Mobile Food Van Operation SWMS

Suits operators of food vans and food trailers who trade at markets, events and the roadside. It follows the day from planning the pitch through towing and levelling, set-up, connecting the LP gas, running the generator, cooking with hot oil, serving beside traffic and crowds, clean-down, pack-up and towing home. Catering and function set-up and bar operations need their own SWMS.

Operating a mobile food van is not construction work, so no high risk construction work item is pre-ticked and a SWMS is required by law only for high risk construction work (WHS Regulation s 299). This document works as a written safe work procedure and task risk assessment that you tailor to your van, your gas system and the sites you trade at. If you do construction work, tick the items that apply.

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

What Is Covered In Our Mobile Food Van Operation SWMS?

After the standard pre-start checks, the job steps run from “Plan the trading site and the day” to “Shut down, pack up and tow away”. The hazards and controls include:

• LP gas leaks and cylinder handling
• Gas compliance certificate and gas work licence rules
• Carbon monoxide from generators
• Generator fuel, noise and electrical safety
• Hot oil burns, scalds and oil fires
• Towing, reversing and levelling the van
• Awnings collapsing in wind
• Trading beside traffic
• Crowds, queues and aggressive customers
• Cleaning chemicals near food
• Strains from set-up and pack-up
• Heat in a small hot van

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

• Gas work licence that allows the work, held by the person who does gas work in relation to the van’s cooking appliances and other gas devices (type A), including the pipes and fittings that supply them (Petroleum and Gas (Production and Safety) Act 2004 s 726(1); the Petroleum and Gas (Safety) Regulation 2018 s 12 and Schedule 1 list commercial catering gas equipment such as fryers, ovens and grill plates); connecting or disconnecting a cylinder to an existing gas fitting or device needs no gas work licence (s 726(4))
• Gas compliance certificate for the van’s gas system issued at least once in every 1-year period, held by the owner (Petroleum and Gas (Safety) Regulation 2018 s 117)
• Licensed electrical worker for any wiring of a generator or inlet into the van, or repair of its electrical equipment (Electrical Safety Act 2002 s 55)
• Driver licence for the class of the towing vehicle and the combination, and a worker trained in towing, coupling and reversing with a spotter
• Workers trained in the van’s gas shut-off, the fryer, the fire blanket and the extinguishers, and in the written emergency plan (WHS Regulation s 39 duty to train and instruct)
• No high risk work licence class in Schedule 3 of the WHS Regulation covers this work, and it needs no construction induction training card because it is not construction work
• First aid equipment and facilities, and the person appointed as the job’s first aider (WHS Regulation s 42), with burns first aid in the kit

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) ss 52 and 53: ignition sources and flammable material, including gas cylinders
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld) s 43: emergency plans
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld) s 49: exposure standards
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld) ss 56 and 57: noise
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld) s 60: hazardous manual tasks
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld) ss 341, 344, 346, 351, 354 and 357: hazardous chemicals
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld) ss 55C and 55D: psychosocial risks
• Petroleum and Gas (Production and Safety) Act 2004 (Qld) ss 725 and 726: gas work
• Petroleum and Gas (Safety) Regulation 2018 (Qld) ss 99, 111, 117, 121 and 122: gas systems in vehicles
• Electrical Safety Act 2002 (Qld) ss 18 and 55: electrical work and licences
• Food Act 2006 (Qld) (food safety; not covered by this SWMS)
• Managing Risks of Hazardous Chemicals 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 the risk of psychosocial hazards at work Code of Practice 2022
• 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 Code of Practice 2021 – Managing electrical risks in the workplace

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: closed non-slip footwear suited to wet and greasy floors; heat-resistant gloves and long tongs for hot baskets, trays and pots; apron and long sleeves or sleeve covers near hot oil
• Emergency arrangements for: gas leak or smell of gas, oil or fat fire and burn or scald
• 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.