Tree Climbing SWMS

Suits arborists, tree contractors and councils whose climbers prune and remove limbs with ropes and saddles. It covers tree assessment, power lines, the drop zone, the rescue plan, anchor and gear checks, moving through the crown, the chainsaw aloft, lowering sections and packing up. Felling from the ground, chainsaw basics and pruning from an elevating work platform need their own SWMS.

Tree climbing is not high risk construction work by itself, so no item is pre-ticked and a SWMS is legally required under WHS Regulation s 299 only when the work is construction work that meets an item in s 291 (for example clearing a site for building, where a climber is more than 2 metres up); otherwise this document works as a written safe work procedure and task risk assessment. Tick the fall item (and the energised services item when the tree is near power lines, or the road item when it is beside a road in use) on the form when the work is construction work. Climbing and rigging technique here is industry practice, not law.

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

What Is Covered In Our Tree Climbing SWMS?

After the standard pre-start checks, the job steps run from “Assess the tree, the site and the weather before anyone climbs” to “Descend, clear the drop zone and pack up”. The hazards and controls include:

• Falls from the tree or from a failed anchor
• Rope, saddle and hardware failure
• Delayed aerial rescue and suspension trauma
• Chainsaw kickback and cuts aloft
• Rope or lanyard cut by the saw
• Falling limbs hitting ground crew
• Shock loading when lowering sections
• Contact with overhead power lines
• Weak, dead or hollow limbs and trees
• Bites and stings from nests, hives and snakes
• Traffic and the public near the drop zone
• Heat, noise and fatigue

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

• Tree climbing and aerial rescue training from a nationally recognised course or an equivalent, with each climber’s competency checked and recorded before they climb unsupervised (no high risk work licence class applies to tree climbing or chainsaw use)
• Climbers trained in the climbing system used: saddle, rope, anchors, work positioning and rigging
• At least one trained rescuer on the ground for every climb, practised in the aerial rescue plan
• Chainsaw training, with competency for the saw used aloft
• Competent person (qualified arborist or experienced climber) to assess each tree and plan the cuts
• Authorised person for the line, arranged through the person in control of the line, for any work that has to go inside an exclusion zone (outside this SWMS)
• Accredited traffic controllers for anyone who stops or directs traffic
• An adequate number of workers trained in first aid, including control of severe bleeding and CPR (WHS Regulation s 42)
• General construction induction training card (white card) when the work is construction work, for example clearing a site for building

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 (work positioning systems, rope access systems, rescue and suspension intolerance)
• Forest Harvesting Code of Practice 2007 (chainsaw features and protective equipment; written for forest harvesting and used here as good practice for tree work)
• How to Manage Work Health and Safety Risks Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Risks of Plant in the Workplace 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
• First Aid in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Risks of Hazardous Chemicals in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Traffic Management for Construction or Maintenance Work Code of Practice 2008 (work beside a road)
• Electrical Safety Act 2002 (Qld)
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): overhead line exclusion zones (ss 10 to 13, schedule 2)
• Electrical Safety Code of Practice 2020 – Working near overhead and underground electric lines (chapter 6, clearing vegetation near lines; distances come from the 2026 Regulation)
• Transport Operations (Road Use Management – Accreditation and Other Provisions) Regulation 2015 (Qld): traffic controllers
• AS/NZS 4488 (set) Industrial rope access systems and AS/NZS 1891 (set) Industrial fall-arrest systems and devices, as named in the Managing the Risk of Falls at Workplaces Code of Practice 2021
• AS 2727 Chainsaws – Guide to safe working practices and AS 2726 Chainsaws – Safety requirements – Part 1: Chainsaws for general use, as named in the Forest Harvesting Code of Practice 2007
• Safe Work Australia model Code of Practice: Managing the risks of biological hazards at work (guidance)
• 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
• 10 job steps for this work, each with its hazards, controls, initial and residual risk scores and the person responsible
• PPE listed for this job: climbing helmet with chin strap, face mesh or visor and ear muffs; cut-resistant leg protection (chainsaw trousers or chaps) suited to climbing; cut-resistant safety boots with non-slip soles
• Emergency arrangements for: climber hurt, unconscious or unable to descend, chainsaw laceration or severe bleeding and tree, limb, rope or saw touches a power line
• 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.