Domestic Switchboard Upgrade SWMS

For licensed electrical contractors and electricians who replace or upgrade switchboards in houses. It follows the job from planning the outage and arranging the supply disconnection, through setting up the home, working from ladders, checking boards for asbestos, isolation and lock-out, removing the old board and fitting the new one with safety switches, to testing, restoring supply, the compliance paperwork and the occupants’ safety.

Learn More: What Is A Safe Work Method Statement?
Have you ever been asked to provide a SWMS on a project in Queensland? Read our guide to what a Safe Work Method Statement is and when you need one.

What Is Covered In Our Domestic Switchboard Upgrade SWMS?

The job steps run in the order the work is done, from pre-start checks to finishing up. The hazards and controls include:

• Live service line, fuse and meter side of the board
• Wrong or incomplete isolation, and supply switched back on
• Solar, battery and generator supplies left live
• Asbestos in old mounting boards and linings
• Hidden cables and pipes behind the board
• Falls from ladders and metal ladders near live parts
• Occupants, children and pets near the open board
• Wasps, spiders and snakes in meter boxes
• Missing safety switch (RCD) protection
• Wiring errors found only after supply is restored
• Missing test, certificate and distributor notices
• Electric shock, arc flash and board fires

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 on or near energised electrical installations or services

Licences, Training and Competency

• Electrical work licence that authorises the work (Electrical Safety Act 2002 s 55); the employer holds an electrical contractor licence (s 56)
• Licensed electrical contractor, or an electrical mechanic employed by one, for de-energising and re-energising at the service (Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 s 224)
• Rescue and resuscitation competence for every worker who does, or helps with, electrical work (Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 s 211)
• Unlicensed assistants work only under direct supervision and never touch energised equipment (Electrical Safety Act 2002 s 18(2)(g))
• General construction induction training card (white card) for construction work
• Asbestos awareness so every worker recognises suspect boards and linings, stops and reports; training under WHS Regulation s 445 for workers the business reasonably believes may be involved in asbestos removal work or asbestos-related work (for example work on a non-friable asbestos mounting board); a competent person trained under s 445 for removing 10 m2 or less of non-friable asbestos; a licensed asbestos removalist for more than that or for any friable asbestos
• Competent person for the risk assessment and for testing whether equipment is energised
• Training in the isolation and lock-out procedure and the test instruments in use
• Safety observer, where energised testing is done, competent to implement control measures in an emergency and to rescue and resuscitate, and assessed as competent in rescue and resuscitation within the previous 12 months (Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 sch 10)

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): chapter 8 (asbestos), ss 419, 422, 445, 446, 458, 479, 485 and 487
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): ss 306K and 306M (ladders in construction work)
• Electrical Safety Act 2002 (Qld)
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): s 30 (approved safety switches in domestic residences)
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): part 8, division 3 (energised electrical work), ss 207 and 208 (testing) and s 211 (rescue and resuscitation training)
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): part 9 (electricity supply), ss 217 to 224 (connection, reconnection and disconnection) and ss 228, 229, 233 and 234 (testing, certificate and notices)
• Electrical Safety Code of Practice 2021 – Managing electrical risks in the workplace
• How to Manage and Control Asbestos in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• How to Safely Remove Asbestos Code of Practice 2021
• Managing the Risk of Falls at Workplaces Code of Practice 2021
• Hazardous Manual Tasks Code of Practice 2021
• How to Manage Work Health and Safety Risks Code of Practice 2021
• First Aid in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• AS/NZS 3000 (Electrical installations, known as the Australian/New Zealand Wiring Rules), as named in the Electrical Safety Regulation 2026
• AS/NZS 3017 (Electrical installations – Verification by inspection and testing), as named in the Electrical Safety Code of Practice 2021

What You Get

• An editable Microsoft Word document (18 pages), laid out on A4 landscape pages
• Business, client, job and document details typed once and filled in on every page, plus a space for your logo
• The high risk construction work checklist, worded as WHS Regulation s 291, and the construction project question (s 292)
• A worker and health and safety representative consultation record
• Qualifications, plant, PPE, hazardous chemicals, safety equipment, permits, references and emergency arrangements filled in for this work
• A 5 x 5 risk matrix, and job steps with initial and residual risk scores and the people responsible
• Implementing, monitoring and review requirements, an additional controls log, revision history and a worker sign-on sheet

Review and adjust it for your site, your plant and the way your crew does the job, and talk it through with your workers before work starts. If you have any trouble downloading this SWMS, you can contact us at any time. Please make sure you read our Disclaimer before downloading this SWMS.