Airport Works Safety Services for Active Aerodrome Construction

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Oz Airports delivers a full range of CASA-compliant airport management and safety services to Defence bases and civil aerodrome operators across Australia. Every service is delivered by qualified, experienced aviation professionals backed by a veteran-owned business with 60+ major aerodrome projects completed.

"Oz Airports had a qualified WSO on our site within 24 hours. Their team understood the aerodrome environment immediately and managed the entire airside works safety process without a single disruption to our operations."
— Aerodrome Manager, Civil Airport, Western Australia
"We engaged Oz Airports for WSO support during a major runway resurfacing project. Their WSOs were professional, highly experienced, and kept the project moving safely and on schedule. We will be using them again without question."
— Project Manager, Airport Infrastructure, Queensland
"Managing airside works at a Defence aerodrome requires a very specific level of awareness. Oz Airports understood our environment from day one. Their Works Safety Officers handled everything with exactly the professionalism we needed."
— Base Facilities Manager, Australian Defence Aerodrome
"As a regional airport we simply do not have the internal resources to manage large scale airside construction. Oz Airports provided experienced WSOs who took full ownership of the airside safety management. It gave us complete confidence throughout the project."
— Airport Manager, Regional Civil Aerodrome, New South Wales
"The Oz Airports team supported our taxiway works project across multiple sites simultaneously. Their ability to scale WSO numbers as the project progressed saved us significant cost without ever compromising safety or compliance."
— Construction Director, Airfield Works Contractor, South Australia

What is a Works Safety Officer?

A Works Safety Officer (WSO) is an aviation safety expert responsible for managing the safety of construction and maintenance works on an active aerodrome. It is important to understand that a WSO is not a WHS officer. While workplace health and safety is everyone’s responsibility, the WSO role is specifically focused on aviation safety — protecting aircraft, personnel, and airport operations from the risks introduced by airside works.

When contractors move onto an active aerodrome, normal airport operations change. Movement areas may be partially closed, equipment operates near live runways and taxiways, and the risk to aircraft increases significantly. A trained WSO manages these risks, coordinates between contractors and aerodrome operations, and ensures works proceed without compromising flight safety.

When is a WSO Required?

Under CASA regulations, a Works Safety Officer must be in place whenever contractor works have the potential to affect aircraft operations on an active aerodrome. This includes runway resurfacing, taxiway works, airfield lighting replacement, drainage projects, and any construction activity within the movement area. Works cannot legally proceed on an active aerodrome without this oversight in place.

Oz Airports — Australia's Leading WSO Provider

Oz Airports is the leader in Works Safety Officer provision across Australia, with over 50 fully qualified and trained WSOs available for deployment. Our staff are strategically located in every Australian state, keeping mobilisation costs low and response times fast.

With 60+ major aerodrome works projects completed, our WSOs bring a level of corporate experience in airside safety management that permanent airport staff rarely have the opportunity to develop. Large scale aerodrome works — particularly runway resurfacing and airfield lighting projects — often occur only once every 15 to 20 years at regional airports. Our WSOs have managed these projects repeatedly, across multiple aerodromes, and know exactly what is required.

What Our WSO Service Includes

Our Works Safety Officers manage all aspects of aerodrome works safety from mobilisation through to project completion.

  • Active aerodrome construction safety oversight
  • Coordination between contractors and airport operations
  • CASA-compliant airside works safety management
  • Implementation of the approved Method of Works Plan on site
  • Management of movement area closures and NOTAMs
  • Short-notice WSO deployment anywhere in Australia
  • Scalable staffing — multiple WSOs deployed across complex or large project sites

On larger and more complex airport works projects, multiple WSOs can be deployed to manage separate work sites simultaneously. As projects reach key milestones, Oz Airports can scale WSO numbers accordingly, reducing staffing costs without compromising airside safety.

Experienced Across Defence and Civil Aerodromes

Oz Airports WSOs are experienced in both civil aerodrome and Defence base environments. Defence aerodromes have unique operational requirements and security considerations that demand a higher level of awareness from works safety personnel. Our veteran-owned background means our team understands these environments from the inside.

Whether your project is at a major capital city airport, a regional aerodrome, or a Defence base, Oz Airports has the qualified personnel and 30+ purpose-built airside vehicles to support it safely and compliantly.

Airport Work Safety

While workplace health and safety (WHS) is everyone’s responsibility, a WSO is not a WHS expert. A WSO is an aviation safety expert. The diverse role of a WSO is to ensure the safety of aircraft and services at the airport and to ensure that airport works do not affect the operational safety of the airport. While workplace health and safety (WHS) is everyone’s responsibility, a WSO is not a WHS expert. A WSO is an aviation safety expert. The diverse role of a WSO is to ensure the safety of aircraft and services at the airport and to ensure that airport works do not affect the operational safety of the airport. Work conducted on an airport’s airside changes the normal operation of that airport, given that the works can often necessitate the closure of portions of the movement areas, making these areas unavailable for aircraft A well trained WSO will facilitate the airside works to minimise the operational impact on airlines and other aircraft. On larger and more complex airport works projects, multiple WSOs can be required to manage disparate work sites.

Local and Cost Effective

Oz Airports is the leader in the provision of WSOs in Australia, with over 50 fully qualified and trained WSOs on staff.
These staff are strategically based in each Australian State to minimise travel and mobilisation costs to site and are routinely engaged in any one of our dozen concurrent airport works projects around Australia.

Skilled Staff and Compliant Vehicles

Large airport works projects are often only undertaken, particularly in the regional airport sector, every 15 -20 years and in line with runway and taxiway resurfacing and airfield lighting replacements.
It is often the case that permanent staff at an airport have never experienced or had to manage large scale airport works projects. Furthermore, the addition of many workers and equipment as part of airport works projects can be beyond the capacity of an airport to manage, given that the airport staff have daily duties to complete. Therefore, WSOs are sourced by the airport operator to not only supplement staff numbers, but to also bring high levels of corporate experience in managing airport works programs to the project.

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Flexibility on Projects

Oz Airports can offer the flexibility in many cases to scale the number of WSOs at any given project to reduce additional staffing costs as individual projects reach milestones in their delivery.

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Oz Airports trainers deliver, through CASA Instruments of Authority, training and assessment of candidates to gain an AROC. This also extends to our delivery of Aviation English Literacy Proficiency (AELP) and General English Literacy Proficiency (GELP) assessments.

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Frequently Asked Question

What is the difference between a WSO and a WHS officer?

A WSO is an aviation safety specialist who manages the interface between contractors and live aircraft movements, not a WHS officer.

Yes. With 50+ qualified WSOs based across every Australian state, Oz Airports regularly deploys works safety officers at short notice. Contact our team to discuss your project timeline and we will confirm availability quickly.

Yes. Oz Airports is an experienced defence aerodrome services provider and our WSOs are familiar with the additional requirements of working on Defence bases across Australia.

Ready to Discuss Your Aerodrome
Works Project?

If your project requires a qualified Works Safety Officer, talk to Oz Airports first. We respond quickly, mobilise efficiently, and bring the airside works safety experience your project needs.

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