What is Before You Dig, and what happened to Dial Before You Dig?
Dial Before You Dig is now called Before You Dig Australia (BYDA). Before excavation starts in Queensland, the person with management or control of the workplace must take all reasonable steps to get current underground essential services information (section 304 of the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld)). A free BYDA enquiry is a practical way to start, but it is not the whole job.
BYDA is the national service for finding out what underground utility assets are near your site. You lodge an enquiry, the asset owners are notified, and they send you their plans. BYDA says the plans come from the asset owners, not from BYDA itself. The service used to be called Dial Before You Dig (DBYD). BYDA’s history page says the state and national DBYD organisations agreed to transform into a single national organisation, Before You Dig Australia. The name change does not alter your legal duties, but some older documents still use the old name. The Excavation Work Code of Practice 2021, for example, still refers to Dial Before You Dig, phoning 1100 and the 1100.com.au website.
How to lodge a Before You Dig request
BYDA’s current guide to free plans sets out these steps:
- Sign up for the BYDA portal if you are new, then log in. BYDA also has a mobile app.
- Search for the site by street address, lot number or coordinates, then outline the work area on the map. You can copy an earlier enquiry for the same location.
- Enter the project details: the location, start and end dates, the type of work, and whether you are working for a utility, a council or a private party. Describe the work in detail.
- Check and submit. The enquiry summary lists the asset owners who will respond, their contact details and the expected wait times.
- Open each owner’s response to see their plans and safety information.
BYDA says lodging an enquiry is free. Plans typically arrive within minutes, but allow up to two business days. Some asset owners, such as councils, may not be BYDA members, so contact them directly. Utilities may charge a fee if you ask them to locate specific assets. BYDA lists 1100 as its helpdesk line for support, not as the way to lodge an enquiry.
Lodging an enquiry does not give you permission to dig. Wait until you have the information from every affected asset owner. Plans carry validity dates. If the scope of the work changes or the dates expire, lodge a new enquiry.
What the WHS Regulation requires before you dig
Sections 304 to 306 of the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld) are in Chapter 6 (construction work), Part 6.3, Division 3 (excavation work). Section 304 covers the part of a workplace where excavation work is carried out and any adjacent areas.
- Get the information first. The person with management or control of the workplace must take all reasonable steps to obtain current underground essential services information before directing or allowing the excavation work to commence (section 304(2), maximum 36 penalty units).
- Pass it on. They must give that information to any person they engage to carry out the excavation work (section 304(3)).
- Use it. Both the person in control and any business given the information must have regard to it in carrying out, directing or allowing the work (section 304(4)).
- Keep it available. The information must be available for inspection until the excavation work is completed or, if a notifiable incident occurs in connection with the work, for at least 2 years after the incident (section 304(5) and (6)).
The Regulation defines “underground essential services information” as the essential services that may be affected, the location (including the depth) of their pipes, cables or other plant, and any conditions on the proposed excavation work. “Essential services” means the supply of gas, water, sewerage, telecommunications, electricity and similar services, or chemicals, fuel and refrigerant in pipes or lines.
Section 304 does not name BYDA. It requires “all reasonable steps” to get current information. For electrical cables in a public place, the code of practice lists the enquiry service and the relevant authorities (such as electricity supply, communications, local government and water authorities) as sources of information, and on private property it says to contact the owner or occupier about buried cables. Who has management or control depends on the job. It might be the site owner, the builder or the principal contractor. Our guide to what a PCBU is explains the terms.
Other provisions apply to the same job:
- Section 305: a business must manage the risks of excavation work, including a person falling into an excavation, being trapped by a collapse, being struck by a falling thing or being exposed to an airborne contaminant.
- Section 306: for a trench at least 1.5 m deep, the work area must be secured from unauthorised access so far as is reasonably practicable, and all sides supported by shoring, benching or battering, unless written advice from a geotechnical engineer says the sides are safe from collapse.
- Section 40(g): work in relation to or near essential services must not give rise to a risk to the health and safety of people at the workplace, so far as is reasonably practicable.
- Section 315(d): the principal contractor for a construction project must manage the risks associated with essential services at the workplace.
For the basics of trenching and shoring, see our guide to safe excavation.
When you need a SWMS to dig near services
Construction work includes any work connected with an excavation (section 289(2)(f)). High risk construction work (section 291) includes work in or near a shaft or trench with an excavated depth greater than 1.5 m. It also includes work on or near pressurised gas distribution mains or piping, chemical, fuel or refrigerant lines, and energised electrical installations or services. A safe work method statement must be prepared before that work commences (section 299). So a shallow hole beside a gas main can need a SWMS even though it is well under 1.5 m deep. The code of practice also expects a SWMS for excavation work involving underground services. See our guide to high risk construction work in Queensland.
Underground electric lines: the Electrical Safety Regulation
Electrical safety is dealt with mainly under the Electrical Safety Act and Regulation. Under schedule 1, section 4(2) of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld), the WHS Act does not apply to the extent the Electrical Safety Act 2002 applies. Two sections of the Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld) matter for digging:
- Section 14: a business at a workplace must ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that no person, plant or thing at the workplace damages an underground electric line (maximum 60 penalty units).
- Section 15: if the work involves a risk of contact with an underground electric line, the business must ensure a risk assessment is conducted for the proposed work, and that the control measures are consistent with it and with any requirements of the electricity entity responsible for the line (maximum 60 penalty units).
So if your plans show electric cables near the dig, read the asset owner’s requirements and carry them into your risk assessment and SWMS. The Electrical Safety Code of Practice 2020 on working near overhead and underground electric lines was written for the previous Regulation, so check its section numbers against the current one.
Plans are a guide, not a guarantee
BYDA says its plans indicate the presence of underground infrastructure only, not its exact location, and should be used as a guide. The Excavation Work Code of Practice says the same kind of thing: available information about underground services may not be accurate, so the excavation method should include an initial examination of the area. It gives two examples:
- Potholing: exposing a short section of the service, usually with water pressure and a vacuum, or by hand digging with insulated tools suited to the voltage.
- Locators: electromagnetic cable locators or ground penetrating radar. The code says workers who operate this equipment need the relevant training and must be competent in its use.
The code of practice is guidance, not law, but it can be used as evidence of what is reasonably practicable.
What to write into your SWMS
These points are good practice for the SWMS, and they help show you took the steps in section 304:
- The enquiry date, the asset owners who responded and the validity dates of each plan, with a note to lodge again if the scope changes or the plans expire.
- Who received the plans (section 304(3)) and where the copy is kept for inspection.
- How services will be located and confirmed before a machine digs: locator, potholing and hand digging near marked services.
- How the located services are marked on the ground, and that machines stay clear until they are confirmed.
- A spotter and clear signals for the machine operator.
- What happens if an unexpected pipe or cable turns up: stop, keep people clear, call the asset owner, then review the plan before work resumes.
- Reporting. A service strike can be a dangerous incident if it exposes a person to a serious risk from an immediate or imminent exposure to, for example, an uncontrolled escape of gas or a pressurised substance, or electric shock (section 37 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)). See our guide to notifiable incidents.
Our Excavator SWMS, Drainage Installation SWMS and Auger or Post Hole Digger SWMS give you a starting point you can edit for the job, and the Free SWMS Template for Queensland is there if you want to start with a blank layout. You can also browse our civil works templates. For electrical hazards more generally, see our guide to preventing electrical injuries.
This guide is general information, not legal advice. Check the current law or talk to WorkSafe Queensland for your situation.
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