Silica Dust SWMS

For contractors and builders who cut, drill, grind or break concrete, masonry, brick or stone and need a written plan for controlling respirable crystalline silica dust. It follows the work from assessing the silica risk and choosing controls to clean-up, waste and decontamination.

Construction work that risks silica dust exposure is high risk construction work, because the approved Queensland silica code treats it as work in an area that may have a contaminated atmosphere (WHS Regulation s 291(l)), and a SWMS that covers what s 529CB(2) requires can replace the separate silica risk control plan (s 529CB(3)).

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

What is covered in our silica dust SWMS template?

After the standard pre-start checks, the job steps run from “Identify the material and assess the silica risk” to “Decontaminate and pack up”. The hazards and controls include:

• Respirable crystalline silica from cutting and sawing
• Silica dust from grinding and chasing
• Dust from drilling, coring and cleaning out holes
• Dust from plant, drill rigs and demolition-type work
• Engineered stone benchtops, panels and slabs, whose manufacture, supply, processing and installation are prohibited in Queensland, with limited exceptions
• Respirators that do not seal or are poorly maintained
• Dust drifting to other workers and the public
• Dried slurry and dust stirred up in clean-up
• Electric shock from tools used with water
• Noise and vibration from saws, grinders and drills
• Silica dust carried home on clothing
• Slurry and waste reaching drains

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
• Crystalline silica training from a VET accredited course, or training approved by the regulator, for workers who may do or be exposed to high risk silica processing
• Training in the respiratory protective equipment issued to each worker, with a fit test repeated at least yearly and whenever the make or model changes (as the approved silica code recommends)
• Verification of competency for the cutting, grinding, drilling or plant operation each worker carries out
• Certified occupational hygienist, or an occupational hygiene technician working to a hygienist’s plan, for any air monitoring
• Site induction

Legislation and codes of practice referenced

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld)
• Managing respirable crystalline silica dust exposure in construction and manufacturing of construction elements Code of Practice 2022
• Managing Risks of Hazardous Chemicals in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Noise and Preventing Hearing Loss at Work Code of Practice 2021
• Hazardous Manual Tasks Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Risks of Plant in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Managing the Work Environment and Facilities Code of Practice 2021
• How to Manage Work Health and Safety Risks Code of Practice 2021
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): electrical equipment on construction sites (s 140)
• Electrical Safety Code of Practice 2021 – Managing electrical risks in the workplace
• 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
• AS/NZS 60335.2.69:2017 (Household and similar electrical appliances – Safety – Particular requirements for wet and dry vacuum cleaners, including power brush, for industrial and commercial use), as named in the approved silica code

What you get

• An editable Microsoft Word document (16 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: fit-tested respiratory protective equipment complying with AS/NZS 1716:2012 and selected under AS/NZS 1715:2009 for the minimum protection factor the task needs, such as a half-face respirator with a P2 filter (MPF 10), or a full-face respirator or powered air-purifying respirator with a P2 filter (MPF 50)
• Emergency arrangements for: breathing difficulty or heavy dust exposure, respirator damaged or failing in the work area and dust in the eyes
• 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 October 2026.