Tarping and Load Covering SWMS

Suits haulage, tipper, quarry, farm and landscape supply operators whose drivers and loaders tarp loads by hand or with a mechanical tarp system. It follows the job from choosing the method and pre-start checks through parking, climbing, spreading and securing the tarp, travelling and opening the load at the destination. Load restraint with chains and straps needs a separate SWMS.

Tarping a load is not construction work by itself, so the high risk construction work list in the WHS Regulation (section 291) does not apply, no item is pre-ticked and section 299 does not require a SWMS for it; the document works as a written safe work procedure and task risk assessment, and an item such as a fall of more than 2 m should be ticked on the form only if the work forms part of construction work and the item applies.

New to SWMS? Read What Is A Safe Work Method Statement?

What Is Covered In Our Tarping and Load Covering SWMS?

After the standard pre-start checks, the job steps run from “Plan tarping and choose the method” to “Remove or open the tarp at the destination”. The hazards and controls include:

• Falls from the top of the load or truck body
• Falls from ladders, steps and platforms
• Wind catching the tarp and pulling the worker
• Contact with overhead lines
• Crush and entanglement in mechanical tarp arms
• Snap-back from ropes and bungee cords
• Tarp flapping loose and causing a crash
• Strains from heavy and wet tarps
• Slippery surfaces and unstable loads
• Dust and silica from loads
• Trucks rolling on soft ground
• Bad weather, lightning and poor light

High Risk Construction Work

None of the high risk construction work items (WHS Regulation 2011 (Qld) s 291) are pre-ticked, because this job is not high risk construction work by itself. Tick any that apply on your site.

Licences, Training and Competency

• Driver licence of the class that suits the truck or combination
• Training and assessed competency in the tarping method used: hand tarping, tarp stations or platforms, or a mechanical tarp system
• Training in the fall prevention equipment used on the truck, trailer or tarping gantry, including inspection and rescue
• Training in hazardous manual tasks for heavy, wet and wind-caught tarps
• Site induction at loading yards, quarries, farms and depots
• Workers trained in first aid, with first aid provided as s 42 of the WHS Regulation requires
• No high risk work licence class in Schedule 3 covers tarping or working at height on a load

Legislation and Codes of Practice Referenced

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld)
• Managing the Risk of Falls at Workplaces Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Risks of Plant in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Hazardous Manual Tasks Code of Practice 2021
• How to Manage Work Health and Safety Risks Code of Practice 2021
• First Aid in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Heavy Vehicle National Law (Queensland), applied by the Heavy Vehicle National Law Act 2012 (Qld): s 6 (heavy vehicle means a vehicle with a GVM or ATM of more than 4.5 t), s 26C (primary duty of each party in the chain of responsibility), s 96 (compliance with mass requirements), s 110 (national regulations may prescribe loading requirements), s 111 (compliance with the loading requirements) and s 228 (duty of driver to avoid driving while fatigued or unfit to drive)
• National Load Restraint Guide (National Heavy Vehicle Regulator): guidance, not law
• Electrical Safety Act 2002 (Qld)
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): overhead power line exclusion zones in sections 10 to 13 and schedule 2
• Electrical Safety Code of Practice 2020 – Working near overhead and underground electric lines

What You Get

• An editable Microsoft Word document (13 A4 landscape pages). Type your business, client and job details once and they fill in on every page, with a space for your logo
• 10 job steps for this work, each with its hazards, controls, initial and residual risk scores and the person responsible
• PPE listed for this job: safety boots with slip-resistant soles and toe protection; high-visibility long-sleeve shirt and trousers; gloves that give grip on wet ropes and tarps and protect from sharp edges
• Emergency arrangements for: worker falls from the load and power line contact (general guidance)
• Plus the parts every Work Safety QLD SWMS shares, from the s 291 checklist to the worker sign-on sheet (see the layout in our free SWMS template)

Adjust it for your site, plant and crew, and talk it through with your workers before work starts. Please make sure you read our Disclaimer before downloading this SWMS.

Checked against the Queensland laws and codes of practice listed above. Last reviewed November 2026.