Livestock Loading and Unloading SWMS

Suits livestock producers, stock contractors, saleyard and abattoir staff, transport operators and drivers who load and unload cattle, sheep and other stock on trucks and trailers. It follows the job in order: planning, ramp and truck checks, truck positioning, moving stock to the ramp, loading, working on the deck, securing the load, unloading, down animals, hygiene and clean-down. Yard work needs its own SWMS.

Loading livestock 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). If the work is part of construction work, tick the reg 291 items that apply. Otherwise the document works as a written safe work procedure and task risk assessment that you tailor to your site and stock.

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 Livestock Loading and Unloading 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, charges and trampling by livestock
• Crush injuries against rails, gates and the truck
• Falls from the ramp, the deck and the side rails
• Slippery ramps and decks
• Truck moving or reversing near people
• Fingers caught in gates, latches and dividers
• Tailgate and ramp movement
• Overloaded or poorly balanced trucks
• Down, injured or aggressive animals
• Zoonoses such as Q fever and leptospirosis
• Heat, dust and fatigue
• Children and visitors near the ramp

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 livestock handling and loading, recorded by the PCBU
• Driver licence of the class that suits the truck, and any heavy vehicle or livestock transport requirements that apply to the driver
• Training in the operation of the ramp, tailgate, decks, partitions and the emergency release of the truck’s controls
• 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
• First aid arrangements for the loading site, with first aid provided as s 42 of the WHS Regulation requires, and for remote sites a way to call for help (WHS Regulation s 48)
• Site or property induction covering escape routes, no-go areas, traffic rules 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 214 and 215: powered mobile plant, general control of risk and specific control measures (collision with pedestrians, warning devices)
• WHS Regulation 2011 (Qld) ss 60 and 351: hazardous manual tasks and hazardous chemical risks
• WHS Regulation 2011 (Qld) s 699 and WHS Act 2011 (Qld) ss 36 and 38: 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
• 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)
• Rural Plant Code of Practice 2024
• Managing Risks of Plant in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Managing the Risk of Falls at Workplaces Code of Practice 2021
• Hazardous Manual Tasks 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
• Electrical Safety Act 2002 (Qld)
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): overhead power line exclusion zones in sections 10 to 13 and schedule 2
• Safe Work Australia model Code of Practice: Managing the risks of biological hazards at work (guidance)

What You Get

• An editable Microsoft Word document (14 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.