Oversize Load Transport SWMS

For transport operators and contractors who move oversize loads with pilots under a permit. It follows the job from route and permit checks and load securing through the briefing, travel, overhead structures and power lines to breakdowns and delivery.

Road transport of an oversize load is not construction work by itself. A SWMS is legally required under WHS Regulation s 299 only for high risk construction work, so otherwise this works as a written safe work procedure or task risk assessment. If the work is construction work, tick the items that apply, for example a road in use by traffic or movement of powered mobile plant. The permit, pilots and route approvals come from the road manager and are not covered here.

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 Oversize Load 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:

• Load striking bridges, signs and structures
• Contact with overhead power lines
• Load shift or loss of load
• Collision with other road users
• Rollover on bends and soft verges
• Falls while securing the load
• Poor communication with pilots
• Intersections, level crossings and tight turns
• Breakdown on a live road
• Fatigue on long routes
• Unsafe unloading at delivery

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

• Driver licence for the class of vehicle driven
• Training and verified competency in load restraint, including chains, straps and load binders
• Pilots and escorts qualified as the permit or the road manager require (pilot duties have their own SWMS)
• Traffic controller accreditation where the permit or traffic management plan call for traffic control
• Training in the emergency plan, radio use and electricity entity contact
• Site induction at the loading and delivery points, and a general construction induction training card (white card) where the site is a construction site

Legislation and Codes of Practice Referenced

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld)
• 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
• 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
• Electrical Safety Act 2002 (Qld)
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): sections 10 to 13 and schedule 2 (overhead line exclusion zones)
• Safe Work Australia model Code of Practice: Managing the risk of fatigue at work (model code, not approved in Queensland; guidance only)

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.