SWMS Template QLD
Updated 6 October 2026
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Queensland requires a SWMS before any of the 18 types of high risk construction work in s 291 of the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld). Section 299 sets what it must contain, and ss 300 to 303 cover following it, giving the principal contractor a copy, reviewing it and keeping it. Queensland adds its own falls rule in s 299(4).
What a Queensland SWMS must contain (s 299)
- ✓ Identify the work that is high risk construction work
- ✓ State the hazards of that work and the risks to health and safety from those hazards
- ✓ Describe the measures to be implemented to control the risks
- ✓ Describe how those control measures will be implemented, monitored and reviewed
- ✓ Take into account the circumstances at the workplace that may affect how the work is done, and the WHS management plan if the work is part of a construction project
- ✓ Be set out in a way that is readily accessible and understandable to the people who use it
The Queensland falls rule: s 299(4)
This is the part the national template and most downloadable SWMS miss. In Queensland, if your SWMS covers work with a risk of a person falling more than 2 m and the only controls are administrative controls or the provision of PPE, the SWMS must also describe every control measure you considered in deciding, and address the general fall protection order in s 79(3).
That order is: a fall prevention device if it is reasonably practicable; if not, a work positioning system; if neither is reasonably practicable, a fall arrest system. A Queensland falls SWMS that relies only on administrative controls or PPE, without showing why a fall prevention device, a work positioning system or a fall arrest system was not reasonably practicable, does not meet s 299(4). Check any template or generated SWMS for this list before the work starts.
| Order under s 79(3) | What it is | What to write if you did not use it |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Fall prevention device | Prevents the fall, for example edge protection or a fall protection cover over an opening (examples from s 306D) | Why it was not reasonably practicable on this job |
| 2. Work positioning system | Positions or holds the worker so they can do the work safely | Why it was not reasonably practicable |
| 3. Fall arrest system | Arrests the fall, for example a fall arresting platform, a fall-arrest harness system or an industrial safety net (examples from s 306D) | How the fall will be arrested and the worker rescued |
Housing construction: 3 m, not 2 m, for the prescribed fall controls
Queensland has its own fall-protection rules for construction work in ss 306C and 306D. For housing construction work (a detached house or attached dwelling and its private garage) the line is 3 m; for other construction work it is 2 m; and work on a roof with a slope over 26 degrees is treated as the higher-risk case. At or above the line, s 306D requires controls that prevent a person falling any distance, such as edge protection, a cover over an opening or a travel restraint system, and only if prevention is not practicable, controls that arrest the fall. Falls from ladders, trestle platforms and scaffolding being erected or dismantled are dealt with separately.
These thresholds set the fall controls. They do not change when a SWMS is needed: any work with a risk of a person falling more than 2 m is still high risk construction work under s 291, housing or not.
Principal contractor projects (s 292 and s 312)
A construction project in Queensland is one where the cost of the construction work is $250,000 or more (s 292). On those projects the principal contractor must take all reasonable steps to obtain a copy of your SWMS before the high risk construction work starts (s 312), and its WHS management plan must set out how SWMS are collected, assessed, monitored and reviewed (s 309). In practice that means no SWMS, no start.
Reviewing and keeping it (ss 302 and 303)
- ✓ Review the SWMS, and revise it as necessary, whenever the relevant control measures are revised (s 302, which ties to s 38)
- ✓ Keep a copy until the high risk construction work it covers is completed (s 303)
- ✓ If a notifiable incident happens in connection with the work, keep it for at least 2 years after the incident (s 303)
- ✓ While it must be kept, a copy must be readily accessible to every worker doing the work (s 303)
Common questions
▸Is a SWMS required in Queensland?
Yes, before any high risk construction work starts (s 299 of the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld)). The 18 categories are in s 291 and include a risk of a person falling more than 2 m and a trench or shaft deeper than 1.5 m.
▸Does a Queensland SWMS have to be signed?
Section 299 does not list signatures among the required contents. Most builders and principal contractors still ask for a worker sign-on, and it is the simplest way to show the crew was taken through it.
▸Is the falls rule different in Queensland?
Yes, in two ways. Section 299(4) requires a falls SWMS that relies only on administrative controls or PPE to list every control considered against the s 79(3) order. And the prescribed fall controls in ss 306C and 306D use 3 m for housing construction work instead of 2 m.
▸How long do I keep a SWMS in Queensland?
Until the high risk construction work is completed, and for at least 2 years after a notifiable incident connected with the work (s 303).
▸Does electrical work need anything extra in Queensland?
Work on or near energised electrical installations is high risk construction work, so it needs a SWMS. Queensland electrical work is also regulated under the Electrical Safety Act 2002 (Qld), so check that law and your licence conditions as well.
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Official sources
Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld), current reprintWorkSafe Queensland: Safe work method statements
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