Demolition WHS Documents in Queensland
Written to Queensland legislation · delivered in about 4 minutes · free revision within 24h
Demolitions working in Queensland need a core WHS document set built around a site-specific SWMS for each high risk activity, cited to the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld). In Queensland the regulator is Workplace Health and Safety Queensland, and the duty to prepare a SWMS before high risk construction work sits in WHS Regulation 2011 (Qld) reg 299. The documents are the same as any state; what must be correct here is the legislation each one cites.
The WHS documents a demolition needs in Queensland
- ✓ A site-specific SWMS for each high risk activity, cited to the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld) (WHS Regulation 2011 (Qld) reg 299)
- ✓ A SWMS register indexing every document, version and review date
- ✓ High risk work licences and demolition trade licences recognised in Queensland
- ✓ Safety Data Sheets for hazardous chemicals, and a chemical register
- ✓ Site induction record and daily sign-on / SWMS acknowledgement sheets
The SWMS a demolition usually needs
One SWMS per high risk construction work activity. The Trade SWMS Pack generates all of them, cited to Queensland law:
- ✓ Demolition of load-bearing structures
- ✓ Internal strip-out of non-structural elements
- ✓ Service isolation and disconnection before demolition
- ✓ Mechanical demolition with excavator
- ✓ Manual demolition above 2 m
- ✓ Temporary propping and structural support
- ✓ Debris handling, chutes and exclusion zones
- ✓ Work in areas that may contain asbestos (identification and stop-work triggers)
The Queensland law behind it
| Regulator | Workplace Health and Safety Queensland |
| Principal Act | Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld) |
| Regulations | Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld) |
| Duty to prepare a SWMS | WHS Regulation 2011 (Qld) reg 299 |
| High risk construction work defined in | WHS Regulation 2011 (Qld) reg 291 |
Electrical work in Queensland is regulated separately under the Electrical Safety Act 2002 (Qld) and Electrical Safety Regulation 2013, which sit alongside the WHS Regulation, so electrical SWMS on Queensland sites should account for both regimes.
Queensland was the first state to enact an industrial manslaughter offence (2017, s 34C WHS Act 2011 (Qld)) and recorded Australia's first conviction in 2020; the maximum penalty is 20 years imprisonment for an individual or a $10 million fine for a body corporate. That is the enforcement backdrop your WHS document set has to stand up to on a Queensland site.
The hazards these documents have to control
A demolition SWMS in Queensland is judged on whether it names and controls the hazards the trade actually meets:
- ⚠ Unplanned structural collapse
- ⚠ Asbestos-containing materials
- ⚠ Live services (electrical, gas)
- ⚠ Falling debris and exclusion zones
- ⚠ Powered mobile plant
- ⚠ Silica and dust
The high risk work that triggers a demolition's SWMS
- ✓ Demolition of a load-bearing structure
- ✓ Work likely to disturb asbestos
- ✓ Structural alterations or repairs requiring temporary support
- ✓ Work in an area with movement of powered mobile plant
Every SWMS a demolition needs in Queensland, in one go
The Trade SWMS Pack generates all 8 SWMS above from one questionnaire, cited to Queensland law, plus the register, toolbox talks and sign-on sheets, for A$179.
See the Trade SWMS PackKeep exploring
Demolition WHS documents (all states)Demolition SWMS for QLDSWMS requirements by stateTrade SWMS Pack
Demolition WHS documents in other states: