Solar Hot Water System Installation SWMS

Suits plumbers, solar hot water installers and roofing contractors who fit collectors and tanks to roofs. It follows the job in order, from roof and structure checks, fall protection and lifting through fixing, plumbing and electrical connections to filling, commissioning and handover.

A SWMS is required under WHS Regulation s 299 when the work is construction work and a person could fall more than 2 metres (s 291), so that is the item ticked; testing, maintenance or repair work of a minor nature is not construction work (s 289(3)(d)). You can also tick powered mobile plant when a crane or forklift works in the area, energised electrical installations if power lines or live services are near, and the contaminated atmosphere item if drilling masonry or tiles creates silica dust, as the Queensland silica code advises.

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 Solar Hot Water System Installation 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 the roof edge, ladders and fragile roofing
• Roof or structure overloaded by a filled tank
• Collectors blown off or dropped during lifts
• Contact with overhead and service power lines
• Being struck by cranes, forklifts and falling loads
• Asbestos and hidden cables when drilling the roof
• Silica dust from drilling tiles and masonry
• Fire and burns from brazing and soldering
• Scalding at taps and the relief valve during commissioning
• Plumbing and electrical work done without the right licence
• Electric shock when connecting the booster
• Heat illness and sunburn on a hot roof

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:

• Involves a risk of a person falling more than 2m

Licences, Training and Competency

• Plumbers licence with the solar and heat pump hot water system installation endorsement, which covers installing, maintaining, repairing, replacing and testing them (Plumbing and Drainage Regulation 2019 schedule 4 part 4 item 5; a plumbers licence alone does not cover this work; Plumbing and Drainage Act 2018 s 56); the business also holds a QBCC contractor licence in the Plumbing and drainage class, needed at any job value (QBCC Regulation 2018 sch 1 item 2(b) and sch 2 pt 18)
• Electrical work licence for the electric booster, its thermostat and the supply wiring (Electrical Safety Act 2002 ss 14, 18 and 55), and an electrical contractor licence for the business (s 56)
• High risk work licence for lifting the system onto the roof: crane class (vehicle loading crane of 10 metre tonnes or more, or mobile crane) or forklift truck class for the operator, and the dogging class or a higher rigging class (Schedule 3 items 4 to 7) for anyone who slings the load or directs a plant operator moving it out of the operator’s view
• Boom-type elevating work platform licence (boom of 11 m or more, Schedule 3 item 21) if one is used for access; Schedule 3 has no high risk work licence class for scissor lifts or shorter boom-type platforms
• Scaffolding high risk work licence (Schedule 3 items 1 to 3) for erecting, altering or dismantling any scaffold from which a person or object could fall more than 4 m (separate SWMS)
• Fall protection and rescue training for everyone on the roof, and a competent person to install and inspect travel restraint and approve anchors (WHS Regulation ss 306G, 306I)
• Asbestos awareness training for workers who may disturb roofing, eaves, flues or ceilings; crystalline silica training where the dust assessment finds drilling or cutting tiles or masonry high risk (WHS Regulation s 529CD)
• General construction induction training card (white card) for construction work, and site induction (roof access, rescue)
• First aid equipment and facilities, and trained first aiders as the work and site need (WHS Regulation s 42)

Legislation and Codes of Practice Referenced

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld)
• Plumbing and Drainage Act 2018 (Qld) and Plumbing and Drainage Regulation 2019 (Qld) (plumbing licences, the solar hot water endorsement, notifiable work and temperature control devices)
• Electrical Safety Act 2002 (Qld)
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): electrical work licences, isolation and testing, roof space entry (ss 31 to 36), and overhead power line exclusion zones in schedule 2
• Electrical Safety Code of Practice 2021 – Managing electrical risks in the workplace
• Electrical Safety Code of Practice 2020 – Working near overhead and underground electric lines (distances come from the 2026 Regulation)
• Managing the Risk of Falls at Workplaces Code of Practice 2021
• Scaffolding Code of Practice 2021 (where scaffold gives roof access)
• Managing Risks of Plant in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Mobile Crane Code of Practice 2024 (where a vehicle loading crane or other crane lifts the tank or collectors)
• Hazardous Manual Tasks Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Noise and Preventing Hearing Loss at Work Code of Practice 2021
• Managing the Work Environment and Facilities Code of Practice 2021
• Managing respirable crystalline silica dust exposure in construction and manufacturing of construction elements Code of Practice 2022
• How to Manage and Control Asbestos in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Welding Processes Code of Practice 2021 (brazing and soldering are allied processes)
• Managing Risks of Hazardous Chemicals in the Workplace 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
• WorkSafe Queensland guidance: Managing the risk of falls while working on roofs in housing construction (guidance, not a code)
• AS/NZS 3012 Electrical installations – Construction and demolition sites (named in the Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 for electrical equipment used for construction work)

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.