When does construction work need a SWMS?
A safe work method statement (SWMS) is the document the WHS Regulation requires before high risk construction work starts. The work is then done the way it says, and stopped when it is not. On a construction project the principal contractor gets a copy, and the statement is kept until the work is complete.
The section for each duty, state by state
The library holds the SWMS duties for Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Australian Capital Territory. For Western Australia, Tasmania, Northern Territory and New Zealand it holds no SWMS duty, and the table says so rather than guess.
| State | Prepare | Follow it | Copy to the principal contractor | Review | Keep | Keep after a notifiable incident | Principal contractor obtains a copy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Queensland | r 299(1) | r 300(1)-(2) | r 301 | r 302 | r 303(1), (3), (4) | r 303(2) | r 312 |
| New South Wales | s 299(1) | s 300(1)-(2) | s 301 | s 302 | s 303(1), (3), (4) | s 303(2) | s 312 |
| Victoria | r 327(1)(a) | r 327(1)(b), (2) | not held in the library | r 328 | r 329 | not held in the library | not held in the library |
| Western Australia | not held in the library | ||||||
| South Australia | r 299(1) | r 300(1)-(2) | r 301 | r 302 | r 303(1), (3), (4) | r 303(2) | r 312 |
| Tasmania | not held in the library | ||||||
| Australian Capital Territory | r 299(1) | r 300(1)-(2) | r 301 | r 302 | r 303(1), (3), (4) | r 303(2) | r 312 |
| Northern Territory | not held in the library | ||||||
| New Zealand | |||||||
| New Zealand | not held in the library | ||||||
What each duty says
Each duty in the words of the Regulation, read once, with every state that uses those words and its section.
Prepare
- Ensure a safe work method statement is prepared for high risk construction work before the work starts.Queensland r 299(1) · New South Wales s 299(1) · South Australia r 299(1) · Australian Capital Territory r 299(1)
- Prepare a safe work method statement before starting high risk construction work that poses a risk to anyone's health or safety.Victoria r 327(1)(a)
Not held in the library for Western Australia, Tasmania, Northern Territory and New Zealand.
Follow it
- Put arrangements in place so high risk construction work is done in accordance with its safe work method statement, and stop work that is not.Queensland r 300(1)-(2) · New South Wales s 300(1)-(2) · South Australia r 300(1)-(2) · Australian Capital Territory r 300(1)-(2)
- Perform high risk construction work in accordance with its safe work method statement, and stop work that is not.Victoria r 327(1)(b), (2)
Not held in the library for Western Australia, Tasmania, Northern Territory and New Zealand.
Copy to the principal contractor
- Give the principal contractor a copy of the safe work method statement before high risk construction work on a construction project starts.Queensland r 301 · New South Wales s 301 · South Australia r 301 · Australian Capital Territory r 301
Not held in the library for Victoria, Western Australia, Tasmania, Northern Territory and New Zealand.
Review
- Review the safe work method statement, and revise it as necessary, when the relevant control measures are revised.Queensland r 302 · New South Wales s 302 · South Australia r 302 · Australian Capital Territory r 302
- Review the safe work method statement, and revise it as necessary, whenever the work changes or its controls are not controlling the risks.Victoria r 328
Not held in the library for Western Australia, Tasmania, Northern Territory and New Zealand.
Keep
- Keep a copy of the safe work method statement until the high risk construction work it covers is complete.Queensland r 303(1), (3), (4) · New South Wales s 303(1), (3), (4) · South Australia r 303(1), (3), (4) · Australian Capital Territory r 303(1), (3), (4)
- Keep a copy of the safe work method statement for the duration of the high risk construction work.Victoria r 329
Not held in the library for Western Australia, Tasmania, Northern Territory and New Zealand.
Keep after a notifiable incident
- Keep the safe work method statement for at least 2 years after a notifiable incident in connection with the work it covers.Queensland r 303(2) · New South Wales s 303(2) · South Australia r 303(2) · Australian Capital Territory r 303(2)
Not held in the library for Victoria, Western Australia, Tasmania, Northern Territory and New Zealand.
Principal contractor obtains a copy
- As principal contractor, take all reasonable steps to obtain a copy of the safe work method statement before high risk construction work on the project starts.Queensland r 312 · New South Wales s 312 · South Australia r 312 · Australian Capital Territory r 312
Not held in the library for Victoria, Western Australia, Tasmania, Northern Territory and New Zealand.
What counts as high risk construction work
The SWMS duty starts with the list of high risk construction work. As the library records it for each state:
- QueenslandHigh risk construction work is the 18 kinds of construction work r 291 lists, among them a risk of a person falling more than 2m, a shaft or trench deeper than 1.5m, a tunnel, work on or next to a road or railway in use by traffic, and an area where powered mobile plant moves.
- New South Wales and South AustraliaHigh risk construction work is the 18 kinds of construction work provision 291 lists, among them a risk of a person falling more than 2m, a shaft or trench deeper than 1.5m, a tunnel, work on or next to a road or railway in use by traffic, and an area where powered mobile plant moves.
- VictoriaHigh risk construction work is the 19 kinds r 322 lists, among them a risk of a person falling more than 2 metres, any demolition, a trench or shaft deeper than 1.5 metres, a tunnel, work on or adjacent to roadways or railways used by traffic, and a workplace where powered mobile plant moves.
- Australian Capital TerritoryHigh risk construction work is the 19 kinds of construction work r 291 lists: the model's 18 (among them a risk of a person falling more than 2m, a shaft or trench deeper than 1.5m, a tunnel, work on or next to a road or railway, including light rail, in use by traffic, and an area where powered mobile plant moves) plus processing crystalline silica material with a power tool or another mechanical method (r 291(1)(s)).
The worker's licence for high risk work is a separate duty, on high risk work licences.
Where the states differ
- QueenslandQueensland adds r 299(4): where the work risks a fall of more than 2m and the only controls are administrative controls or personal protective equipment, the statement must describe every control measure considered.
- New South WalesBinds the principal contractor for a construction project (provision 292 - construction work costing $250,000 or more).
- South AustraliaBinds the principal contractor for a construction project, which r 292 defines as construction work costing $450,000 or more (the model sets $250,000).
- VictoriaVictoria is not harmonised: this binds an employer or self-employed person, and only where the work poses a risk to a person's health or safety.
- VictoriaVictoria has no counterpart to the model's 2 years after a notifiable incident, and no duty on the principal contractor to obtain or receive the statement: the principal contractor's duties are the health and safety co-ordination plan (rr 335 to 337), not recorded here.
For as long as it must be kept, a copy must be readily accessible to every worker engaged to do the work (provision 303(3)) and available for inspection under the Act (303(4)).
No template here
Demiton does not provide a SWMS template or example. A SWMS is written for the work in front of you, and the library notes where its contents are set: Provision 299(2) and (3) set what the statement must contain; a statement another person already prepared satisfies the duty. Demiton holds the duties around the statement: the copy to the principal contractor, the review, and how long it is kept. How long each record is kept, after an incident too, is on records.
What this page is, and is not
It is the section text this library holds for each state's WHS law, with the window and the consequence. It is not legal advice, and it is not a substitute for reading the Act, the Regulation and the contract you signed.
No library of law is complete, and Demiton never says this one is. An obligation the library does not hold, and you did not add, is not protected. You can add your own to any job.