What WHS documents does a excavation / earthmoving need in Victoria?

Site-specific SWMS covering each high risk activity (required under OHS Regulations 2017 (Vic) reg 327; one SWMS can cover several activities), a SWMS register, high risk work and trade licences, Safety Data Sheets for hazardous chemicals, and induction and sign-on records. In Victoria the regulator is WorkSafe Victoria.

Which law requires a excavation / earthmoving's SWMS in Victoria?

OHS Regulations 2017 (Vic) reg 327, under the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 (Vic). High risk construction work is defined in OHS Regulations 2017 (Vic) reg 322 (high risk construction work). Victoria runs its own OHS scheme, so the citations differ from the harmonised states.

Excavation / Earthmoving WHS Documents in Victoria

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Excavation / earthmovings working in Victoria need a core WHS document set built around a site-specific SWMS for each high risk activity, cited to the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2017 (Vic). In Victoria the regulator is WorkSafe Victoria, and the duty to prepare a SWMS before high risk construction work sits in OHS Regulations 2017 (Vic) reg 327. The documents are the same as any state; what must be correct here is the legislation each one cites.

The WHS documents a excavation / earthmoving needs in Victoria

✓ A site-specific SWMS for each high risk activity, cited to the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2017 (Vic) (OHS Regulations 2017 (Vic) reg 327)
✓ A SWMS register indexing every document, version and review date
✓ High risk work licences and excavation / earthmoving trade licences recognised in Victoria
✓ Safety Data Sheets for hazardous chemicals, and a chemical register
✓ Site induction record and daily sign-on / SWMS acknowledgement sheets

The SWMS a excavation / earthmoving usually needs

One SWMS per high risk construction work activity. The Trade SWMS Pack generates all of them, cited to Victoria law:

✓ 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 Victoria law behind it

Regulator	WorkSafe Victoria
Principal Act	Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 (Vic)
Regulations	Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2017 (Vic)
Duty to prepare a SWMS	OHS Regulations 2017 (Vic) reg 327
High risk construction work defined in	OHS Regulations 2017 (Vic) reg 322 (high risk construction work)

Victoria runs its own OHS scheme rather than the harmonised model WHS laws, so a SWMS written for another state must be re-cited to the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2017 (Vic) before it is used here. This is the most common reason a reused document gets knocked back on a Victoria site.

Victoria never adopted the harmonised model WHS laws: it keeps its own OHS Act 2004 and OHS Regulations 2017, refers to the "employer" rather than the "PCBU", and sets its own high risk construction work list under reg 322, so an interstate SWMS must be rewritten for a Victorian site.

Victoria's workplace manslaughter offence has applied since 1 July 2020 under the OHS Act 2004 (Vic), carrying up to 25 years imprisonment for an individual and multi-million-dollar fines for a body corporate. That is the enforcement backdrop your WHS document set has to stand up to on a Victoria site.

The hazards these documents have to control

A excavation / earthmoving SWMS in Victoria is judged on whether it names and controls the hazards the trade actually meets:

⚠ Trench and excavation collapse
⚠ Underground service strikes
⚠ Overhead powerlines
⚠ Powered mobile plant near workers on foot
⚠ Traffic on adjacent roads
⚠ Water ingress

The high risk work that triggers a excavation / earthmoving's SWMS

✓ 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

Every SWMS a excavation / earthmoving needs in Victoria, in one go

The Trade SWMS Pack generates all 8 SWMS above from one questionnaire, cited to Victoria law, plus the register, toolbox talks and sign-on sheets, for A$179.

See the Trade SWMS Pack

Keep exploring

Excavation / Earthmoving WHS documents (all states)Excavation / Earthmoving SWMS for VIC SWMS requirements by state Trade SWMS Pack

Excavation / Earthmoving WHS documents in other states:

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