South Australian Current Acts South Australian Current Acts20—Work areas and work sites
(1) In this
section—
"category 1 hazardous work area" means a work area that involves a hazard to
workers or a greater than normal level of hazard for persons using the road;
"category 2 hazardous work area" means a work area that involves an unusually
high level of hazard to workers or persons using the road;
"prescribed road" means—
(a) a
road that is under the care, control and management of the Commissioner of
Highways; or
(b) a
road, or road of a class, prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of
this definition;
"public authority" means any of the following:
(a) a
Minister of the Crown;
(b) the
Commissioner of Highways;
(c) a
council;
(d) any
other authority, body or person authorised by statute to carry out works on
roads;
(e) an
authority, body or person prescribed by the regulations;
"roadworks permit"—see subsection (4)(a);
"speed limit signs" means signs placed on a road in accordance with
subsection (3);
"work area" means a portion of road—
(a) on
which workers are, or may be, engaged; or
(b) on
which vehicles or equipment relating to any works are placed; or
(c) that
is otherwise affected by works in progress (whether those works are occurring
on the road or elsewhere);
"work site" means a portion of road affected by works in progress, together
with any additional portion of road used to regulate traffic in relation to
those works or for associated purposes.
(2) A person
exercising powers or performing functions under, or for the purposes of, this
section must, in doing so, seek to protect the safety of workers, road users
and other members of the public whilst having due regard to the inconvenience
caused by traffic disruptions and the need to maintain reasonable traffic
flows.
(3) An authority, body
or person must, with a relevant authorisation and in accordance with this Part
and any regulations made for the purposes of this Part, place signs on a road
for the purpose of indicating a maximum speed to be observed by drivers while
driving on, by or towards a work area or work site where workers are engaged,
or works are in progress, at the direction of that authority, body or person.
(4) An authority, body
or person has a relevant authorisation, for the purposes of
subsection (3), to place speed limit signs on a road—
(a) if
the authority, body or person holds a permit issued by the Minister under this
section (a "roadworks permit") and the signs are placed on the road in
accordance with the permit; or
(i)
the authority, body or person is a public authority; and
(ii)
the work is required to be undertaken by the
public authority as a matter of urgency; and
(iii)
the signs are placed on the road in accordance with an
approval of the Minister under this Part; and
(iv)
the Minister is notified of the placement of the signs as
soon as is practicable (and, in any case, within 2 hours after the signs
are placed on the road); and
(v)
the signs are placed on the road for a period not
exceeding 24 hours or such longer period as may be determined by the Minister
on an application under subsection (9); or
(c)
if—
(i)
the signs will not relate to any prescribed roads; and
(ii)
the signs are placed on the road in accordance with an
approval of the Minister under this Part.
Note—
If any prescribed roads are to be affected by speed limit signs, a
roadworks permit is required unless paragraph (b) applies (in which case
an approval of the Minister is still required).
If no prescribed roads are to be affected by speed limit signs, only an
approval of the Minister is required.
(5) An authority, body
or person must not close any portion of a prescribed road in connection with a
work area or work site unless the authority, body or person holds a roadworks
permit and closes the road in accordance with the permit.
(6) An application for
a roadworks permit must be made in a manner determined by the Minister (which
may differ between applications according to factors determined by the
Minister) and be accompanied by a fee fixed by, or calculated in accordance
with, the regulations.
(a) must
specify the period during which the permit remains in force; and
(b) may
specify periods within which specified works are to be completed, or specified
actions are to be taken, and may impose monetary penalties on the permit
holder for a failure to complete such work, or to take such action, within the
specified period (and such penalties will be recoverable by the Minister as a
debt); and
(c) must
include conditions requiring the holder of the permit to undertake risk
assessment and other work site planning processes in accordance with
requirements specified in the permit, or a standard or other document
specified in the permit; and
(d) may
be subject to such other conditions as the Minister thinks fit; and
(e) may
be varied at any time by the Minister (including, without limitation, by
extending any period or periods specified in the permit); and
(f) may
be suspended or revoked at any time by the Minister (including, without
limitation, as a penalty for breach of conditions of the permit or while any
alleged breach of conditions is under investigation).
(8) Without limiting
the circumstances in which the Minister may refuse to issue a
roadworks permit, the Minister may refuse to issue such a permit if any person
who has been found guilty of an offence against section 21 is to be
responsible for installing, displaying, altering, operating or removing speed
limit signs pursuant to the permit.
(9) An application to
the Minister for an extension of the 24 hour period referred to in
subsection (4)(b)(v)—
(a) may
be made by telephone or any other manner prescribed by the regulations; and
(b) must
be made at least 3 hours before the end of that 24 hour period (unless
the Minister is satisfied that there were good reasons for a delay in making
the application).
(10) The maximum speed
to be indicated by speed limit signs is as follows:
(a) for
a category 1 hazardous work area—40 kilometres an hour;
(b) for
a category 2 hazardous work area—25 kilometres an hour;
(c) for
a work site—
(i)
if the speed limit signs are placed on a road in
accordance with a roadworks permit and the Minister has, either in the permit
or by notice in writing to the holder of the permit, specified a maximum speed
limit for the purposes of this paragraph—a maximum speed not exceeding
the speed limit so specified; or
(ii)
in any other case—a maximum speed not exceeding
80 kilometres an hour.
(11) An authority,
body or person that has placed speed limit signs on a road must ensure—
(a) that
the speed limit signs, or at least 1 other sign placed in, or in the
vicinity of, the work area or work site, make it clear to road users that the
speed limit signs relate to such an area or site (whether by including
relevant symbols, the words "work area", "work site" or "roadworks" or in some
other way); and
(b) that
the speed limit signs are not in place on the road during any period during
which—
(i)
workers are not engaged at the work area; and
(ii)
the area of road affected by the works, or by vehicles or
equipment relating to the works, does not involve a greater than normal level
of hazard for persons using the road.
(12) If
subsection (11)(b) is not complied with in relation to any
speed limit signs—
(a) the
speed limit signs are of no effect for the purposes of this Act or any other
Act or law during the period of non-compliance; and
(b) an
authorised officer may alter or remove the speed limit signs.
(13) If a
public authority has engaged a contractor to carry out works on behalf of the
authority, the contractor will, in relation to those works, be treated as if
they were the authority for the purposes of this Act (and if the
public authority holds an approval under section 17, or a
roadworks permit, in respect of those works, the contractor will be treated as
if they were the holder of that approval or permit).
(14) This section does
not apply to or in relation to—
(a) SA
Police or police officers; or
(b) an
authority, body or person, or class of authority, body or person, prescribed
by regulation; or
(c) a
work area or work site, or class of work area or work site, prescribed by
regulation.
(15) For the purposes
of this section, workers will be taken to be "engaged" at a work area—
(a) if
the workers are present in the area or in the vicinity of the area; or
(b) if
the workers are temporarily absent from the area for a period not exceeding 2
hours.
(16) The regulations
may prescribe standards or requirements for determining, for the purposes of
this section—
(a)
whether or not a work area involves a hazard to workers or a greater than
normal level of hazard for persons using the road; and
(b)
whether or not a work area involves an unusually high level of hazard to
workers or persons using the road; and
(c) the
circumstances in which a portion of road will be taken to be—
(i)
affected by works in progress; or
(ii)
used to regulate traffic in relation to works or for
associated purposes; and
(d) the
circumstances in which work will be taken to be required to be undertaken by a
public authority as a matter of urgency.
(17) This section has
effect despite any other Act or law.