Stone Cutting and Splitting SWMS

For stonemasons, landscapers, wall builders and paving crews who cut and split natural stone on site. It starts with confirming the stone is not engineered stone, which is prohibited, then covers the silica assessment and plan, moving heavy stone, wet cutting on table and hand-held saws, hydraulic and hand splitting, dressing, and clean-up. Brick saws and general silica control have their own SWMS.

Item 291(l) (work in an area that may have a contaminated or flammable atmosphere) is ticked because the approved Queensland silica code (a note in its scope section and section 3.1.1) says construction work that includes a risk of exposure to respirable crystalline silica is high risk construction work under s 291(l); the Regulation’s s 291 has no silica paragraph of its own. On that basis a SWMS is required before the work starts (s 299). A SWMS that covers what s 529CB(2) requires can replace the separate silica risk control plan (s 529CB(3)). Prefabricating stone elements in a masonry yard or workshop that is not a place set up for the construction work may be outside construction work (s 289(3)(b)); there s 299 may not apply and you can untick the item. Tick any other items that apply, for example a fall of more than 2 metres or movement of powered mobile plant.

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

What Is Covered In Our Stone Cutting and Splitting SWMS?

After the standard pre-start checks, the job steps run from “Identify the stone and assess the silica processing” to “Clean up, manage slurry and waste, and decontaminate”. The hazards and controls include:

• Cutting engineered stone, which is prohibited
• Respirable crystalline silica dust
• Silica assessment, risk control plan and training
• Contact with saw blades
• Flying stone fragments
• Hydraulic splitter pinch points and fluid injection
• Heavy stone causing strains and crushing
• Electric shock where water meets power
• Noise and hand-arm vibration
• Silica slurry and dust clean-up
• Heat illness and slips on wet ground
• Dust carried home on clothing

High Risk Construction Work

These high risk construction work items (WHS Regulation 2011 (Qld) s 291) are already ticked because they are part of this work. Tick any others that apply to your job:

• Is carried out in an area that may have a contaminated or flammable atmosphere

Licences, Training and Competency

• General construction induction training card (white card) for construction work, such as cutting stone for walling, paving or landscaping on a site (WHS Regulation s 317)
• Crystalline silica training (a VET accredited course, or training approved by the regulator) for each worker who may do or be exposed to high risk silica processing, with records kept while the worker does the processing and for 5 years after they stop working for the business (WHS Regulation s 529CD)
• Person able to carry out and record the written silica processing assessment, and prepare and review the silica risk control plan, before processing starts (WHS Regulation ss 529CA and 529CB)
• Trade competency in cutting and splitting stone, verified for each saw and splitter, with new workers under supervision
• Training in the respirator issued, with a fit test for each wearer of a tight-fitting mask
• Health monitoring arranged and paid for by the business for workers doing ongoing silica work where there is a significant risk to health (WHS Regulation ss 368 and 372)
• High risk work licence for the forklift truck class for anyone operating a forklift, and for the class of crane used where a crane lifts stone (Schedule 3); dogging licence for anyone slinging a load or directing a crane operator who cannot see it; use a separate SWMS for crane lifts and rigging
• First aid equipment, facilities and trained first aiders as the work needs (WHS Regulation s 42)

Legislation and Codes of Practice Referenced

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): chapter 8A, crystalline silica (ss 529A to 529CD), including the prohibition on work involving engineered stone in s 529D
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): s 529CE (air monitoring results to the regulator) and s 50 (air monitoring)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): ss 368 and 372 and Schedule 14 (health monitoring)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): ss 289 to 291 and 299 (construction work, high risk construction work and the SWMS)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): plant ss 208, 210, 211, 213 and 214; noise ss 56 to 58; hazardous chemicals ss 344, 346 and 351
• Managing respirable crystalline silica dust exposure in construction and manufacturing of construction elements Code of Practice 2022
• Safe Work Australia model Code of Practice: Managing risks of respirable crystalline silica in the workplace (model code, not approved in Queensland; guidance only)
• 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
• 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
• How to Manage Work Health and Safety Risks Code of Practice 2021
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): s 140 (electrical equipment on construction sites)
• AS/NZS 1716:2012 (Respiratory protective devices) and AS/NZS 1715:2009 (Selection, use and maintenance of respiratory protective equipment), as named in WHS Regulation s 529B

What You Get

• An editable Microsoft Word document (16 A4 landscape pages). Type your business, client and job details once and they fill in on every page, with a space for your logo
• 9 job steps for this work, each with its hazards, controls, initial and residual risk scores and the person responsible
• PPE listed for this job: respirator suited to the silica risk: fitted to the wearer, fit-tested if tight-fitting, clean-shaven where it seals, and worn as the last control
• Emergency arrangements for: blade contact or crush injury, stone fragment in an eye and stone falls or a splitter jams under load
• 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.