In response to the newly added Articles 15-1 and 27-1 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, the Taiwan Ministry of Labor, following consultations with relevant authorities, completed the draft “Engineering Safety Design and Integrated Management Regulations” and launched a 30-day public comment period beginning April 27, 2026. 

In the past, responsibility for disaster prevention in the construction industry was concentrated on contractors at the “construction stage.” However, many hazardous factors can be identified as early as the design and planning stages, and addressing them at an early stage can effectively reduce the likelihood of accidents. The purpose of the Ministry of Labor’s promotion of the draft “Engineering Safety Design and Integrated Management Regulations” is to require, through institutional mechanisms, that project owners, design units, and construction teams share safety responsibilities jointly, so as to establish a safer working environment. 

Specifically, the draft “Engineering Safety Design and Integrated Management Regulations” incorporates project owners into the occupational safety and health disaster prevention framework, requiring owners of high-risk projects above a certain scale to reduce construction risks at the source during the planning and design stages by adjusting design schemes and preparing safety and health drawings, construction specifications, and budgets. The draft Regulations also provide that project owners, when selecting contractors, shall take into account the contractors’ occupational safety and health performance records, and shall, during the construction stage, urge contractors to conduct risk assessments, incorporate necessary safety and health facilities into construction plans for implementation, and carry out supervision and verification. Furthermore, where a project owner engages multiple contractors to work simultaneously through parallel subcontracting, one principal contractor must be designated to be responsible for overall safety coordination across the project, so as to prevent accidents caused by poor communication or operational conflicts. Where a violation of the relevant provisions of the draft “Engineering Safety Design and Integrated Management Regulations” results in a serious occupational accident, a fine of up to NT$3,000,000 may be imposed, and may be further increased to a maximum of NT$4,500,000 depending on the scale, nature of the business, or the severity of the violation. 

We recommend that relevant businesses, including Japanese-affiliated companies, regardless of the role in which they participate in construction projects, familiarize themselves with the latest developments in the relevant regulations in a timely manner. For inquiries regarding this matter, please contact our office.