SWMS Requirements in Victoria: OHS Act 2004 and Regulation 327

Victoria runs its own OHS laws, not the national WHS scheme

Victoria is the only Australian state that never adopted the harmonised Work Health and Safety laws. While NSW, Queensland, SA, Tasmania, WA and both territories operate under versions of the model WHS Act and Regulations, workplace safety in Victoria is governed by the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 (Vic) and the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2017 (Vic). The regulator is WorkSafe Victoria, not SafeWork or a WHS-branded agency.

The differences are more than cosmetic. In Victoria the primary duty holder is the employer, not the PCBU. The SWMS duty sits at Regulation 327 of the OHS Regulations 2017 (Vic), not section 299 of the WHS Regulations. High risk construction work is defined at Regulation 322, not section 291. A SWMS that cites WHS Regulation s.299 is citing legislation that has no legal effect on a Victorian site, and an inspector or principal contractor reviewing your paperwork will pick that up quickly.

When you need a SWMS in Victoria: Regulation 322 and the 19 classes

Regulation 327 of the OHS Regulations 2017 (Vic) requires a SWMS to be prepared before any high risk construction work starts. Regulation 322 defines high risk construction work, and Victoria lists 19 classes, one more than the 18 activities in the model WHS Regulations. The concept is the same as everywhere else in Australia: if your construction work falls within a listed class, you must have a SWMS in place before work begins.

The Victorian classes cover the categories tradies will recognise from interstate work, including:

• Work where a person could fall more than 2 metres
• Demolition of load-bearing or structural elements
• Work involving the disturbance or likely disturbance of asbestos
• Structural alterations that need temporary support to prevent collapse
• Work in or near a confined space
• Work in or near a trench or shaft deeper than 1.5 metres, or a tunnel
• Work on or near energised electrical installations or services
• Work on or near pressurised gas distribution mains or piping
• Tilt-up or precast concrete work
• Work on or adjacent to roads or rail corridors in use by traffic
• Work in areas with movement of powered mobile plant
• Work in or near water where there is a risk of drowning

What a Victorian SWMS must contain

A Victorian SWMS needs the same core content as a SWMS prepared anywhere else in Australia. Under the model WHS Regulations (s.299(2)), a SWMS must identify the work that is high risk construction work, specify the hazards relating to that work and the risks to health and safety, describe the measures to be implemented to control the risks, and describe how those control measures will be implemented, monitored and reviewed. Regulation 327 is Victoria's equivalent SWMS provision, so build your document around those same four elements. Whatever the framework, the document must be site-specific: a generic statement that ignores the actual conditions on your job will not stand up to review.

The model WHS Regulations also impose a separate duty (s.300) to ensure the high risk construction work is performed in accordance with the SWMS: if work departs from the document, it must stop and resume only in accordance with the SWMS, or the SWMS must be reviewed and revised to reflect how the work is actually being done. Treat a Victorian job the same way in practice. The SWMS is a live document, not a signed-and-forgotten form, and it should be revised whenever the work, the site conditions or the control measures change.

Content-wise, a Victorian SWMS looks much like one prepared under the model WHS Regulations: identify the high risk work, work through the hazards, apply the hierarchy of control, and set out monitoring and review arrangements. What changes is the legal framework it cites. Every legislative reference should point to the OHS Act 2004 (Vic) and the OHS Regulations 2017 (Vic).

Victoria vs the harmonised states at a glance

If you or your crew work across the border, this table shows what changes when a job is in Victoria compared with a harmonised state such as NSW or Queensland.

Record keeping under Regulation 329

Regulation 329 of the OHS Regulations 2017 (Vic) covers SWMS record keeping. The SWMS must be kept while the high risk construction work is being performed and must be available for inspection. Keep a copy on site where the crew and any WorkSafe Victoria inspector can access it, and keep your superseded versions so you can show how the document was reviewed and revised over the life of the job.

Principal contractors on Victorian projects will typically ask for your SWMS before you start on site, the same way they do in harmonised states. Expect the document to be checked for site-specific detail and for correct Victorian legal references, particularly on government and tier-one builder projects where document review is strict.

Working across state borders

A SWMS prepared for a NSW or Queensland job cannot simply be reused on a Victorian site, because it cites the wrong legislation and the wrong duty holder. The hazards and controls for the same trade work are usually transferable, but the legal references need to change: WHS Regulation s.299 becomes Regulation 327, s.291 becomes Regulation 322, s.303 becomes Regulation 329, and PCBU becomes employer. The reverse applies when you take a Victorian document interstate.

GSR supplies 753 editable Word safety documents across 22 trades and 7 document types, with SWMS from $79.95 and JSA templates from $19.95. Each document cites the relevant legislative provisions and AS/NZS standards, and because they are fully editable Word files you can set the references and duty holder wording to match the state your job is in before it goes to the principal contractor.

Victoria 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
• SWMS Legal Requirements: Sections 299 to 303 Explained
• SWMS Requirements in NSW: What the Law Says