Rigging and Dogging SWMS

For doggers, riggers, crane crews and builders who sling and direct crane lifts on Queensland sites. It follows the work from lift planning and gear inspection to set-up, slinging general and special loads, directing the lift and packing up, with Queensland licence classes and power line exclusion zones built in.

A SWMS is legally required for rigging and dogging when it is part of high risk construction work, for example where powered mobile plant is moving or a person could fall more than 2 metres (WHS Regulation s 299); outside construction work it works as a written safe work procedure or task risk assessment.

New to SWMS? Read What is a safe work method statement?

What is covered in our rigging & dogging SWMS?

After the standard pre-start checks, the job steps run from “Plan the lift and inspect lifting gear” to “Pack up, spills and incidents”. The hazards and controls include:

• Dropped loads from damaged or overloaded lifting gear
• People struck by suspended or swinging loads
• Contact with overhead power lines
• Crane overturning on soft or undermined ground
• Lost signals between dogger and operator
• Precast, formwork and structural steel lifts
• Falls from loads, trailers and work boxes
• Lifts over roads, footpaths and neighbouring property
• Crush injuries to hands at slings and hooks
• Slings cut by sharp edges
• Wind, storms and heat
• Collisions between plant, vehicles and workers

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 at a workplace in which there is any movement of powered mobile plant

Licences, training and competency

• High risk work licence in the dogging class, or a higher rigging class (Schedule 3), for anyone who slings a load or directs a plant operator in the movement of a load when the load is out of the operator’s view (Schedule 19, dogging work); the operator does not sling their own load
• Basic rigging licence for structural steel, hoists, precast members and perimeter safety screens or shutters
• Intermediate rigging licence for cranes, tilt slabs, demolition and dual lifts; advanced rigging licence for gin poles, flying foxes, guyed derricks and suspended scaffolds
• Multiple-crane lifts are directed by an intermediate or advanced rigger (WHS Regulation Schedule 3 items 6 and 7; Mobile Crane Code of Practice 2024)
• Trainee doggers and riggers work only under a licence holder’s supervision, not the crane operator’s
• Crane operator holds the licence for the crane class in use
• Verified competency on the gear and plant used; refresher training at least every three years is recommended
• Trained safety observer where work is near overhead power lines
• White card (general construction induction) for construction work; site induction and sign-on to this SWMS

Legislation and codes of practice referenced

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld)
• Mobile Crane Code of Practice 2024
• Tower Crane Code of Practice 2017
• Managing Risks of Plant in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Tilt-up and Pre-cast Construction Industry Code of Practice 2003
• Formwork Code of Practice 2016
• Steel Construction Advisory Standard 2004
• 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
• Traffic Management for Construction or Maintenance Work Code of Practice 2008 (work on or next to a road)
• Electrical Safety Act 2002 (Qld)
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): overhead power line exclusion zones, Schedule 2
• Electrical Safety Code of Practice 2020 – Working near overhead and underground electric lines (safety observer guidance; distances come from the 2026 Regulation)

What you get

• An editable Microsoft Word document (19 pages), laid out on A4 landscape pages. Type your business, client and job details once and they fill in on every page, with a space for your logo
• 11 job steps for this work, each with its hazards, controls, initial and residual risk scores and the person responsible
• PPE listed for this job: safety boots; high-visibility long-sleeve clothing; hard hat; safety glasses
• Emergency arrangements for: dropped or unstable load, crane contact with a power line and person suspended after a fall or in a work box
• 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.

Checked against the Queensland laws and codes of practice listed above. Last reviewed November 2026.