Free SWMS pre-start checklist

Current at 28 September 2026 · Free to use, print and share — no email required.

Run this three-part check before any construction job. Part 1 tells you whether you need a SWMS at all, Part 2 checks the document itself (the things principal contractors actually reject SWMS for), Part 3 is the on-the-day check. Print it and keep it on the clipboard — the whole page is print-formatted.

Download the one-page PDF or print this page — no email required either way.

Part 1 — Do you need a SWMS for this job?

A SWMS is required if the construction work hits any high risk construction work (HRCW) category. The common electrical triggers:

• Work on or near energised electrical installations or services (this alone triggers a SWMS)
• Risk of a person falling more than 2 m — roofs, ladders, EWPs, mezzanines (SA: 2 m applies from 1 July 2026 — details)
• Work in or near a confined space — and check ceiling spaces against the definition
• A shaft or trench deeper than 1.5 m, or a tunnel
• Likely disturbance of asbestos (old switchboards, meter panels, eaves)
• Work near powered mobile plant, or on/next to a road or railway in use
• Work near pressurised gas mains or chemical, fuel or refrigerant lines
• Demolition of a load-bearing element / structural work needing temporary support
• Checked the full 18-category model-law list (or the 19-category Victorian list) for anything else

No category hit? No SWMS required — your general risk-management duties still apply. Any category hit? Continue to Part 2.

Part 2 — Is the SWMS document right?

• Correct state version — Victorian job on a Victorian-law SWMS (employer/HSR wording, 19 categories), not a model-law template with the header swapped
• Site-specific — this job's address, this job's hazards; no leftover hazards from another job (the #1 rejection reason)
• Header complete: company, ABN, licence no., principal contractor, works supervisor + phone, workplace address, date provided to PC
• Every applicable HRCW category ticked on the checklist — and none that don't apply
• Each task linked to its own hazards and controls — not hazards grouped in a lump (a known audit failure)
• Controls follow the hierarchy of control — elimination, substitution, engineering before admin controls and PPE
• A named responsible person against each control
• Consultation recorded — workers (and in VIC, HSRs) consulted, and the record filled in, not blank
• Worker sign-off table completed before work starts
• Review section filled in: who reviews, what triggers a review, review date
• No padding: no legislation extracts, no risk matrices — regulators say they don't belong in a SWMS
• Document is dated / version-numbered, and superseded versions are kept

Part 3 — On the day

• SWMS on site and readable where the work is being done
• Copy given to the principal contractor before starting (construction projects)
• Pre-start / toolbox talk done and the crew signed on today
• Everyone doing the work has read and understood the controls — including new starters and subbies
• Controls are actually in place as written (isolation applied, barriers up, spotter present…)
• Anything changed? New hazard, different method, different site conditions, an incident → stop, review and revise the SWMS before continuing

Reminder: work must be carried out in accordance with the SWMS. If it isn't, the law says stop until the work matches the SWMS or the SWMS is revised to match reality.