SWMS Requirements in the Northern Territory

Which laws cover SWMS in the Northern Territory?

The Northern Territory adopted the national model WHS laws through the Work Health and Safety (National Uniform Legislation) Act 2011 (NT) and the Work Health and Safety (National Uniform Legislation) Regulations 2011 (NT). The regulator is NT WorkSafe, and the duty holder is the PCBU, the person conducting a business or undertaking. If you run a trade business in the Territory, even as a sole trader subcontractor, you are a PCBU and the SWMS duties fall on you.

The SWMS rules sit in Part 6.4 of the NT regulations. Reg 299 requires a safe work method statement to be prepared before any high risk construction work (HRCW) starts, and Reg 291 defines the 18 activities that count as HRCW. Because the NT uses the harmonised provision numbers, a SWMS written to the model WHS requirements lines up directly with NT law, and with NSW, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and the ACT as well.

Territory specifics: the legislation name and the heat

The Northern Territory adopted the national model laws under longer titles, with National Uniform Legislation in the name of both the Act and the Regulations. The duties are the harmonised model, but a SWMS that cites a generic WHS Act 2011, or another jurisdiction's legislation, is not citing NT law precisely. Use the full NT titles in your legislative references.

Heat is the NT hazard most often missing from a SWMS written for a southern climate. Natural heat on its own does not make work high risk construction work: the Reg 291 trigger is work in an area with artificial extremes of temperature, such as refrigerated areas or work near furnaces. But when a job is HRCW for another reason, such as a fall risk over 2 metres or work near energised electrical installations, Reg 299(3) requires the SWMS to take into account the circumstances at the workplace.

On outdoor work in the build-up or the wet, those circumstances include the heat. Controls for heat stress, hydration and work and rest cycles belong in the SWMS itself rather than being assumed, because the SWMS is the document your crew and the principal contractor rely on for how the high risk work will be done safely.

The 18 high risk construction work activities (Reg 291)

Reg 291 of the NT regulations lists 18 activities that make construction work high risk. If your job involves any one of them, a SWMS is mandatory before work starts. The list covers work that involves:

• A risk of a person falling more than 2 metres
• Work on a telecommunication tower
• Demolition of a load-bearing or structural element
• Disturbance of asbestos
• Structural alterations or repairs requiring temporary support
• Work in or near a confined space
• A shaft or trench deeper than 1.5 metres, or a tunnel
• Use of explosives
• Work on or near pressurised gas mains or piping
• Work on or near chemical, fuel or refrigerant lines
• Work on or near energised electrical installations or services
• Work in an area with a contaminated or flammable atmosphere
• Tilt-up or precast concrete work
• Work on, in or adjacent to a road, railway or shipping lane
• Work in an area with movement of powered mobile plant
• Work in an area with artificial extremes of temperature
• Work in or near water where there is a risk of drowning
• Diving work

What your SWMS must contain (Reg 299)

Reg 299(2) sets four mandatory content requirements. Every SWMS must identify the work that is high risk construction work, specify the hazards relating to that work and the risks they create, describe the measures to be implemented to control those risks, and describe how the control measures will be implemented, monitored and reviewed.

Reg 299(3) adds context requirements: the SWMS must take into account the circumstances at the workplace, such as adjacent activities and site conditions, and where the work is part of a construction project it must be consistent with the principal contractor's WHS management plan. It must also be readily accessible and understandable to the workers who use it. A generic document that no one on site can follow does not meet the test.

Keeping, following and reviewing a SWMS (Reg 300 to Reg 303)

The SWMS duty does not end once the document is written. Reg 300 to Reg 303 of the NT regulations cover what happens on site: work must actually be carried out in accordance with the SWMS, and if it is not, work must stop until the SWMS is followed or revised. The principal contractor must take all reasonable steps to obtain a copy before HRCW starts, the SWMS must be reviewed and revised whenever it stops being effective or the work changes, and it must be kept and available for inspection while the work is carried out.

NT WorkSafe inspectors can ask to see your SWMS on site. Each of these duties carries a penalty under the regulations, and an inspector who finds a breach can issue an improvement notice, or a prohibition notice where there is a serious risk.

Getting a compliant SWMS for NT jobs

You can write a SWMS from scratch, but it has to meet every Reg 299 requirement, apply the hierarchy of control, and reflect Territory conditions, heat included. Many Territory tradies start from a professionally prepared template and adapt it to the site, which is how the regulations expect a SWMS to be used, since it must account for the actual circumstances at the workplace.

GSR sells 753 editable Word safety documents across 22 trades and 7 document types, including SWMS from $67.95 and JSAs from $16.95. Every document cites the relevant WHS provisions and AS/NZS standards, so you can adapt it to your NT site and show an inspector exactly which regulation each section answers to.

Northern Territory at a glance

Related guides

• What Is a SWMS? Safe Work Method Statements Explained
• High Risk Construction Work: The Full List of 18 HRCW Activities
• Do I Need a SWMS for Working at Heights?
• SWMS Legal Requirements: Sections 299 to 303 Explained