WHS Documents for Excavation Contractors
Site-specific, delivered in about 4 minutes · free revision within 24h if your builder asks for changes
Excavation contractors on an Australian construction site need a core WHS document set built around the SWMS: a site-specific Safe Work Method Statement for each high risk activity, a SWMS register, current licences, Safety Data Sheets, and induction and sign-on records. Which SWMS you need is driven by the high risk construction work an excavation contractor does: trench and excavation collapse, underground service strikes, overhead powerlines.
The core WHS documents an excavation contractor needs
- ✓ Site-specific SWMS covering each high risk activity (legally required under your state's WHS Regulations, provision 299)
- ✓ A SWMS register indexing every document, version and review date
- ✓ High risk work licences and excavation contractor trade licences
- ✓ Safety Data Sheets for hazardous chemicals, and a chemical register
- ✓ Site induction record and daily sign-on / SWMS acknowledgement sheets
The SWMS an excavation contractor usually needs
A SWMS must cover each of these high risk construction work activities before the work starts. The Trade SWMS Pack generates one for each, site-specific to your job:
- ✓ Trench excavation deeper than 1.5 m with shoring or benching
- ✓ Bulk excavation with excavator and truck movements
- ✓ Excavation near underground services (locate and pothole)
- ✓ Working near overhead powerlines
- ✓ Excavation adjacent to roads and traffic corridors
- ✓ Footing, pier and shaft excavation
- ✓ Backfilling and compaction with mobile plant
- ✓ Spotter and exclusion zone procedures around plant
The high risk construction work that triggers an excavation contractor's SWMS
A SWMS is legally required because excavation contractors routinely do this high risk construction work:
- ✓ Work in or near a shaft or trench deeper than 1.5 m, or a tunnel
- ✓ Work in an area with movement of powered mobile plant
- ✓ Work on, in or adjacent to a road, railway or other traffic corridor in use
- ✓ Work on or near energised electrical installations or services
See all 18 high risk construction work categories and how they map to your work.
Same documents, different state citations
An excavation contractor in NSW and one in Victoria need the same documents, but each SWMS must cite the right law: the harmonised WHS Regulations in seven jurisdictions, or the OHS Regulations 2017 in Victoria. See the full SWMS requirements by state, or open the excavation contractor WHS documents page for your state:
Excavation WHS documents NSWExcavation WHS documents VICExcavation WHS documents QLDExcavation WHS documents WAExcavation WHS documents SAExcavation WHS documents TASExcavation WHS documents ACTExcavation WHS documents NT
Common questions
▸What WHS documents does an excavation contractor need on site?
At minimum, site-specific SWMS covering every high risk activity you perform (one SWMS can cover several activities), a SWMS register, your high risk work and trade licences, Safety Data Sheets for any hazardous chemicals, and proof of induction. The SWMS is the legally required one and the one a principal contractor checks first.
▸How many SWMS does an excavation contractor need?
Every high risk construction work activity you do must be covered, which for excavation contractors is usually the 8 activities listed above. One SWMS can legally cover several activities, but most trades keep one per activity because that is how builders review them. The Trade SWMS Pack generates all of them from one questionnaire for A$179.
▸Do excavation contractors need different documents in different states?
The documents are the same; the legislation they cite differs. Seven jurisdictions use the harmonised WHS Regulations (provision 299 for the SWMS duty; NSW's WHS Regulation 2025 cites it as s 299); Victoria uses its OHS Regulations 2017. A SWMS should be re-cited and re-reviewed before it is used in another state.
Every SWMS an excavation contractor needs, in one go
The Trade SWMS Pack generates all 8 SWMS above from a single questionnaire, plus the register, toolbox talks and sign-on sheets, for A$179.
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