Stair Construction SWMS

Suits carpenters, joiners and stair builders who build, lift and fix timber or steel stairs in new buildings and renovations. It follows the job from measuring and planning through protecting the stairwell, temporary access, handling heavy components, cutting, fixing and finishing.

Stair construction is not high risk construction work by itself, so no item is ticked. A SWMS is legally required under WHS Regulation s 299 when the stair work involves a high risk item; tick the fall item (s 291(a)) when a stairwell void or open edge could drop someone more than 2 metres, which is common between storeys, and any other item the job involves, such as powered mobile plant when a crane or forklift works in the area. Otherwise it works as a written safe work procedure and task risk assessment. Balustrades and general carpentry need a separate SWMS.

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

What Is Covered In Our Stair Construction SWMS?

After the standard pre-start checks, the job steps run from “Plan the stair, check the documents and measure the opening” to “Leave the stair safe, clean up and hand over”. The hazards and controls include:

• Falls through the stairwell void and from open edges
• Objects falling onto people below
• Falls from ladders and temporary stairs
• Lifting heavy and long stringers and treads
• Crush injuries during positioning and fixing
• Saw, router and planer contact and kickback
• Nail gun discharge
• Timber dust and silica dust from stone or tile
• Noise from saws and compressors
• Electric shock from tools and leads
• Adhesive, sealer and solvent exposure
• Slips on finished treads

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

• General construction induction training card (white card) for construction work
• Qualified carpenters, joiners or stair builders, or workers directly supervised by one, trained in the stair system in use
• Training in the safe use of nail guns, saws, routers and other power tools
• Competent person to inspect temporary stairs, edge protection and mobile scaffolds
• Scaffolding licence of the matching class for any scaffold from which a person or object could fall more than 4 m (erected under a separate scaffold SWMS)
• High risk work licence for the class of any crane, forklift or hoist lifting the stair; dogging or a higher rigging class for anyone slinging a load (under a separate lifting SWMS)
• Engineer’s or stair designer’s documents for engineered stairs, including fixing and bearing details
• First aid certificate for at least one worker on site
• Site induction

Legislation and Codes of Practice Referenced

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld)
• Managing the Risk of Falls at Workplaces Code of Practice 2021
• Hazardous Manual Tasks Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Risks of Plant in the Workplace 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 Risks of Hazardous Chemicals in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Managing the Work Environment and Facilities Code of Practice 2021
• Safe Design of Structures Code of Practice 2021
• Formwork Code of Practice 2016 (stair tread systems for access)
• Scaffolding Code of Practice 2021 (mobile scaffolds used at the stairwell)
• 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): electrical equipment on construction sites (s 140)
• Electrical Safety Code of Practice 2021 – Managing electrical risks in the workplace

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 glasses; hearing protection for saws, routers, nail guns and compressors; safety boots and work gloves; P2 respirator for dust that cannot be controlled at the source
• Emergency arrangements for: fall into the stairwell or from an edge, crushing injury under a stringer or flight and nail gun or saw injury
• 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.