Free SWMS Templates

A Safe Work Method Statement is required before any high-risk construction work (HRCW) starts. The model WHS Regulations list 19 HRCW types, including work where there is a risk of falling more than 2 metres, work on or near energised electrical installations, demolition of load-bearing structures, trenches deeper than 1.5 metres, and work in confined spaces.

The person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU) carrying out the high-risk construction work must prepare the SWMS, in consultation with the workers doing the job. On larger projects the principal contractor must also obtain it before the work starts.

The regulations require the SWMS to be kept and available on site, and workers must be made aware of it before they start. In practice almost every principal contractor requires every worker to read and sign it, so that you can show who was briefed and when.

Yes, as a starting point. A template only becomes compliant once you review it and edit it to match the actual site, task, hazards and controls, then consult your workers on it. Treat the hazards and controls on this page as a checklist to adapt, not a finished document.

Under the model WHS Regulations the SWMS must be kept for the duration of the high-risk construction work. If a notifiable incident occurs during the work, it must be kept for at least 2 years after that incident.