A SWMS is the one the law requires for high risk construction work. A Risk Assessment (you might know it as a JSA or JHA) and a Take 5 are tools for everyday risks. They’re useful, and builders often ask for them, but they don’t replace a SWMS when one is required.
| SWMS | Risk Assessment (JSA / JHA) | Take 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | Safe Work Method Statement | A task-by-task risk assessment, also called a Job Safety Analysis (JSA) or Job Hazard Analysis (JHA) | A quick personal pre-task check |
| Required by law? | Yes, for the 18 types of high risk construction work | Not by name. It’s how most businesses show they’ve managed the risks | Not by name. Often a site rule |
| When you use it | Before high risk construction work starts | Planning a task, often non-high-risk work | Right before you start a task, or when conditions change |
| Who does it | The business doing the work, consulting the crew | Supervisor and crew | Each worker |
| How detailed | Steps, hazards, controls, and how controls are checked | Steps, hazards and controls | Five quick questions |
| Give to the principal contractor? | Yes, before work starts | If they ask | Usually kept on site |
SWMS: the legal one
If the job includes high risk construction work (falls over 2 m, live electrical, mobile plant, trenches over 1.5 m, asbestos and so on), you need a SWMS before work starts. It sets out the work step by step, the hazards and the specific controls. Read our SWMS in Australia guide for the full list and what it must include.
Risk Assessment (JSA / JHA): the planning tool
A Risk Assessment, which some people call a JSA or JHA depending on where they learned the trade, breaks a task into steps and works out the hazards and controls for each. It’s a great way to plan lower-risk tasks that don’t need a SWMS, and many principal contractors ask for them. If the task is high risk construction work, though, a risk assessment alone won’t do.
Take 5: the last check before you start
A Take 5 is a quick personal check, usually five steps: stop, look, assess, control, then go. It catches what’s changed on the day, like weather, another trade turning up or a missing barrier. It works alongside your SWMS, not instead of it.
How they work together
A good system uses all three. The SWMS covers the high risk work. A Risk Assessment covers other tasks. A Take 5 or pre-start keeps everyone switched on each morning. The Projects One app does all three on your phone, plus toolbox talks.
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General information based on the model Work Health and Safety laws used across most of Australia. It isn’t legal advice. Victoria uses its own OHS laws with very similar SWMS rules, so check the detail for your state.