LPG Bulk Tank and Cylinder Installation SWMS

Suits licensed gasfitters and LPG installers who site, lift, pipe, test and commission bulk tanks and cylinder installations. It covers planning and site checks, ignition control, lifting the tank, fittings and pipework, cylinders, pressure and leak testing, purging, handover and leak response.

This SWMS ticks three high risk construction work items from s 291 of the WHS Regulation: work on or near fuel lines (s 291(j)), work in an area that may have a flammable atmosphere (s 291(l)) and movement of powered mobile plant (s 291(o)); a SWMS is required before such work starts (s 299). Untick the plant item for a cylinder-only job with no truck or crane. Tick energised electrical services (s 291(k)) where overhead or underground lines are near, and a trench deeper than 1.5 metres (s 291(g)(i)) if one is dug.

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

What Is Covered In Our LPG Bulk Tank and Cylinder Installation SWMS?

After the standard pre-start checks, the job steps run from “Plan the installation and check the site” to “Respond to a gas leak or fire”. The hazards and controls include:

• Gas leaks from fittings, regulators and joints
• Fire and explosion from ignition sources in a hazardous area
• Tank siting near openings, drains and boundaries
• Heavy tank lifting and crane or truck overturning
• Crane or tank contacting overhead power lines
• Falling or leaking cylinders and enclosed spaces
• Stored pressure released during pressure testing
• Purging and introducing gas
• Cold burns from liquid LPG
• Striking underground services
• Handover and leak or fire response

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:

• Is carried out on or near chemical, fuel or refrigerant lines
• Is carried out in an area that may have a contaminated or flammable atmosphere
• Is carried out in an area at a workplace in which there is any movement of powered mobile plant

Licences, Training and Competency

• Gas work licence that allows the work, needed for gas work on a gas system in relation to a gas device (type A) (Petroleum and Gas (Production and Safety) Act 2004 s 726); for a gas device (type B) the device needs a gas work authorisation (s 727(1)) and a gas work licence holder may do the work on the pipes that supply it (s 727(3)(b)); only connecting or disconnecting a cylinder to an existing fitting or device is outside the licence rule (s 726(4))
• Apprentices and trainees work only in the presence of, and under the direct supervision of, the licence holder (Petroleum and Gas (Safety) Regulation 2018 s 125)
• High risk work licence for the crane class used; a vehicle loading crane of 10 metre tonnes or more has its own class
• High risk work licence in the dogging class, or a higher rigging class, for the person who slings the tank or directs the crane operator when the load is out of view
• Road driver licence for the class of delivery truck
• General construction induction training card (white card) for construction work
• Trained user of the combustible gas detector and the pressure test equipment
• Site induction and emergency plan briefing

Legislation and Codes of Practice Referenced

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld)
• Petroleum and Gas (Production and Safety) Act 2004 (Qld): ss 725 to 727 (gas work, licences and authorisations)
• Petroleum and Gas (Safety) Regulation 2018 (Qld): ss 13, 125, 131 and 132, and Schedule 2 (standards)
• AS/NZS 1596 The storage and handling of LP gas (named in Schedule 2 of the Petroleum and Gas (Safety) Regulation 2018)
• AS/NZS 5601.1 Gas installations, Part 1: General installations (named in Schedule 2)
• AS/NZS 60079.10.1 Explosive atmospheres, Part 10.1: Classification of areas – Explosive gas atmospheres (named in Schedule 2)
• AS/NZS 3788 Pressure equipment – In-service inspection, and AS 2337 Gas cylinder test stations (named in Schedule 2)
• AS 4332 The storage and handling of gases in cylinders (named in Schedule 2)
• Managing Risks of Hazardous Chemicals in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Risks of Plant in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Mobile Crane Code of Practice 2024
• Hazardous Manual Tasks Code of Practice 2021
• Excavation Work Code of Practice 2021
• How to Manage Work Health and Safety Risks Code of Practice 2021
• First Aid in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Electrical Safety Act 2002 (Qld)
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): overhead and underground electric lines, exclusion zones in schedule 2
• Electrical Safety Code of Practice 2020 – Working near overhead and underground electric lines

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; safety glasses; gloves suited to the task, with cold-resistant gloves at valves where liquid LPG could escape
• Emergency arrangements for: LPG leak, fire involving the tank or cylinders and contact with liquid LPG or cold burns
• 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.