In NSW, if your business does high risk construction work, you need a site-specific Safe Work Method Statement (SWMS) before the work starts. NSW follows the national model WHS laws, now under the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025. Here’s what NSW tradies need to know, in plain English, based on SafeWork NSW’s own guidance.
SWMS in NSW at a glance
- Law: Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW) and the WHS Regulation 2025, which replaced the 2017 Regulation. If your SWMS template still mentions the 2017 Regulation, update the reference next time you review it.
- Regulator: SafeWork NSW
- Workers’ compensation: icare
- Who needs a SWMS: any person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU) doing high risk construction work, including sole traders
- High risk construction work: the same 18 types as the rest of the WHS states. See the full list in our SWMS in Australia guide
SafeWork NSW: a SWMS must be site-specific
SafeWork NSW is clear that a SWMS must be site-specific and available to workers, supervisors and anyone else at the workplace. It calls a SWMS “a simple safe system planning and implementation tool”, not a paperwork exercise. When you write or review one, SafeWork NSW says to consider:
- site access and exit
- how close you are to other structures or powerlines
- ground conditions
- other trades or activities happening at the same time
- access to safety equipment
What a NSW SWMS must include
As a minimum, SafeWork NSW says your SWMS must:
- identify the high risk construction work, for example a risk of falling more than 2 metres
- specify the hazards (working on a roof) and the risks (a fall from the roof)
- describe the controls (roof rails)
- describe how the controls will be put in place, checked and reviewed
- be understood by everyone using it
That fourth point is where most SWMS fall short. SafeWork NSW’s roof example spells out what “implemented, monitored and reviewed” means in real life: who arranges the roof rails, who checks they’re installed properly, the job sequence, safe roof access, inductions and supervision, checking the rails during the job, and adding new controls if the work moves, such as skylight covers when you reach a section with skylights.
Keep it to the high risk work. SafeWork NSW says you don’t need to include activities that aren’t high risk construction work.
Generic SWMS, and one SWMS or several?
- Generic SWMS: allowed for work you do regularly, but it must be reviewed to take in the site-specific hazards and risks before you use it.
- One or several: one SWMS can cover several high risk activities, or you can do one per activity. If you split them, think about how the activities affect each other. SafeWork NSW’s example is the fall risk while removing asbestos roof sheeting.
On site: making the SWMS work
- Have the controls in place before the activity starts.
- Explain the hazards, risks and controls to your workers.
- If the work isn’t being done the way the SWMS says, stop immediately or as soon as it’s safe.
- Review the SWMS when things change, and keep it available on site.
- If you’re a subbie, work with the principal contractor and other trades. Every business involved must consult, cooperate and coordinate.
Three ways to get your SWMS sorted
- Do it yourself in the Projects One app: step by step on your phone, site-specific, signed on site. See the SWMS app.
- We write it for you: a SWMS for your actual job and site. SWMS done for you.
- Prefer paper? We’ll prepare it and send it ready to sign. Paper safety documents.
Talk to a real person
We help tradies right around Australia, including NSW. We talk tradie, not acronyms. Call us and we’ll tell you what your business actually needs.
NSW SWMS FAQs
Does SafeWork NSW have a SWMS template?
Yes. SafeWork NSW links to a high risk construction work method statement template and a demolition SWMS example on its SWMS page, along with the Construction Work Code of Practice. Like any template, it must be made site-specific.
Did the SWMS rules change with the 2025 Regulation?
The core SWMS duties are the same: prepare it before high risk work, follow it, review it and keep it available. Update any references in your templates from the 2017 Regulation to the 2025 Regulation.
Can the principal contractor’s SWMS cover my work?
A SWMS can be prepared by another business, but you must make sure one is in place for your high risk work, and you must consult and coordinate with the other businesses on site.
Is a SWMS the same as a Risk Assessment (JSA) or a Take 5?
No. A SWMS is required by law for high risk construction work. A Risk Assessment (some people call it a JSA or JHA) or a Take 5 is useful, but it doesn’t replace a SWMS. See SWMS vs Risk Assessment vs Take 5.
General information based on SafeWork NSW’s Prepare safe work method statement guidance and the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (NSW). It isn’t legal advice. For your situation, call us or SafeWork NSW.