Working Alone SWMS

Suits any business that sends workers out alone, such as tradies, inspectors, cleaners, delivery and field staff. It sets out how to decide whether a task can be done alone, the communication and check-in plan, travel, arriving on site, missed check-ins, medical emergencies, and closing out. It is used together with the trade SWMS for the task itself.

Working alone is not high risk construction work by itself, so no HRCW item is ticked. A SWMS is legally required only for the high risk construction work the person does (WHS Regulation ss 291 and 299), and that work needs its own trade SWMS. Remote or isolated work must be managed under WHS Regulation s 48 in any workplace; this document sets out the arrangements for a job done alone (communication, check-ins and emergency response) and is used with the trade SWMS. It is not a business-wide working alone policy.

New to SWMS? Read What Is A Safe Work Method Statement?

What Is Covered In Our Working Alone SWMS?

After the standard pre-start checks, the job steps run from “Decide whether the task can be done alone, and plan the lone work” to “Finish the job, close out and debrief”. The hazards and controls include:

• Tasks that need a second person being done alone
• No coverage or a flat or forgotten phone when help is needed
• Nobody knowing where the worker is
• Vehicle breakdown or crash on a remote road
• Fatigue on long or night drives
• Aggression or violence from customers or visitors
• Injury or medical event with nobody to help
• A missed check-in that is not acted on
• Heat illness and dehydration going unnoticed
• Storms, floods and snake or animal bites
• Isolation and stress from long periods alone
• Delays in telling emergency services where the worker is

High Risk Construction Work

None of the high risk construction work items (WHS Regulation 2011 (Qld) s 291) are pre-ticked, because this job is not high risk construction work by itself. Tick any that apply on your site.

Licences, Training and Competency

• Training before the first lone shift in the communication or check-in system, the emergency device and the emergency procedure in this SWMS
• First aid training for the lone worker where the first aid arrangements rely on workers treating themselves or others, suited to the distance from help (WHS Regulation s 42(2) and (3))
• Check-in contact and a back-up contact briefed and trained in the escalation steps for a missed check-in
• General construction induction training card (white card) and site induction where the lone work is construction work
• Training in dealing with aggressive or distressed people and in leaving a situation safely, where the worker deals with the public or clients
• Off-road or four-wheel-drive training where the worker drives off sealed roads
• Licences, tickets and competency for the task itself, as set in the trade SWMS used with this one

Legislation and Codes of Practice Referenced

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld)
• Managing the Work Environment and Facilities Code of Practice 2021 (remote or isolated work)
• First Aid in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Managing the risk of psychosocial hazards at work Code of Practice 2022
• How to Manage Work Health and Safety Risks Code of Practice 2021
• Hazardous Manual Tasks Code of Practice 2021
• Confined Spaces Code of Practice 2021 (stand-by person for confined space entry)
• Work Health and Safety Consultation, Co-operation and Co-ordination Code of Practice 2021
• Rural Plant Code of Practice 2024 (Appendix 11, remote or isolated work and fatigue management: guidance on communication systems, call-in systems and check-in apps)
• Safe Work Australia model Code of Practice: Managing the risk of fatigue at work (guidance)

What You Get

• An editable Microsoft Word document (14 A4 landscape pages). Type your business, client and job details once and they fill in on every page, with a space for your logo
• 9 job steps for this work, each with its hazards, controls, initial and residual risk scores and the person responsible
• PPE listed for this job: safety boots; high-visibility clothing; broad-brim hat, long sleeves, sunscreen and UV-rated sunglasses; gloves, hard hat, eye and hearing protection as the task requires (set in the trade SWMS)
• Emergency arrangements for: serious injury or collapse, missed check-in and vehicle breakdown or being stranded
• 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. Please make sure you read our Disclaimer before downloading this SWMS.

Checked against the Queensland laws and codes of practice listed above. Last reviewed October 2026.