Take 5 safety checklist
A Take 5 is the two-minute pre-task check used across Australian sites: stop, look, assess, control, proceed. It is industry practice rather than a legal form, and it works because it happens at the task, right before the work. It sits under your SWMS: the SWMS is the plan, the Take 5 is the check that today's conditions match it. Print a stack and keep them in the ute.
Take 5 safety checklist
Company: ____________
Site: ____________
Date: ____________
1. STOP and think
| What am I about to do? | N/A · Action | |
| Have I done this task before, and what went wrong last time? | N/A · Action | |
| Am I trained, licensed, and do I have the right gear for it? | N/A · Action |
2. LOOK for hazards
| Falls: edges, ladders, fragile surfaces, any risk of a fall (a risk of falling more than 2 m is high risk construction work needing a SWMS) | N/A · Action | |
| Services: power overhead or underground, gas, water | N/A · Action | |
| Plant and vehicles moving nearby | N/A · Action | |
| Ground conditions, weather, lighting | N/A · Action | |
| Other trades working above, below or beside me | N/A · Action |
3. ASSESS the risk
| What is the worst credible outcome? | N/A · Action | |
| How likely is it the way I plan to do it? | N/A · Action | |
| Does this need more than a Take 5 (a SWMS, a permit, the SWMS reviewed)? | N/A · Action |
4. CONTROL it
| Can I eliminate the hazard or do the task a safer way? | N/A · Action | |
| Isolation, barriers or exclusion zones in place | N/A · Action | |
| Right PPE on, last line of defence not the first | N/A · Action | |
| Told the people around me what I am doing | N/A · Action |
5. PROCEED (or stop)
| Controls in place: task can start | N/A · Action | |
| NOT safe to proceed: stop and raise it with the supervisor | N/A · Action | |
| New hazard appeared mid-task: stop and Take 5 again | N/A · Action |
Completed by: ____________________
Signature: ____________________
swmspack.com · Free printable checklist. Not legal advice; adapt to your site.
Common questions
▸Is a Take 5 legally required in Australia?
No law names the Take 5. It is an industry practice for meeting the duty to identify and manage risks at the task level. On many sites the principal contractor requires them as part of site rules, and your SWMS covers the high risk construction work in detail; the Take 5 is the quick check that today's conditions match the plan.
▸Does a Take 5 replace a SWMS?
No. A SWMS is required for high risk construction work and sets out the method, hazards, and controls in detail. The Take 5 is the two-minute pre-task check on top of it. If the Take 5 finds a hazard the SWMS does not cover, that is the signal to review the SWMS before starting.
If the Take 5 keeps finding hazards your SWMS does not cover, the SWMS needs reviewing. Regenerate a site-specific one in minutes.
A checklist confirms controls are in place; a SWMS is the document the law requires before high risk construction work starts. Generate a site-specific one for your trade.