Pigeon Dropping Removal and Biohazard Cleaning SWMS

For cleaning, pest control and property maintenance businesses that remove bird droppings, nests and carcasses from roofs, ledges, ceilings, car parks and plant areas. It follows the job in order, from the site assessment and containment through access, respirators and PPE, wet removal, sharps, decontamination, disposal and health follow-up.

Dropping removal and biohazard cleaning is not high risk construction work by itself, so WHS Regulation s 299 does not require a SWMS for it, and it works as a written safe work procedure or task risk assessment; where the cleaning is part of high risk construction work, items to tick if they apply are a fall of more than 2 metres, disturbing asbestos, confined space, a contaminated atmosphere, energised electrical installations and moving powered mobile plant.

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

What Is Covered In Our Pigeon Dropping Removal and Biohazard Cleaning SWMS?

After the standard pre-start checks, the job steps run from “Assess the site and the contamination before disturbing anything” to “Watch for illness after exposure and report it”. The hazards and controls include:

• Histoplasmosis, psittacosis and cryptococcosis from dried droppings
• Dust and spores from dry sweeping
• Respirator leaks and wrong respirator selection
• Needle-stick and cut injuries from sharps and glass
• Contact with carcasses, nests, mites and fleas
• Falls from ladders and through fragile roofs and ceilings
• Chemical splashes from disinfectants
• Heat stress in coveralls and respirators
• Spreading contamination to vehicles and homes
• Waste bags splitting and manual handling strains
• Asbestos in roof and ceiling spaces
• Illness appearing days or weeks after exposure

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 in the biological hazards of bird droppings and nests (histoplasmosis, cryptococcosis, psittacosis), the signs of illness, and the decontamination procedure
• Respirator fit-testing and training in selecting, wearing, checking and cleaning the respirator used
• Training in the cleaning chemicals and equipment used: SDS, dilution, spills and eyewash
• Infection control and sharps training: hand hygiene, glove use, handling sharps, and what to do after a needle-stick or cut
• Competency for the access equipment used; a boom-type elevating work platform high risk work licence where the boom length is 11 metres or more
• First aid equipment and trained first aiders (or access to them), as the first aid assessment shows the work needs (WHS Regulation s 42)
• Vaccination offered to workers at risk of blood-borne infection, in line with the Australian Immunisation Handbook
• Asbestos awareness training (WHS Regulation s 445) where roof or ceiling work could disturb asbestos
• Site induction, including keys, alarms, restricted areas and emergency exits
• General construction induction training card (white card) only when the work is construction work, such as cleaning part of a construction project

Legislation and Codes of Practice Referenced

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld) ss 35, 36 and 38 and Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld) s 699 (notifying serious illness; psittacosis is listed in s 699(b)(vii))
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): ss 44 to 46 (personal protective equipment), s 48 (remote or isolated work) and ss 78 to 80 (falls)
• How to Manage Work Health and Safety Risks Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Risks of Hazardous Chemicals in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Labelling of Workplace Hazardous Chemicals Code of Practice 2021
• Managing the Risk of Falls at Workplaces Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Risks of Plant in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021 (elevating work platforms)
• Hazardous Manual Tasks Code of Practice 2021
• Managing the Work Environment and Facilities Code of Practice 2021 (heat and remote or isolated work)
• First Aid in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021 (infection control and sharps)
• How to Manage and Control Asbestos in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Scaffolding Code of Practice 2021: section 2.7.3 (bird droppings and the diseases they can cause)
• Confined Spaces Code of Practice 2021 (if a roof or ceiling void is a confined space)
• AS/NZS 1715 and AS/NZS 1716 (respiratory protective equipment): named in Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld) s 529BA(3) for silica dust and in the Queensland asbestos code; used here as guidance for droppings
• Safe Work Australia model Code of Practice: Managing the risks of biological hazards at work (guidance only: a model code, not approved in Queensland)

What You Get

• An editable Microsoft Word document (15 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: fit-tested respirator chosen from the risk assessment: a P2 particulate respirator is a common choice for dry droppings (guidance, not a Queensland requirement), or a powered respirator where the risk assessment calls for it
• Emergency arrangements for: needle-stick, cut or contact with blood, fall from a ladder or EWP, or through a fragile surface and chemical in the eyes or on the skin, or fumes from mixed products
• 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.