Solar Installer WHS Documents in Western Australia
Written to Western Australia legislation · delivered in about 4 minutes · free revision within 24h
A solar installer starting on a Western Australia site is asked for a set of documents, not just a SWMS. This page covers the whole set: what each document is, who asks for it and when, and what happens if you turn up without it. WorkSafe WA is the regulator here and the Work Health and Safety (General) Regulations 2022 (WA) is the law each document has to be written against.
The WHS documents a solar installer needs in Western Australia
- ✓ A site-specific SWMS for each high risk activity, cited to the Work Health and Safety (General) Regulations 2022 (WA) (WHS (General) Regulations 2022 (WA) reg 299)
- ✓ A SWMS register indexing every document, version and review date
- ✓ High risk work licences and solar installer trade licences recognised in Western Australia
- ✓ Safety Data Sheets for hazardous chemicals, and a chemical register
- ✓ Site induction record and daily sign-on / SWMS acknowledgement sheets
The SWMS a solar installer usually needs
One SWMS per high risk construction work activity. The Trade SWMS Pack generates all of them, cited to Western Australia law:
- ✓ Rooftop solar panel installation above 2 m
- ✓ Panel lifting and loading onto roofs
- ✓ DC wiring and string connection (energised work controls)
- ✓ Inverter and switchboard connection
- ✓ Battery energy storage system installation
- ✓ Fall protection setup: rails, static lines, harnesses
- ✓ EWP use for two-storey installations
- ✓ Working on fragile or brittle roof surfaces
The Western Australia law behind it
| Regulator | WorkSafe WA |
| Principal Act | Work Health and Safety Act 2020 (WA) |
| Regulations | Work Health and Safety (General) Regulations 2022 (WA) |
| Duty to prepare a SWMS | WHS (General) Regulations 2022 (WA) reg 299 |
| High risk construction work defined in | WHS (General) Regulations 2022 (WA) reg 291 |
WA was the last jurisdiction to adopt the harmonised model WHS laws (31 March 2022), so its construction case law is still developing; its WHS (General) Regulations 2022 sit alongside separate mining and petroleum safety regulations.
Industrial manslaughter has applied in Western Australia since the WHS Act 2020 (WA) commenced on 31 March 2022, replacing the former Occupational Safety and Health Act 1984, with penalties of up to 20 years imprisonment for an individual and a $10 million fine for a body corporate. That is the enforcement backdrop your WHS document set has to stand up to on a Western Australia site.
The hazards these documents have to control
A solar installer SWMS in Western Australia is judged on whether it names and controls the hazards the trade actually meets:
- ⚠ Falls from roofs
- ⚠ DC electrical shock from energised strings
- ⚠ Fragile roof surfaces
- ⚠ Manual handling of panels on ladders
- ⚠ Heat exposure
- ⚠ Battery storage hazards
The high risk work that triggers a solar installer's SWMS
- ✓ Risk of a person falling more than 2 metres
- ✓ Work on or near energised electrical installations or services
Every SWMS a solar installer needs in Western Australia, in one go
The Trade SWMS Pack generates all 8 SWMS above from one questionnaire, cited to Western Australia law, plus the register, toolbox talks and sign-on sheets, for A$179.
See the Trade SWMS PackKeep exploring
Solar Installer WHS documents (all states)Solar Installer SWMS for WASWMS requirements by stateTrade SWMS Pack
Solar Installer WHS documents in other states: