Storm and Flood Clean-Up SWMS

For cleaning and restoration crews, builders, councils’ contractors and property maintenance teams who clean up and make safe after storms and floods. It follows the job from assessing the site from outside and the electrical hazards through unstable structures, floodwater, asbestos and chemicals to debris removal, mould, pumps and generators, heat and fatigue, and decontamination. Roof tarping and tree clearing have separate SWMS.

Clean-up that is only cleaning, pumping out and removing furniture or debris is not construction work, so a SWMS is legally required only for high risk construction work (WHS Regulation s 299). Stripping damaged linings, repairing or dismantling parts of a structure is construction work (s 289). No item is pre-ticked because none applies to every job. Tick the ones that apply to yours: a fall of more than 2 metres (s 291(a)), asbestos disturbance (s 291(d)), temporary support to prevent collapse (s 291(e)), a confined space (s 291(f)), energised electrical installations or services (s 291(k)), powered mobile plant in the work area (s 291(o)), and water with a risk of drowning (s 291(q)). If none applies, it works as a written safe work procedure and task risk assessment.

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

What Is Covered In Our Storm and Flood Clean-Up SWMS?

After the standard pre-start checks, the job steps run from “Assess the site from outside and agree the plan” to “Complete the job, decontaminate and hand over”. The hazards and controls include:

• Live power and flooded electrical installations
• Downed power lines
• Collapse of damaged walls, ceilings and roofs
• Sewage and contaminated floodwater
• Drowning risk in deep or fast water
• Asbestos in damaged buildings
• Mould and dust
• Broken glass, nails and sharps
• Heavy debris causing strains
• Carbon monoxide from pumps and generators
• Basements and confined spaces
• Heat illness, fatigue and wildlife

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

• General construction induction training card (white card) where the clean-up is construction work, such as stripping damaged linings, repairing or dismantling parts of a structure (WHS Regulation s 317)
• Licensed electrical worker to inspect, test and reconnect any electrical installation or equipment that has been wet or flooded (Electrical Safety Act 2002 s 55)
• Competent person to identify asbestos or suspected asbestos before any damaged material is disturbed, and training in asbestos identification and safe handling for workers who may be involved in asbestos removal or asbestos-related work (WHS Regulation s 445)
• Licensed asbestos removalist for removal of asbestos beyond the 10 m2 non-friable and minor contamination exception, with class A for friable asbestos and class B or A for more than 10 m2 of non-friable asbestos (WHS Regulation ss 458, 485 and 487)
• Engineer or other competent person to assess damaged structures, roofs, chimneys and retaining walls before entry
• High risk work licence for the forklift truck class for anyone operating a forklift, and for a boom-type elevating work platform with a boom length of 11 m or more (Schedule 3 item 21); no class applies to skid-steer loaders or small excavators
• Training in confined space entry where entry to a basement, tank, crawl space or sump is needed (Confined Spaces Code of Practice 2021)
• 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 Act 2011 (Qld): ss 35 to 39 (notifiable incidents) and Regulation s 699 (prescribed serious illnesses)
• 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): chapter 8 asbestos, including ss 419, 420, 422, 445, 458, 485 and 487
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): s 48 (remote or isolated work) and s 62 (confined spaces)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): ss 306C, 306D and 306M (falls and ladders in construction work) and ss 315B to 315M (falling objects)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): plant ss 208, 210, 213, 214 and 215; hazardous chemicals ss 344, 346 and 351
• How to Manage and Control Asbestos in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• How to Safely Remove Asbestos Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Risks of Hazardous Chemicals in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Confined Spaces Code of Practice 2021
• Hazardous Manual Tasks Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Risks of Plant in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Managing the Risk of Falls at Workplaces 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 Act 2002 (Qld): s 55 (electrical work licence)
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): ss 10 to 13 and schedule 2 (exclusion zones), s 210 (equipment with a serious defect), s 292 (serious electrical incident) and s 310 (isolating powerlines in an emergency)
• Electrical Safety Code of Practice 2021 – Managing electrical risks in the workplace
• Safe Work Australia model Code of Practice: Managing risks of biological hazards (model code, not approved in Queensland; guidance only)

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
• 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: waterproof gloves for floodwater and sludge, and cut-resistant gloves for glass, metal and sharps; rubber boots with puncture-resistant soles and toe protection
• Emergency arrangements for: contact with a downed or fallen power line, structure shows movement or begins to collapse and suspected asbestos disturbed
• 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.