SWMS and WHS help for tradies in Australia

Five Australian options for getting a Safe Work Method Statement together, from a $29.95 template to a consultant who writes your system. Real prices, and what each one leaves you to do.

A SWMS is a document you sign saying how a high risk job will be done and what you have put in place to stop someone getting hurt. It is required for the eighteen high risk construction activities, and a principal contractor will usually ask for it before you set foot on site.

Here is the part that decides which option below suits you. A template is a starting point, not a finished SWMS. The document has to describe the job you are actually doing, on that site, with the plant and people you actually have. A generic one you downloaded and signed without reading is worse than none, because you have now put your name to a description of work you are not doing.

So the real question is how much of that gap you want to close yourself. Everything below was read off each provider's own site in August 2026. Nobody paid to appear and there are no affiliate links.

OH Consultant

The deepest library here: more than 1,347 SWMS templates, signed off by qualified occupational hygiene professionals, as editable Word documents covering all eight states and territories.

You can preview a complete document free before buying, which is unusual and genuinely useful, because it lets you see how much of the writing is already done. Templates run $99 to $199, with electrical and plumbing at the top of that range and general construction and carpentry at $149.

Best for: a tradie who wants a thorough document and will edit it properly. swms.ohconsultant.com.au

Occupational Safety Solutions

Over 200 templates across more than 25 trades, sold individually from $49.95 to $69.95, with a basic template at $29.95. Industry packs bundle several at a discount, and there are larger bundles that pair an ISO 45001 style WHS management system with trade specific SWMS.

Fully editable in Word, and you buy once and use it across every job with no per-project or subscription fee. That pricing model is the difference between this and an app.

Best for: the cheapest legitimate way in, and anyone who wants to own the file outright. occupational-safety.com.au

SafetyCheck

Built by SafetyCheckCo, a platform rather than a document shop. More than 40 pre-filled SWMS templates, and you build the document in the app, then share it digitally with workers and the client and keep every project's paperwork in one place. Subscription pricing.

The sharing is the point. If you are constantly emailing a PDF to a site supervisor and then finding the signed copy again three months later, that is the problem this solves rather than the writing.

Best for: a crew running several sites who keep losing track of which version got signed. safetycheck.co

Safe-R Outcomes

Downloadable WHS documentation across more than 25 industry categories, covering both construction SWMS and safety manuals for trades that are not construction, which is a gap most SWMS shops do not fill.

They lean on step by step instructions rather than consulting, so it is a document you finish yourself. Enquiries go through a form or voicemail, there is no published email address.

Best for: non-construction trades who cannot find their industry in a standard SWMS pack.

Squire Safety Consultants

A consultant rather than a template library, based in Brisbane, working remotely Australia wide with on-site visits across South East Queensland.

They write the documents with you: SWMS, safe operating procedures, policies and registers, plus gap reviews of what you already have and help with tender and prequalification packs. That last one is worth flagging. If you have ever lost a job because you could not produce the safety documentation a head contractor's portal demanded, that is a specific and expensive problem, and it is not one a $49 template solves.

Best for: sole traders and small crews going after work that requires prequalification.

Where Yamate fits, and where it does not

Yamate includes SWMS and licence obligation drafting, free, as part of the app. It produces a draft for you to read, correct and sign. It is a drafting aid and nothing more. Yamate does not issue or lodge certificates, no regulator has reviewed or endorsed it, and the document is not compliant because software produced it. You are the one signing it, so you are the one who has to make it describe your job.

If your work is genuinely high risk or you are being prequalified, the consultant on this page is a better answer than any template, ours included.

FAQ

When does a tradie legally need a SWMS?

For the eighteen high risk construction work activities defined in the WHS Regulations, things like working at heights over two metres, near live electrical, in confined spaces, or around mobile plant. Principal contractors also commonly require one contractually even where the law does not.

Can I just reuse the same SWMS on every job?

Not honestly. The controls have to match the site and the task, so the document gets reviewed and adjusted each time. Reusing the shell is normal, signing an unchanged one for a different job is the problem.

What does a SWMS template cost in Australia?

From $29.95 for a basic template up to $199 for a detailed trade specific one, based on the published prices of the providers on this page in August 2026. A consultant is quoted per job.

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