Painting SWMS

Suits painting contractors, builders and maintenance crews who paint houses, units and commercial buildings inside and out. It covers checking old surfaces for asbestos and lead, access by ladders, trestle platforms and low-level scaffolds, preparing surfaces, handling paints and solvents, brush, roller and airless spray application, heat and sun, and clean-up. Roof painting, removal of lead paint and spray booth work need separate SWMS.

A SWMS is legally required when the painting is high risk construction work, such as work with a risk of a person falling more than 2 metres, work likely to disturb asbestos, or work in an area that may have a flammable atmosphere (WHS Regulation sections 291 and 299); otherwise this document works as a written safe work procedure or task risk assessment. You can tick the contaminated or flammable atmosphere item (s 291(l)) when you spray flammable paint in an enclosed area, and also when sanding or grinding masonry or render creates silica dust, because the approved Queensland silica code treats construction work with a risk of silica exposure as work in an area that may have a contaminated atmosphere.

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 Painting SWMS?

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

• Falls from ladders, trestle platforms and low-level scaffolds
• Asbestos cement sheeting and textured coatings in older buildings
• Lead paint dust from sanding and scraping
• Solvent, isocyanate and paint mist exposure
• Paint injected into the skin by airless spray guns
• Fire and static discharge with flammable paints
• Overspray and spray drift reaching other people
• Sanding dust, including silica from fillers and render
• Contact with overhead power lines and live fittings
• Strains from overhead rolling and awkward positions
• Heat illness and sun exposure
• Spills, oily rags and waste paint
• Noise from spray pumps and sanders

High Risk Construction Work

No high risk construction work items (WHS Regulation 2011 (Qld) s 291) are pre-ticked, because this work is not high risk construction work by itself. Tick the items that apply to your job, such as a fall risk of more than 2 metres or work where powered mobile plant is moving.

Licences, Training and Competency

• General construction induction training card (white card) for construction work
• Site induction, and competency in the products and equipment used; apprentices and new painters work under the supervision of an experienced painter
• Airless spray training for every operator, covering injection injuries, pressure relief and cleaning
• Fit-testing and training for every worker who wears a respirator
• Asbestos training (WHS Regulation s 445) for workers who may be involved in asbestos-related work, such as painting asbestos cement sheeting
• Health monitoring for workers with ongoing exposure to isocyanates where there is a significant risk to their health (WHS Regulation s 368, Schedule 14 table 14.1)
• High risk work licence in the scaffolding class for anyone erecting, altering or dismantling a scaffold from which a person or object could fall more than 4 m (WHS Regulation s 81 and Schedule 3); low-level scaffolds of 4 m or less are built by trained workers to the maker’s instructions
• Crystalline silica training (VET accredited course or training approved by the regulator) where the dust assessment finds sanding or grinding of masonry or render high risk (WHS Regulation s 529CD)
• An adequate number of workers trained in first aid, and a first aid kit on the job (WHS Regulation s 42; the First Aid in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021 sets out numbers)

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 78, 79 and 306A to 306O (falls, ladders and trestle platforms in construction work)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): chapter 7 (hazardous chemicals) ss 342, 344, 346, 351, 357, 359, 368 and 382 and schedules 10 and 14, and s 392 (lead process)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): chapter 8 (asbestos) ss 419, 422, 445 and 446, and chapter 8A (crystalline silica) ss 529A to 529CD
• Spray Painting and Powder Coating Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Risks of Hazardous Chemicals in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Labelling of Workplace Hazardous Chemicals Code of Practice 2021
• How to Manage and Control Asbestos in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Managing the Risk of Falls at Workplaces Code of Practice 2021
• Scaffolding Code of Practice 2021 (mobile and tower scaffolds)
• Hazardous Manual Tasks Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Noise and Preventing Hearing Loss at Work Code of Practice 2021
• Managing respirable crystalline silica dust exposure in construction and manufacturing of construction elements 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 Act 2002 (Qld)
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): ss 17, 18 and 140 (unsafe equipment, flexible cables, construction work) and the overhead power line exclusion zones in schedule 2

What You Get

• An editable Microsoft Word document (20 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.