Free SWMS template, filled in from your job

The ticks come from the same rules the Yamate app uses to draft a SWMS on a booked job, built from each state's high risk construction work list. Checked 24 October 2026.

What does a SWMS have to include?

SafeWork NSW sets out the minimum, and it's short. As a minimum the SWMS must

"identify the work that is high risk construction work"
"specify the hazards (e.g. working on a roof) and associated risks (e.g. a fall from the roof)"
"describe the measures to be implemented to control the risks (e.g. roof rails)"
"describe how the control measures are to be implemented, monitored and reviewed"
"be understood by all persons using the document."

Source: SafeWork NSW, Prepare a safe work method statement, read 24 October 2026.

That last line matters more than it looks. A SWMS your crew can't read on the day is a SWMS that doesn't work, and SafeWork SA says it the same way, the document has to be "expressed in a way that is readily accessible and understandable to the workers who use it". SafeWork SA also says it should name the date and location, the person responsible for the controls, and the workers consulted. The drafter above has a box for each of those.

Source: SafeWork SA, SWMS for high risk construction work, read 24 October 2026.

When do you need a SWMS?

Before the work starts, every time the job includes high risk construction work. The duty sits with the business doing the work, and that includes you if you're self employed. SafeWork SA puts it plainly, "PCBUs, including self-employed persons, must prepare a safe work method statement (SWMS) before commencing high risk construction work (HRCW)."

Source: SafeWork SA, SWMS for high risk construction work, read 24 October 2026.

The model WHS Regulations list 18 activities in regulation 291, and SafeWork SA publishes the same 18. Victoria runs its own law and lists 19, and two of them read differently.

Source: SafeWork SA, SWMS for high risk construction work, read 24 October 2026.

Source: WorkSafe Victoria, Learn about Safe Work Method Statements (SWMS), read 24 October 2026.

So a Victorian painter pulling down a non structural wall before a repaint needs a SWMS for the demolition, and the same painter doing the same job in Adelaide doesn't, unless something else on the list is in play. Pick your state in the drafter and the list changes to match.

Can I use a generic SWMS?

Yes, but only after you've made it fit the site, and the regulators word that more or less firmly. SafeWork NSW says "A generic SWMS may be prepared and used for high risk construction work activities that are carried out on a regular basis" and that it "must be reviewed and take into account site-specific hazards and risks."

Source: SafeWork NSW, Prepare a safe work method statement, read 24 October 2026.

SafeWork SA goes further, "A generic SWMS is not acceptable unless further work is done to make it 'site-specific'."

Source: SafeWork SA, SWMS for high risk construction work, read 24 October 2026.

That's the trap with a 40 page SWMS bought off a shelf. The builder flicks to the signature page, you sign, and nothing in it mentions the powerlines over this driveway or the skylights on this roof. A short SWMS written for the actual job beats a thick one written for every job.

Does a SWMS have to cover every hazard on the job?

No, and putting everything in can make it worse. SafeWork SA's own example is a roof job. The fall risk goes in the SWMS because it's high risk construction work. Sun exposure and manual handling still have to be managed, but "they don't need to be included in the SWMS because manual handling and sun exposure are not prescribed HRCW." And it warns, "If too much additional information is presented, the document may stop being effective in identifying and communicating how the HRCW risks will be controlled."

Source: SafeWork SA, SWMS for high risk construction work, read 24 October 2026.

This is why the drafter only ticks the listed activities. Your other hazards still need managing, they just don't belong in this document.

Who writes the SWMS, the builder or the subbie?

Usually the subbie, because they know the work best, and the builder checks it. SafeWork SA gives the example of a builder and a bricklaying subcontractor on a job that needs temporary propping. "The bricklaying contractor prepares the SWMS because they are most familiar with the activity, hazards, risks and potential controls; the builder then reviews the SWMS to make sure it is adequate before allowing the HRCW to commence."

Source: SafeWork SA, SWMS for high risk construction work, read 24 October 2026.

In NSW, where you're working for a principal contractor, "The SWMS must be developed in consultation with the PC." So send it to the builder before you start, not on the morning.

Source: SafeWork NSW, Prepare a safe work method statement, read 24 October 2026.

What happens if you don't have a SWMS?

You get fined for it on its own, on top of whatever else went wrong. In February 2025 a WorkSafe Victoria inspector saw two workers putting solar panels on the roof of a two storey house with no fall protection, at a height of 5.79 metres, and no SWMS. The electrical contractor, Advantage Electrical Group Pty Ltd, was sentenced in the Dandenong Magistrates' Court on 12 October 2026. It was fined "$40,000 for failing to reduce the risk associated with falls" and "$30,000 for failing to prepare a Safe Work Method Statement (SWMS)", plus $5,266 in costs.

Source: WorkSafe Victoria, Solar installer fined $70,000 for ignoring falls risk (15 October 2026), read 24 October 2026.

Nobody fell. The $30,000 was for the missing piece of paper, and the paper takes ten minutes. It gets bigger when it keeps happening. Proform Roofing (Vic) Pty Ltd was fined a total of $700,000 in February 2026, part of it for "failing to have a safe work method statement (SWMS) across three sites in Fraser Rise and Clyde North" and part for "failing to perform high risk construction work in line with a SWMS" at another site.

Source: WorkSafe Victoria, $700,000 in fines for string of working at height offences (20 February 2026), read 24 October 2026.

That second charge is the one people miss. Having a SWMS isn't enough, the work has to follow it. SafeWork NSW says if it isn't, "work must cease immediately or as soon as it is safe to do so".

Source: SafeWork NSW, Prepare a safe work method statement, read 24 October 2026.

How long do you keep a SWMS, and can it be on your phone?

Keep it until the work is finished, where the crew can get to it, and longer if someone gets hurt. If a notifiable incident happens on that work, Queensland's regulation 303 says "the person must keep the statement for at least 2 years after the incident occurs". Outside Queensland, check your regulator's rule for that case. WorkSafe Victoria says the duty holder "must retain a copy of the SWMS for the duration of the HRCW."

Source: Queensland legislation, Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011, section 303, read 25 October 2026.

Source: WorkSafe Victoria, Learn about Safe Work Method Statements (SWMS), read 24 October 2026.

A phone is fine. SafeWork NSW says "A SWMS can also be kept electronically, if it is readily available to workers."

Source: SafeWork NSW, Prepare a safe work method statement, read 24 October 2026.

Review it whenever the job changes. WorkSafe Victoria says to review it when "the HRCW changes" or "there is an indication that risks are not adequately controlled, for example after any incident involving HRCW."

Source: WorkSafe Victoria, Learn about Safe Work Method Statements (SWMS), read 24 October 2026.

Yamate sells software to tradies. The drafter on this page is free and asks for nothing. In the app it drafts a SWMS from each booked job's own words for you to read, change and sign.

Related

General information, not legal advice. The drafter makes a starting draft from the rules in each state's high risk construction work list. You review it against the site, consult your workers, and sign it. Check your state regulator for anything specific to your job.