Cattle Yard Work SWMS

Suits cattle producers, stock contractors, vets’ helpers and rural workers who sort, restrain and treat cattle in yards. It covers yard checks, bringing cattle in, drafting, the crush and head bail, vaccinating and drenching, zoonoses and hygiene, slippery ground and heat, and releasing cattle. Loading onto trucks uses a separate SWMS.

Working cattle in yards is not high risk construction work, so no item is pre-ticked and a SWMS is required by law only for high risk construction work (WHS Regulation s 299); this document works as a written safe work procedure or task risk assessment that you tailor to your property. If the work is part of construction work, tick the reg 291 items that apply.

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 Cattle Yard Work SWMS?

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

• Kicks, crushing and trampling by cattle
• Crushing in crushes, head bails and gates
• Fingers caught in gates and latches
• Needle-stick and veterinary chemical exposure
• Zoonoses such as Q fever and leptospirosis
• Slips on wet and dung-covered ground
• Falls from rails and catwalks
• Heat, sun and dust
• Working alone in the yards
• Children and visitors in the yards
• Hazardous manual tasks
• Hydraulic crush failures

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

• Stock handling experience or supervised training in low-stress cattle handling, recorded by the PCBU
• Training in the operation and emergency release of the crush, head bail and gates
• Training in the safe use of needles, syringes, drench guns and the veterinary chemicals being used (labels and SDS read)
• First aid arrangements for the yards, with enough trained first aiders or access to trained persons for the work and the distance to help (WHS Regulation s 42)
• Information for workers on zoonoses and hygiene, and on Q fever vaccination as good practice (not a legal requirement), with workers encouraged to ask their doctor
• Yard induction covering escape routes, no-go areas and rules for children and visitors

Legislation and Codes of Practice Referenced

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld)
• WHS Regulation 2011 (Qld) ss 60 and 351: hazardous manual tasks and hazardous chemical risks
• WHS Act 2011 (Qld) ss 36 and 38 and WHS Regulation 2011 (Qld) s 699: notifying a serious illness, such as Q fever or leptospirosis, contracted through contact with animals
• WHS Regulation 2011 (Qld) ss 42 and 48: first aid and remote or isolated work
• Chemical Usage (Agricultural and Veterinary) Control Act 1988 (Qld) s 12(4): a person who is not a veterinary surgeon must use a registered veterinary chemical product only in a way stated on the approved label, unless a permit, a regulation or the veterinary surgeon’s written instructions allow otherwise
• 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 Risks of Hazardous Chemicals in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Managing the Work Environment and Facilities Code of Practice 2021
• First Aid in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Children and Young Workers Code of Practice 2006
• How to Manage Work Health and Safety Risks Code of Practice 2021
• Safe Work Australia model Code of Practice: Managing the risks of biological hazards at work (guidance)

What You Get

• An editable Microsoft Word document (12 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.