Lead Paint Removal SWMS

Suits painters, renovators, building maintenance crews and property managers who remove lead-based paint from older buildings and structures. It covers testing the paint, the lead duties in the WHS Regulation (lead risk work, notification and health monitoring), containment, wet and chemical removal methods, cleaning, decontamination and waste. General painting is covered by a separate SWMS, and dry sanding, burning off, abrasive blasting and asbestos removal are outside it.

Lead paint removal is not high risk construction work by itself, so no item is pre-ticked; tick the items the job meets, such as a fall of more than 2 metres, disturbing asbestos or a contaminated atmosphere (for example silica dust from sanding masonry), when a SWMS is legally required (WHS Regulation sections 291 and 299); the lead duties in chapter 7 part 7.2 apply by law to lead processes such as machine sanding and power-tool removal, and this SWMS also applies them to wet scraping and chemical stripping.

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 Lead Paint Removal SWMS?

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

• Lead dust and chips released during removal
• Lead carried home on skin, clothing and tools
• Rising blood lead levels and lead poisoning
• Lower blood lead limits for females of reproductive capacity
• Asbestos under or beside painted surfaces
• Chemical burns and fumes from paint strippers
• Fire from flammable strippers
• Contamination of occupants, neighbours and clean areas
• Falls from ladders and platforms
• Contact with overhead service lines
• Heat illness in coveralls and respirators
• Lead waste and contaminated wash water
• Noise from power tools

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, including the lead process area, the decontamination routine and the emergency plan
• Information on the health risks and toxic effects of lead, and on health monitoring, for every worker before they start (WHS Regulation s 395 requires it for a lead process; this SWMS applies it to every removal method)
• Health monitoring for workers who do lead risk work, by or under a registered medical practitioner with experience in health monitoring, before the first lead risk work and 1 month later (WHS Regulation ss 405 to 408)
• Competent person to identify lead paint and asbestos (for asbestos, s 422), to help the PCBU assess lead risk work (s 402) and to inspect the area after cleaning
• Competent person, such as an occupational hygienist, to carry out air monitoring where s 50 requires it
• Fit-testing and training for every worker who wears a respirator
• Training in the stripper products and tools used, including the SDS, spills and first aid (WHS Regulation s 39), with supervision where workers handle hazardous chemicals (s 379)
• Asbestos awareness so crews recognise fibro sheeting, eaves, textured coatings and old flooring, stop work and report them; workers the business reasonably believes may be involved in asbestos removal work or asbestos-related work also need the asbestos identification, safe handling and control measures training that WHS Regulation s 445 requires (asbestos work is outside this SWMS)
• Workers under 18 are not assigned to this work (this SWMS’s own good-practice rule, not a Regulation requirement)

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 7 part 7.2 (lead), ss 392 to 418, and schedule 14 table 14.2
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): chapter 7 part 7.1 (hazardous chemicals), ss 341 to 346, 351 and 354 to 362, and ss 49 and 50 (airborne contaminants)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): chapter 8 (asbestos), ss 419, 422, 445, 446, 458 and 485 to 487
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): ss 78, 79 and 306K to 306M (falls and ladders)
• Managing Risks of Hazardous Chemicals in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Labelling of Workplace Hazardous Chemicals Code of Practice 2021
• Demolition Work Code of Practice 2021 (section 4.2, lead in paint and plumbing)
• Spray Painting and Powder Coating Code of Practice 2021 (section 3.1, lead; respirator standards)
• Welding Processes Code of Practice 2021 (section 3.8, lead)
• How to Manage and Control Asbestos in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Managing the Risk of Falls at Workplaces 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 Work Environment and Facilities Code of Practice 2021
• Children and Young Workers Code of Practice 2006 (section 3.3.1, lead and young workers)
• 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): s 140 and the overhead line exclusion zones in schedule 2
• Electrical Safety Code of Practice 2020 – Working near overhead and underground electric lines (distances come from the 2026 Regulation)
• AS/NZS 1716:2012 and AS/NZS 1715:2009 (respiratory protective devices and their selection, use and maintenance, as named in the Spray Painting and Powder Coating Code of Practice 2021)

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.