Hay Baler Operation and Round Bale Handling SWMS

Suits farmers, contractors and rural workers who bale hay with a tractor-drawn baler and move round bales. It covers hitching and PTO connection, baling, clearing blockages, bale handling and carting, servicing and fire risk.

Baling hay is rural work, not high risk construction work, so no high risk construction work items are pre-ticked. A SWMS is required by law only for high risk construction work (WHS Regulation s 299); tick the items that apply if the baling forms part of such work. Otherwise it works as a written safe work procedure and risk assessment.

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 Hay Baler Operation and Round Bale Handling SWMS?

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

• Entanglement in PTO shafts and baler pickup
• Crush between tractor and baler when hitching
• Clearing blockages with the baler not isolated
• Round bales rolling or falling from stacks and loads
• Tractor and baler rollover on slopes
• Contact with overhead power lines
• Stored energy in tailgates and hydraulics
• Fire from chaff, hot bearings and exhausts
• Cuts from twine, net wrap and knives
• Heat, fatigue, noise and mould dust

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

• Competency of each operator on the tractor and baler fitted, checked by the PCBU or supervisor before solo use
• Licence for any vehicle driven on a public road
• Induction in this SWMS, the property fire plan and the baler manufacturer’s instructions
• Verification that anyone operating a loader or handler is competent for it
• First aider on site or within reach of the work area
• Close supervision of young or inexperienced workers until the PCBU confirms they are competent on the baler and tractor

Legislation and Codes of Practice Referenced

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld)
• Rural Plant Code of Practice 2024
• 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
• How to Manage Work Health and Safety Risks Code of Practice 2021
• Children and Young Workers Code of Practice 2006
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): overhead power line exclusion zones in section 10 and schedule 2
• Electrical Safety Code of Practice 2020 – Working near overhead and underground electric lines
• Safe Work Australia model Code of Practice: Managing the risk of fatigue at work (guidance)
• Safe Work Australia model Code of Practice: Managing the risks of biological hazards 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.