Which New South Wales laws apply?

PCBU primary duty of care (NSW WHS Act s 19) and Notify SafeWork NSW of notifiable WHS incidents.

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

Computed by the Rules Mate applicability engine for a sole trader with no employees, turnover $100K–$1M, in construction (residential & commercial), operating in New South Wales and selling to consumers and small businesses.

Short answer: 17 obligations

17 obligations apply (8 critical) across 20 regulators, plus 16 to check. Risk rating: low. No licensed regime, no employees and not an APP entity — your obligations are mainly tax, consumer law and the general WHS duty.

Sole trader or company: what changes

Compared with the same business run through a Pty Ltd company with no employees in New South Wales, 0 obligations apply that did not, and 10 drop away.

What switches on when you take on staff

Moving to a sole trader with 1–5 employees, turnover $100K–$1M adds 21 obligations:

New South Wales law that applies

2 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
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	6
Tax	4
Privacy	2
Consumer law	2
Construction	1
Marketing	1
Records	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 sole trader with no employees?: 17 obligations apply (8 critical) across 20 regulators, plus 16 to check. Risk rating: low. No licensed regime, no employees and not an APP entity — your obligations are mainly tax, consumer law and the general WHS duty.
Which New South Wales laws apply?: PCBU primary duty of care (NSW WHS Act s 19) and Notify SafeWork NSW of notifiable WHS incidents.

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.