Pool Acid Washing and Draining SWMS

Suits pool service businesses, pool renovators and cleaners who drain swimming pools and acid wash the surface. It follows the job in order: planning, securing the area, draining with a submersible pump, safe entry into the empty pool, preparing the surface, mixing and applying the acid, neutralising, collecting the wash water and packing up. Pool chemical dosing and pool plastering each have their own SWMS.

Routine pool draining and acid washing is treated here as minor maintenance, which is outside construction work (WHS Regulation s 289(3)(d)), so no item is pre-ticked and a SWMS is required by law only for high risk construction work (s 299). If the work is more than minor maintenance, for example part of renovating, repairing or refurbishing the pool, it is construction work: tick the reg 291 items that apply, such as a fall of more than 2 m, a contaminated atmosphere (acid fumes in a deep shell), water with a risk of drowning or energised electrical installations or services. Otherwise this document 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 Pool Acid Washing and Draining SWMS?

After the standard pre-start checks, the job steps run from “Plan the job, check the pool, the water and the chemicals” to “Finish, check, secure the pool and pack up”. The hazards and controls include:

• Acid burns to skin and eyes
• Chlorine gas from mixing acid with chlorine products
• Acid fumes collecting in the empty pool
• Electric shock from submersible pumps and leads
• Falls into the empty pool
• Slips on wet pool surfaces
• Drowning risk before the pool is drained
• Pool shell lifting or cracking when emptied
• Wash water reaching drains and waterways
• Working alone in a deep pool
• Heat and glare in an empty pool
• Dirty water, algae and sludge infections

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

• Training for every worker in the hazards, label and SDS of the acid and neutralising products used, including incompatible chemicals, first aid and emergency response (WHS Regulation s 39)
• Experience in pool draining and acid washing, with competence checked and recorded by the PCBU; no high risk work licence class applies to this work (WHS Regulation Schedule 3)
• Fit testing and training for any tight-fitting respirator that the SDS calls for
• A licensed electrical worker for any fixed wiring, switchboard or socket-outlet work (Electrical Safety Act 2002 s 55); the Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 sets safety switch testing by the kind of work: s 139 for service work and s 136 for manufacturing work, each with AS/NZS 3760 (a portable safety switch is tested by pushing its test button straight after it is connected, and then at the intervals in AS/NZS 3760)
• A licensed plumber where plumbing law requires one for any connection to, or change to, pipework or drainage (Plumbing and Drainage Act 2018 ss 56 to 58)
• Confined space entry training and a permit if a balance tank, pit or sump has to be entered (separate SWMS)
• Workers trained in first aid, including chemical burns, eye injuries and gas inhalation (WHS Regulation s 42)
• General construction induction training card (white card) only when the work is construction work
• Site induction

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 344 and 346: safety data sheets and the hazardous chemicals register
• WHS Regulation 2011 (Qld) ss 351, 354, 357, 360 and 362: managing chemical risks, chemical reactions, spills, emergency equipment and safety equipment
• WHS Regulation 2011 (Qld) ss 78 to 80: falls; s 48: remote or isolated work
• WHS Regulation 2011 (Qld) ss 66 and 67 and Schedule 19 (confined space): balance tanks, pits and sumps
• WHS Regulation 2011 (Qld) ss 40, 41 and 42: workplace facilities (including ventilation), heat, drinking water and first aid
• WHS Regulation 2011 (Qld) ss 289, 291 and 299: construction work, high risk construction work and the SWMS duty
• Managing Risks of Hazardous Chemicals in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021 (including its guidance on corrosives and on chlorine released by mixing)
• Labelling of Workplace Hazardous Chemicals Code of Practice 2021
• Preparation of Safety Data Sheets for Hazardous Chemicals Code of Practice 2021
• Managing the Risk of Falls at Workplaces Code of Practice 2021
• Confined Spaces Code of Practice 2021
• Managing the Work Environment and Facilities Code of Practice 2021
• Hazardous Manual Tasks 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): s 123 (meanings of service work, manufacturing work and construction work), ss 138 and 139 (service work: specified electrical equipment and safety switches), ss 133 and 136 (manufacturing work) and s 140 (construction work: AS/NZS 3012)
• Plumbing and Drainage Act 2018 (Qld): ss 56 to 58 (a licence is needed to carry out, supervise or direct plumbing or drainage work, with exemptions that include unregulated work)
• AS/NZS 3760 In-service safety inspection and testing of electrical equipment and RCDs (as named in the Electrical Safety Regulation 2026)
• AS 3780 The storage and handling of corrosive substances (as named in the Managing Risks of Hazardous Chemicals in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021)
• Safe Work Australia model Code of Practice: Managing the risks of biological hazards at work (model code, not approved in Queensland; guidance only)

What You Get

• An editable Microsoft Word document (15 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: chemical splash goggles and a face shield when mixing, carrying or applying acid; acid-resistant gloves with long cuffs, chosen from the SDS, and an acid-resistant apron or overalls with sleeves
• Emergency arrangements for: acid on the skin or in the eyes, chlorine gas or strong fumes (coughing, burning eyes or throat) and person overcome or injured in the empty pool
• 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.