Cane Haulout and Infield Transport SWMS

For cane growers, harvesting contractors and haulout drivers. It follows the work from the pre-start check and route planning through hitching, travelling with loaded bins, working beside the harvester, road crossings, breakdowns and shut-down. It does not cover operating the harvester.

Cane haulout and infield transport is not high risk construction work by itself. A SWMS is legally required only for high risk construction work (WHS Regulation s 299); otherwise this document works as a written safe work procedure or task risk assessment. If the work is part of high risk construction work, tick the reg 291 items that apply; the document has none pre-ticked.

Learn More: What Is A Safe Work Method Statement?
Have you ever been asked to provide a SWMS on a project in Queensland? Read our guide to what a Safe Work Method Statement is and when you need one.

What Is Covered In Our Cane Haulout and Infield Transport SWMS?

The job steps run in the order the work is done, from pre-start checks to finishing up. The hazards and controls include:

• Tractor roll-over on slopes and headlands
• Loaded bin instability and jack-knife
• Crush between tractor and bin when hitching
• Collision with the harvester
• Overhead power lines and structures
• Road and crossing collisions
• Night and low-visibility driving
• Fatigue on long harvest shifts
• Heat, dust and noise
• Crush under raised bins
• Fuel fire and rollaway when parked

High Risk Construction Work

No high risk construction work items (WHS Regulation 2011 (Qld) s 291) are pre-ticked, because this work is not high risk construction work by itself. Tick the items that apply to your job, such as a fall risk of more than 2 metres or work where powered mobile plant is moving.

Licences, Training and Competency

• Training and verified competency on the haulout tractor and bin set, recorded by the employer
• Driver licence and registration or permit requirements as the road rules require when the tractor and bins use a road
• Farm or site induction covering routes, no-go areas and harvester procedures
• Training in the radio and signal system used with the harvester
• First aid arrangements suited to remote work (WHS Regulation s 42)

Legislation and Codes of Practice Referenced

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): ss 214 to 216 (powered mobile plant and roll-over protection on tractors)
• Rural Plant Code of Practice 2024
• Sugar Mill Safety Code of Practice 2024, including the Cane rail safety supplement that forms part of it (crossings and sidings)
• Managing Risks of Plant in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Hazardous Manual Tasks Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Noise and Preventing Hearing Loss at Work Code of Practice 2021
• Managing the Work Environment and Facilities Code of Practice 2021
• First Aid in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• How to Manage Work Health and Safety Risks Code of Practice 2021
• Electrical Safety Act 2002 (Qld)
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): overhead power line exclusion zones in section 10 and schedule 2
• Safe Work Australia model Code of Practice: Managing the risk of fatigue at work (guidance)

What You Get

• An editable Microsoft Word document (13 pages), laid out on A4 landscape pages
• Business, client, job and document details typed once and filled in on every page, plus a space for your logo
• The high risk construction work checklist, worded as WHS Regulation s 291, and the construction project question (s 292)
• A worker and health and safety representative consultation record
• Qualifications, plant, PPE, hazardous chemicals, safety equipment, permits, references and emergency arrangements filled in for this work
• A 5 x 5 risk matrix, and job steps with initial and residual risk scores and the people responsible
• Implementing, monitoring and review requirements, an additional controls log, revision history and a worker sign-on sheet

Review and adjust it for your site, your plant and the way your crew does the job, and talk it through with your workers before work starts. If you have any trouble downloading this SWMS, you can contact us at any time. Please make sure you read our Disclaimer before downloading this SWMS.