), operating in New South Wales and selling to consumers and small businesses.

Short answer: 39 obligations

39 obligations apply (16 critical) across 27 regulators, plus 21 to check. Risk rating: medium. No licensed regime, but you employ staff (WHS, Fair Work, super and payroll duties); 16 critical obligations apply.

Partnership or company: what changes

Compared with the same business run through a Pty Ltd company (1–5 employees) in New South Wales, 0 obligations apply that did not, and 9 drop away.

New South Wales law that applies

4 New South Wales obligations apply on these facts, and 5 more are worth checking:

Obligation	Why it applies
PCBU primary duty of care (NSW WHS Act s 19)	Every business is a PCBU — the primary duty of care applies whether or not you employ anyone · NSW law
Notify SafeWork NSW of notifiable WHS incidents	Every PCBU must notify the regulator of notifiable incidents (death, serious injury, dangerous incident) · NSW law
Pay long service leave under the LSL Act 1955 (NSW)	You have employees (1–5) · NSW law
Comply with Workplace Surveillance Act 2005 (NSW)	You have employees (1–5) · NSW law
Comply with NSW Design and Building Practitioners Act 2020	Check: applies only if you design or build Class 2 (apartment) buildings
Obtain Subcontractor's Statements before paying subcontractors (NSW)	Check: applies only if you are a principal contractor engaging subcontractors
NSW development consent (Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979)	Check: applies only if you propose development requiring consent or a permit
National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 (NSW) — Aboriginal heritage	Check: applies only if your activity disturbs land that may contain Aboriginal cultural heritage or is subject to native title
Home Building Compensation Fund (NSW)	Check: applies only if you do residential building work over $20,000

Payroll tax in New South Wales (FY2026-27)

NSW: 5.45% on Australian wages above the $1.2 million tax-free threshold (FY2026-27). On these facts the business is below the New South Wales threshold, so payroll tax does not apply yet.

How the threshold works: Flat tax-free threshold, apportioned by the share of Australian wages paid in NSW and by days employed; only one group member claims it.
Returns: Monthly by the 7th of the following month; annual reconciliation by 28 July
Administered by: Revenue NSW

New South Wales regulators

Where the obligations sit

Area	Obligations
Whs	8
Workplace	7
Tax	6
Privacy	3
Super	2
Migration	2
Consumer law	2
Wages	1
Discrimination	1
Construction	1

Critical obligations on this profile

Check whether these apply

Thresholds to watch

Lose the Privacy Act small-business exemption at $3M annual turnover (removal of the exemption altogether is proposed, not yet law) (threshold $3M; approaching)

Run the compliance journeyAnswer a short questionnaire about your business and get the obligations that apply to you, with the reason each one applies.

Questions

How many compliance obligations apply to construction (residential and commercial) businesses in New South Wales run as a partnership with 1–5 employees?: 39 obligations apply (16 critical) across 27 regulators, plus 21 to check. Risk rating: medium. No licensed regime, but you employ staff (WHS, Fair Work, super and payroll duties); 16 critical obligations apply.
Which New South Wales laws apply?: PCBU primary duty of care (NSW WHS Act s 19), Notify SafeWork NSW of notifiable WHS incidents, Pay long service leave under the LSL Act 1955 (NSW) and Comply with Workplace Surveillance Act 2005 (NSW)

Sources

Computed by the Rules Mate applicability engine from the published obligation corpus; facts last checked 3 October 2026. Rules Mate is not a law firm and this is general information, not legal advice. Confirm your position with the regulator source or a qualified adviser before acting.