The ACT work safety watchdog has slapped 28 building sites across Canberra with notices for safety breaches following a city-wide crackdown.
Worksafe ACT issued more than 70 notices to residential building sites across Canberra in the past month.
The crackdown on building sites came following the death of a 47-year-old construction worker at a building site in Denman Prospect on January 11.
Worksafe inspectors carried out searches of 28 building sites, targeting safety requirements in the weeks afterwards.
Of the 70 notices issued, 19 were prohibition notices, requiring all work on the building site to stop until the breaches were rectified.
ACT work safety commissioner Greg Jones was disappointed by the scale of the breaches.
"The level of compliance with the safety laws were poor," Mr Jones said.
"There seemed to be a general disregard for work safety with basic protection systems not in place and little planning to ensure work was undertaken in a safe manner."
Among the major issues identified by inspectors were incomplete scaffolding, no protection to prevent falls from heights, electrical safety issues and inadequate security.
Mr Jones said this month's death of a worker should have been a bigger wake-up call for construction site managers.
Further inspections are likely to be carried out across Canberra building sites in coming days.
"Worksafe inspections in this area will continue and inspectors will not hesitate to issue more notices, including closing sites that do not meet basic safety requirements," Mr Jones said.
Investigations continue into the death of the construction worker at Denman Prospect. The worker died after a pallet of tiles fell on the man.
A search warrant was carried out at a registered business address in Denman Prospect on January 15 following the death to obtain electronic and physical records from the company. Federal police and Border Force officers were present for the search warrant.
The man's death was the first workplace death in the ACT in almost three years. Thoroughbred Park track rider Riharna Thomson, 22, died after a fall in March 2017.
