SWMS: What Subcontractors Must Provide Before High Risk Work
If a subcontractor is going to do high risk construction work on your job, they need a safe work method statement (SWMS) before the work starts. If you are the principal contractor, you need a copy of it before then too.
This is a short guide for builders and principal contractors collecting SWMS from their subbies.
What a SWMS is
A SWMS is a document that sets out the high risk construction work to be done, the hazards and risks to health and safety, the measures that will control those risks, and how those measures will be put in place, monitored and reviewed (WorkSafe ACT).
It is not a general safety policy. It has to reflect the work on your site. A generic SWMS may not meet the requirements unless it has been reviewed and changed for the workplace it will be used on (same source).
When one is needed
Only for high risk construction work. The model WHS Regulations list the activities, and Safe Work Australia's SWMS information sheet sets them out. Common ones on a building site include:
- work where a person could fall more than 2 metres
- demolition of a load-bearing part of a structure
- work likely to disturb asbestos
- work in or near a trench or shaft deeper than 1.5 metres
- work in a confined space
- work on or near energised electrical installations
- work near traffic, or in an area with powered mobile plant moving around
- tilt-up or precast concrete work
Check the full list for your state or territory before deciding a job does not need one.
Who writes it, and when
The business doing the high risk construction work prepares it, before the work starts (WorkSafe ACT). That is usually the subcontractor, not you.
The work then has to be done the way the SWMS says. If it isn't, the work stops until it is, or until the SWMS is changed (WorkSafe Queensland).
What the principal contractor has to do
A construction project worth $250,000 or more has a principal contractor. The principal contractor must get a SWMS from each contractor doing high risk construction work before that work starts, and if there isn't one, arrange for one to be prepared. They should also check that it is being followed on site (WorkSafe ACT).
So "send us your SWMS" is not a courtesy. If you are the principal contractor, it is your duty to have it in hand first.
Keeping it
A SWMS must be kept and available for inspection until the high risk construction work is finished. If there is a notifiable incident during the work, it must be kept for at least two years from the incident. When a SWMS is revised, keep every version (WorkSafe ACT).
Reviewing it
A SWMS must be reviewed regularly, and reviewed and revised whenever the control measures change. A SWMS from the last job is not automatically right for this one: the site, the access and the people around it are different.
There is no set format
No regulator requires a particular template. WorkSafe ACT, Safe Work Australia and most industry associations publish one, and each lists the information a SWMS must include. What matters is the content, not the layout.
What to keep on file
For each subcontractor doing high risk construction work, keep:
- their SWMS for this job, and every revised version
- the date you received it, and that it arrived before the work started
- who reviewed it on your side, and when
- the date it was last reviewed
Keeping the record in WorkZerk
WorkZerk's Australian contractor pack includes an optional SWMS upload of up to five files. Set up a portal for the job and each subbie uploads their SWMS through their own link, so it stays with the job it was written for. A person on your side approves it, or sends it back with a reason and the subbie is asked for a new version. WorkZerk keeps the record; reviewing the SWMS and checking the work follows it stay with you. See the SWMS register.
Where to check
This is a summary, not the law. The rules are set by each state and territory, and the regulation numbers and wording differ between them. Read your own regulator's guidance, or contact the WHS regulator in your state or territory.