What a SWMS has to do
A safe work method statement (SWMS) is required before high risk construction work starts. Whatever template you use, the finished document has to do four things: identify the work that is high risk construction work, list the hazards and risks, describe the control measures, and explain how those controls will be put in place, monitored and reviewed.
SafeWork NSW also says the SWMS must be understood by everyone who uses it. A long, wordy document that nobody on site reads doesn't meet that test.
The fields a SWMS template needs
Safe Work Australia's sample template is a good baseline. Most state templates follow a similar layout.
| Section | What goes in it |
|---|---|
| Business details | Your business name and contact details, the principal contractor's name and contact details (if there is one), the works manager and their phone number |
| Job details | A short description of the work activity, the workplace address, and the date the SWMS was given to the principal contractor |
| High risk construction work checklist | Tick boxes for each type of high risk construction work involved, such as a fall risk over 2 metres, trenches deeper than 1.5 metres or work near energised electrical services |
| Task table | Three columns: the job steps in order, the hazards and risks for each step, and the control measures |
| Monitoring and review | Who makes sure the SWMS is followed, how that will be checked, who reviews the controls, how and when |
| Worker sign-off | Names, signatures and the date each worker received the SWMS |
How to fill each section
Describe the actual job
Write the job description and location for this site, not a generic trade description. "Replace roof sheeting on a two-storey house, 14 Smith St" tells the crew far more than "roofing".
Tick every high risk category that applies
One job often triggers several categories. Roof work near overhead powerlines with an EWP in a shared driveway can involve falls, energised electrical services and powered mobile plant.
Break the work into steps
List the steps in the order they happen: set up, access, the main task, clean-up and pack down. Hazards often sit in the set-up and pack-down steps that people skip.
Match hazards to each step
For each step, write what could go wrong and how someone could be hurt. Consider site conditions too: access, nearby structures and powerlines, ground conditions and other trades working nearby.
Write controls people can check
"Edge protection installed on all open edges before roof access" is checkable. "Take care near edges" isn't. Start with the most effective control, following the hierarchy of controls.
Say who monitors and reviews
Name the person responsible and how they'll check the controls are working, for example a daily walk-around by the leading hand.
Australia / JSA & SWMS drafts
Talk it through instead of filling boxes from scratch.
Explain the job out loud and SOPmate drafts an editable SWMS you can check and adapt with your crew.
iPhone and iPad. Not on iPhone? Email support@sopmate.ai to hear about Android.
Free official SWMS templates
| Source | What's available |
|---|---|
| Safe Work Australia | Information sheet with a sample SWMS template, available as PDF and Word |
| WorkSafe WA | Information sheet plus a separate high risk construction work SWMS template in Word |
| WorkSafe Victoria | A SWMS template (PDF) with sample text that can be filled in online or printed |
| SafeWork NSW | A SWMS template in the housing industry site safety pack (Template 5) and a sample formwork SWMS |
| WorkSafe Queensland | No standalone template on its SWMS page. It points to Safe Work Australia's interactive SWMS tool and a template in its house relocation guide |
| WorkSafe ACT | SWMS template (Word and PDF), a sample formwork SWMS and a guidance note |
| NT WorkSafe | SWMS template in Word and PDF |
For differences between the states, see SWMS rules by state.
Why a generic template must be adapted
A downloaded or bought SWMS can be a starting point, but it has to be adapted to the site. WorkSafe Victoria says a generic or AI-generated SWMS is only acceptable if the duty holder reviews it for the site, adds every relevant high risk activity and risk, and removes anything that doesn't apply.
- Site conditions change the controls. A trench in sandy soil next to a road needs different controls from one in clay on an empty block.
- Inspectors look for a SWMS that matches the work they can see. A document listing hazards that aren't there, and missing ones that are, suggests nobody thought about the job.
- If it doesn't match what's happening, the crew can't follow it, and work that doesn't follow the SWMS has to stop.
Fines and penalties
Having no SWMS, or not following it, is an offence in its own right. Nobody has to be hurt.
| What goes wrong | What you can face |
|---|---|
| No SWMS before high risk construction work starts | Under the model WHS Regulations (regulation 299), up to $6,000 for an individual and $30,000 for a company. In 2024 a WA company was fined $30,000 under regulation 299 on top of other charges. |
| Work not done the way the SWMS says | A separate offence under regulation 300, with the same model maximums. Work must stop until it can be done in line with the SWMS. |
| Smaller failures, such as not keeping a copy on site | On-the-spot fines in several states, issued by an inspector without going to court. |
| An inspector sees high risk work with no usable SWMS | An improvement or prohibition notice. Ignoring a prohibition notice carries 2026-27 maximums of $100,000 for an individual and $500,000 for a company in Queensland, SA, Tasmania and the NT, and more elsewhere. |
| Someone is seriously hurt or killed | A missing or ignored SWMS is strong evidence of a failure to manage risk. Category 1 offences carry fines of millions of dollars and possible jail, and industrial manslaughter applies in every jurisdiction. |
NSW and Queensland set penalties in penalty units, and most jurisdictions index their figures each financial year. Check your regulator for the current amounts.