Scaffolder WHS Documents in Victoria
Written to Victoria legislation · delivered in about 4 minutes · free revision within 24h
Scaffolders 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 scaffolder 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 scaffolder 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 scaffolder usually needs
One SWMS per high risk construction work activity. The Trade SWMS Pack generates all of them, cited to Victoria law:
- ✓ Scaffold erection above 4 m (licensed work)
- ✓ Scaffold dismantling and component lowering
- ✓ Mobile and tower scaffold assembly
- ✓ Edge protection and guardrail installation
- ✓ Scaffold inspection and handover tagging
- ✓ Working near overhead electrical services
- ✓ Loading platform and hoist bay installation
- ✓ Swing stage and suspended scaffold work
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 scaffolder SWMS in Victoria is judged on whether it names and controls the hazards the trade actually meets:
- ⚠ Falls during erection and dismantling
- ⚠ Falling components
- ⚠ Scaffold collapse from overloading or poor foundations
- ⚠ Proximity to powerlines
- ⚠ Manual handling of components
The high risk work that triggers a scaffolder's SWMS
- ✓ Risk of a person falling more than 2 metres
- ✓ Work in an area with movement of powered mobile plant
Every SWMS a scaffolder 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 PackKeep exploring
Scaffolder WHS documents (all states)Scaffolder SWMS for VICSWMS requirements by stateTrade SWMS Pack
Scaffolder WHS documents in other states: