What is a SWMS (Safe Work Method Statement)?
A SWMS (Safe Work Method Statement) is a written document that sets out the high risk construction work to be done, the hazards and risks it creates, the control measures to be used, and how those controls are put in place, monitored and reviewed.
When you need a SWMS
A business that carries out high risk construction work (HRCW) must make sure a SWMS is prepared before that work starts, or that one has already been prepared by someone else (r.299(1)). The rules are in Part 6.3 of the model WHS Regulations, which every state and territory except Victoria has adopted. Regulation numbers in this guide follow the model as adopted in Queensland; check the version for your state. Victoria has the same duty in its Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2017, where it applies to employers and self-employed persons.
HRCW is defined in r.291. Construction work is high risk if it involves any of the following:
- a risk of a person falling more than 2 m
- work on a telecommunication tower
- demolition of a load-bearing element, or one related to the physical integrity of the structure
- disturbing asbestos, or work likely to disturb it
- structural alterations or repairs that need temporary support to prevent collapse
- work in or near a confined space
- work in or near a shaft or trench deeper than 1.5 m, or a tunnel
- the use of explosives
- work on or near pressurised gas mains or piping
- work on or near chemical, fuel or refrigerant lines
- work on or near energised electrical installations or services
- an area that may have a contaminated or flammable atmosphere
- tilt-up or precast concrete
- work on, in or next to a road, railway, shipping lane or other traffic corridor in use by traffic other than pedestrians
- an area where powered mobile plant moves
- an area with artificial extremes of temperature
- work in or near water or other liquid with a risk of drowning
- diving work
When you do not need one
A SWMS is only required for HRCW. For other construction work you still have to manage the risks, but you do not need a SWMS. The definition of construction work in r.289 leaves out testing, maintenance or repair work of a minor nature, and WorkSafe WA notes that a SWMS is not required for work of a minor nature.
One SWMS can cover several kinds of HRCW in the same job, for example working at height near a road while mobile plant moves on site. You can also write a separate SWMS for each activity, as long as you consider how the activities affect each other.
What the law says a SWMS must contain
Regulation 299(2) sets four things every SWMS must do, and r.299(3) adds two more. There is no required form or layout.
- Identify the work that is HRCW (r.299(2)(a)).
- State the hazards of that work and the risks to health and safety (r.299(2)(b)).
- Describe the measures that will control the risks (r.299(2)(c)).
- Describe how those controls will be implemented, monitored and reviewed (r.299(2)(d)).
- Take account of the circumstances at the workplace that affect how the work is done, and, on a construction project, the WHS management plan for the site (r.299(3)(a)).
- Be set out and expressed so the people using it can readily access and understand it (r.299(3)(b)).
Following the SWMS and stopping work
Writing the SWMS is only half the duty. The business must have arrangements to make sure the HRCW is done the way the SWMS says (r.300(1)). If the work is not being done that way, it must stop immediately or as soon as it is safe, and only start again in line with the SWMS (r.300(2)).
In practice that means briefing the crew before work, supervising, and checking that the controls written down are actually in place on the day.
Who prepares and signs it
The duty sits with the business carrying out the HRCW. WorkSafe WA says the person responsible for carrying out the work is best placed to prepare the SWMS, in consultation with the workers who will do it. In practice the employer prepares it for its workers, or a subcontractor prepares it for its workers and itself. If there is a health and safety representative, they should be consulted too. In Victoria, affected employees and their HSRs must be consulted.
The regulations do not say a SWMS must be signed. The regulator templates include spaces for each worker to sign and date that they received it, and for the reviewer to sign. Most principal contractors expect those signatures as evidence that the crew was briefed.
Giving it to the principal contractor
If the HRCW is part of a construction project, a copy of the SWMS must be given to the principal contractor before the work starts (r.301). Under the model regulations a construction project is construction work costing $250,000 or more (r.292). In WA it is a project where 5 or more people are, or are likely to be, working on site at the same time.
The principal contractor's WHS management plan must set out how it collects, assesses, monitors and reviews SWMS, so expect your SWMS to be checked before you are allowed to start.
When it must be reviewed
A SWMS must be reviewed, and revised as needed, whenever the relevant control measures are revised under r.38 (r.302). Regulation 38 requires a review when a control does not work, before a change at the workplace that could create a new risk, when a new hazard is found, when consultation shows a review is needed, or when a health and safety representative asks for one.
WorkSafe Victoria puts it simply: review the SWMS whenever the HRCW changes, after any incident during the HRCW, or if there is any sign the controls are not working. Handwritten changes on site are acceptable, as long as the crew is re-briefed.
How long to keep it
Keep a copy of the SWMS until the HRCW it covers is finished (r.303(1)). If a notifiable incident happens in connection with that work, keep it for at least 2 years after the incident (r.303(2)). While you keep it, a copy must be readily accessible to the workers doing the work and available for inspection (r.303(3) and (4)). WorkSafe WA recommends keeping every version if the SWMS is revised. A SWMS can be kept electronically.
SWMS vs JSA vs risk assessment
These three documents are often mixed up. WorkSafe WA says a SWMS is generally different from documents that focus on specific tasks or processes, such as a job safety analysis or safe operating procedure.
| SWMS | JSA | Risk assessment | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | Statement of the HRCW, its hazards, controls and how controls are checked | Step by step breakdown of one task with hazards and controls per step | Process of working out how likely and how severe harm could be |
| Required by law? | Yes, before any HRCW (r.299) | No specific requirement | Mandatory for some activities (for example confined spaces); otherwise used when needed |
| Triggered by | Any of the 18 HRCW categories (19 in Victoria) | Company or site rules | Uncertainty about a hazard or its controls, or a regulation that requires one |
| Must go to the principal contractor? | Yes, on a construction project (r.301) | Only if the site asks | Only if the site asks |
| How long to keep | Until the HRCW is finished; 2 years after a notifiable incident (r.303) | Company policy | Company policy, unless a specific regulation says otherwise |
Common mistakes
These are the problems regulators and principal contractors most often find.
- Using a generic SWMS without reviewing it for the site. WorkSafe WA says a generic SWMS may not meet the regulations unless it is reviewed and amended for the workplace.
- Not ticking or naming the HRCW, so it is unclear what the SWMS covers.
- Falls over 2 m controlled only by training, signs or a harness. In Queensland, a SWMS that relies only on administrative controls or PPE for falls over 2 m must describe all the controls that were considered (r.299(4)).
- Using fall arrest with no rescue procedure. Regulation 80 requires emergency and rescue procedures, tested, whenever a fall arrest system is used.
- Leaving out how controls are implemented, monitored and reviewed.
- Making it so long that nobody reads it. WorkSafe WA says a SWMS should be short and focus on the specific hazards and controls.
- Not stopping work when the job no longer matches the SWMS.