SWMS Requirements in Tasmania

Which laws cover SWMS in Tasmania?

Tasmania adopted the national model WHS laws through the Work Health and Safety Act 2012 (Tas). The regulations in force are the Work Health and Safety Regulations 2022 (Tas), and the regulator is WorkSafe Tasmania. The duty holder is the PCBU, the person conducting a business or undertaking. If you run a trade business in Tasmania, even as a sole trader subcontractor, you are a PCBU and the SWMS duties fall on you.

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

The 2022 regulations: same duties, new name

Tasmania remade its work health and safety regulations in 2022. The instrument in force is now the Work Health and Safety Regulations 2022 (Tas), which replaced the 2012 regulations. The SWMS provisions kept their harmonised numbers: high risk construction work is still defined in section 291, and the duty to prepare a SWMS still sits in section 299.

The catch is in the paperwork. A SWMS or template written before the remake usually cites the Work Health and Safety Regulations 2012 (Tas). The duties it describes have not moved, but a document naming superseded regulations tells a principal contractor or an inspector that nobody has reviewed it recently, and it invites a closer look at everything else in it. Updating the legislative references is a quick fix, and worth doing before the document goes to site.

Tasmania's construction sector leans heavily on small operators and sole traders. The PCBU duty does not shrink with the size of the business: a sole trader doing high risk construction work needs a SWMS just as a large builder does, and under section 301 the principal contractor must take all reasonable steps to obtain a copy before that work starts. A short, specific SWMS your crew actually reads is worth more than a long one nobody opens.

The 18 high risk construction work activities (s.291)

Section 291 of the Tasmanian 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 (s.299)

Section 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.

Section 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 (s.300 to s.303)

The SWMS duty does not end once the document is written. Sections 300 to 303 of the Tasmanian 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.

WorkSafe Tasmania 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 Tasmanian jobs

You can write a SWMS from scratch, but it has to meet every s.299 requirement, apply the hierarchy of control, and cite the Tasmanian legislation actually in force. Many Tasmanian 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 Tasmanian site and show an inspector exactly which regulation each section answers to.

Tasmania 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