Working at Heights SWMS
Any work with a risk of falling more than 2 metres is high risk construction work, so a SWMS is required before it starts. Get a site-specific one, verified against your state's legislation, in about 4 minutes for A$39.
When a working at heights SWMS is required
The trigger is a risk of a person falling more than 2 metres. Falls are still one of the biggest killers on Australian construction sites, so the law treats height work as high risk construction work with no exception for a quick job. If any of the following are on your site, you need a SWMS before the work starts:
- ✓ Roof work of any kind above 2 metres, including repairs and inspections
- ✓ Work from scaffolds, trestles, and elevating work platforms (EWPs)
- ✓ Work near unprotected edges, voids, penetrations, and stair openings
- ✓ Work on fragile or brittle surfaces such as skylights and old roof sheeting
- ✓ Ladder work where a fall of more than 2 metres is possible
The controls a builder expects to see
A working at heights SWMS has to work down the hierarchy of controls, not jump straight to a harness. A reviewer checks that the highest practicable control is used, not the easiest:
- 1
Eliminate the fall
Do the work on the ground where you can: pre-assemble at ground level, use tools that reach from below, prefabricate off site.
- 2
Passive fall protection
Edge protection, guard rails, and covers over penetrations. These protect everyone without depending on the worker doing anything.
- 3
Work platforms
Scaffolds and EWPs before ladders. A stable platform beats a ladder for anything beyond short-duration, light work.
- 4
Fall-arrest systems
Harness, lanyard, and anchor as a last resort, rated and inspected, with a rescue plan for a suspended worker.
- 5
Protect people below
Exclusion zones, toe boards, and tool tethering so nothing falls onto the crew underneath.
What gets a heights SWMS knocked back
- • Leading with "workers will wear a harness" instead of eliminating or isolating the fall first
- • Ignoring the crew below: no exclusion zone, no toe boards, no tool tethering
- • Treating a fragile roof as if it will hold weight
- • No rescue plan for a worker left suspended in a harness
- • Generic controls that do not match the actual platform, roof, or edge on this site
Common questions
▸When is a working at heights SWMS required?
A SWMS is legally required before any work where a person could fall more than 2 metres, because that is one of the 18 high risk construction work categories (WHS Regulations reg 291; in Victoria, the OHS Regulations 2017). That covers roof work, work from scaffolds and elevating work platforms, work near unprotected edges and penetrations, and work on fragile surfaces. There is no exception for a quick job.
▸Is the trigger 2 metres in every state?
In the harmonised states and territories the high risk construction work trigger is a risk of falling more than 2 metres. The general duty to manage the risk of a fall applies to any fall that could cause injury, so short falls still need controls even when a SWMS is not strictly triggered. Always work to the height rules of your state regulator.
▸What controls does a heights SWMS need?
It has to work down the hierarchy of controls rather than jump to a harness: eliminate the fall by doing the work on the ground where possible, then passive protection like edge protection and covers, then work platforms such as scaffolds and EWPs, then fall-arrest systems as a last resort, plus protecting people below with exclusion zones and toe boards. A SWMS that leads with "workers will wear a harness" is the classic knock-back.
▸Do I need a high risk work licence to work at heights?
Not for working at heights itself, but related work often needs a licence: erecting or altering a scaffold from which a person could fall more than 4 metres is licensed scaffolding work, and operating certain plant such as boom-type EWPs with a boom length of 11 metres or more needs a high risk work licence. The SWMS should record the licences the work requires.
▸How do I get a working at heights SWMS fast?
Answer a short questionnaire about your trade, site, and the height work involved, and SWMS Pack generates a site-specific working at heights SWMS in about 4 minutes, checked against our library of current state WHS citations, for A$39.
Skip the blank template. Get the finished document.
Site-specific to your trade, roof, and platform, verified against your state's WHS or OHS law, delivered in about 4 minutes, free revision within 24 hours if the builder asks for changes.
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Free SWMS templateWorking at heights checklistWhat the law requires for heights workThe 18 HRCW activitiesDo I need a SWMS?