Heat rules in Australia: no set temperature, a duty to manage heat
What SafeWork NSW and WorkSafe Victoria say about working in heat: no stop-work temperature in the regulations, the duty to manage the risk, outdoor controls, water, rest and warning signs.
Checked against the sources at the bottom of this page on October 8, 2026. Rules, fees and pay change: the source has the last word.
This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here. It covers two Australian regulators whose pages were read on October 8, 2026: SafeWork NSW (New South Wales) and WorkSafe Victoria. Australia's work health and safety law is state and territory law, so other states are not covered here. Contains material adapted from SafeWork NSW, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0); the wording is our own summary. The comparison of every place is on the heat rules overview.
No stop-work temperature in either state
| Regulator | What it says about a temperature limit | Duty it names |
|---|---|---|
| SafeWork NSW | The Work Health and Safety Regulation does not state a precise temperature at which workers should stop work, because exposure to heat-related illness depends on a number of factors | Employers, businesses and other persons conducting a business or undertaking have the primary duty of care for workers so far as is reasonably practicable, including casual, contract and labour-hire workers and volunteers |
| WorkSafe Victoria | There is no maximum temperature set under the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 or the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2017 for a worker to stop working; some workplaces may have their own policy | The page lists workplace duties and worker duties under the heading of identifying heat illness hazards |
What SafeWork NSW lists
SafeWork NSW says heat should be managed with the standard risk management cycle: identify the hazard, assess the risks, control them and review the controls. It recommends a workplace heat management plan written in consultation with workers or their health and safety representatives. Its fact page lists the factors that decide heat exposure as air temperature, humidity, wind speed outdoors and the radiant temperature of surroundings, not temperature alone. It says people are at greater risk if they are overweight, physically unfit, pregnant, over 45, have heart or lung disease, take certain medications or are not used to working in the heat.
The fact page reports that between 2001 and 2013, 13 workers in Australia died from working in extreme environmental heat, and all but one of them died from outdoor heat. Coronial inquiries found colleagues nearby who failed to recognise the signs, lone workers who did not act on symptoms or could not call for help, and a lack of coordination between the parties responsible for safety.
For water it says a small cup of 200 millilitres of cool, not extremely cold, water every 15 to 20 minutes on hot days, and not energy drinks, soft drinks or coffee. On rest it says regular breaks about every hour in a cooler or shaded area, with the frequency and length increased as conditions get hotter or more humid, and rest of up to 30 minutes every hour in a cooler area. Where no shade is available it lists rescheduling to cooler times, screens, umbrellas, canopies or awnings, rotating staff, and breaks in a clean, cool, ventilated shed or vehicle. It says ultraviolet levels of 3 and above are strong enough to damage skin and eyes. A worker may stop or refuse work if they reasonably believe it exposes them to a serious risk to health and safety.
What WorkSafe Victoria lists
The WorkSafe Victoria page on heat illness covers working outdoors in hot weather. It separates the symptoms of heat exhaustion (dizziness, headache, sweaty skin, weakness, cramps, nausea or vomiting, fast and weak pulse) from heat stroke (red, hot, dry skin, intense thirst, high temperature, confusion, convulsions, fainting). It says a worker with symptoms rests in a cool, well ventilated area and drinks cool fluids, and that urgent medical help is sought if symptoms do not improve quickly or the skin is very hot and dry. Its workload controls include rescheduling hot tasks to the cooler part of the day, working from a different location, reducing time on hot tasks, more workers on the job, extra rest breaks in a cool area, mechanical aids, cool water, shade cloth outdoors, and regular checks on workers and colleagues. For workers it lists drinking water every 15 minutes even when not thirsty.