Guide

What is a SWMS, and when do you need one?

A safe work method statement (SWMS) sets out how high risk construction work will be done safely. If your work is on the list, you need one before you start, and the crew need to follow it.

Updated 23 October 2026 · General information, not safety or legal advice. Check your state or territory regulator and your own safety system.

When a SWMS is needed

Under the model work health and safety laws, a SWMS is required for high risk construction work. Safe Work Australia keeps the list of what counts. It includes, among others, work where a person could fall more than 2 metres, work on a telecommunication tower, work involving tilt-up or precast concrete, work in or near a confined space, work involving explosives, and work on or near energised electrical installations or services.

Safe Work Australia notes that in some jurisdictions the fall height is 3 metres rather than 2. Check the full list, and your own state or territory regulator, for the work you do.

A SWMS is not needed for every job, and it is not a general safety plan. It is for the high risk construction work itself.

What a SWMS must do

Safe Work Australia's information sheet says a SWMS must:

Identify the work that is high risk construction work.
Specify the hazards relating to that work and the risks to health and safety.
Describe the measures to be implemented to control the risks.
Describe how the control measures are to be implemented, monitored and reviewed.

The construction Code of Practice adds that the controls must be specific. "Use appropriate PPE" is not a control measure; say which PPE, for which task, and why.

Who prepares it, and when

The business doing the high risk construction work prepares the SWMS, in consultation with the workers who will do the work, before the work starts. On a construction project, the principal contractor will usually ask to see it before you go on site.

A generic SWMS for work you do often is fine as a starting point, but the Code of Practice says it may not meet the law until it has been reviewed for the hazards at the particular site and changed where needed.

Following it on site

A SWMS in the ute is not a SWMS on site. Go through it with the crew before work starts, have each worker sign on, and keep it where the work is being done.

If the work is not being done the way the SWMS says, WorkSafe Queensland and SafeWork NSW both say it must stop immediately, or as soon as it is safe to do so, and not start again until it can be done in line with the SWMS. SafeWork NSW also says to review the SWMS when the work process, the site, the controls change, or new hazards turn up.

Safe Work Australia says the SWMS must be kept and available to the workers and for inspection until the high risk construction work is finished.

A SWMS checklist

Before work starts

Your business name and the site address
The principal contractor, if it is a construction project
Which high risk construction work it covers
Each step of the job, its hazards, the risk, and the specific controls
Who checks the controls, and when
PPE, permits, plant and tickets needed
Emergency arrangements for this site
The workers consulted, and each worker signing on
The date prepared and when it was last reviewed

Safe Work Australia's interactive SWMS tool walks through building one, and our free SWMS template lays out the same parts to print or adapt.

SWMS on the phone

In Crewzy a SWMS is one of the ready-made forms. Attach it to a job and the crew fill it in on site from their phone, with hazards and controls, photos and each worker's signature, even with no signal. You can make it required, so the job cannot be finished until it is done, and the finished form is saved to the job as a PDF. The ready-made forms are starting points, not legal documents: check them against your state's rules and your own safety system. See Set up your forms.

Common questions

Do I need a SWMS for every job?

No. A SWMS is required for high risk construction work, such as work where someone could fall more than 2 metres (3 metres in some states) or work near energised electrical installations. Check Safe Work Australia's list and your state regulator.

What happens if the crew are not following the SWMS?

WorkSafe Queensland and SafeWork NSW say the work must stop immediately, or as soon as it is safe, and not resume until it can be done in line with the SWMS. Review the SWMS if it needs to change.

Sources

Official pages this guide relies on, read on 23 October 2026. Rules change; check them before you rely on anything here.

Forms and safety in Crewzy