Carpet Installation and Stretching SWMS

For carpet layers, flooring contractors and builders who lay, seam and stretch carpet in houses, units and commercial fit-outs. It follows the job in order: planning and asbestos checks, lifting old carpet, fixing tack strip, cutting and seaming, adhesives, stretching, stairs and handover. Hard flooring installation needs a separate SWMS.

Laying carpet is construction work (fitting-out) but not high risk construction work by itself, so no item is pre-ticked and a SWMS is legally required only when a WHS Regulation s 291 item applies (s 299). Tick item 3 if you find or suspect asbestos under old floor coverings, and item 0 if anyone could fall more than 2 metres. Tick item 11 (an area that may have a contaminated or flammable atmosphere, s 291(l)) if solvent adhesive vapour builds up in a small room, or if drilling or cutting concrete creates silica dust, as the approved silica code advises. Otherwise this document works as a written safe work procedure or task risk assessment.

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

What Is Covered In Our Carpet Installation and Stretching SWMS?

After the standard pre-start checks, the job steps run from “Plan the job and inspect the site, subfloor and old floor coverings” to “Clean up, remove waste and hand over”. The hazards and controls include:

• Asbestos in old vinyl tiles, backing and adhesive
• Knife and trimmer cuts to hands and legs
• Punctures from tack strip, nails and staples
• Burns and fire from the seaming iron
• Fire and fumes from solvent-based adhesives
• Skin and eye irritation from adhesives and seam sealers
• Knee kicker and power stretcher injuries
• Knee, back and shoulder strain from kneeling and stretching
• Strains from heavy carpet and underlay rolls
• Slips and falls on stairs
• Dust from old underlay and concrete fixing
• Electric shock from irons and leads

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 (laying carpet is fitting-out work), and site induction
• Carpet layers trained and experienced in stretching and seaming; apprentices and new workers work under the supervision of an experienced layer
• Training from the maker or an experienced layer in the knee kicker, power stretcher and seaming iron being used
• Training in the SDS for each adhesive, seam sealer and cleaner, and a respirator fit test for anyone who needs a respirator
• Training in the staple gun, hammer tacker or nail gun used to fix underlay and tack strip
• Asbestos awareness so layers recognise suspected asbestos under old floor coverings, stop work and report it (asbestos removal is outside this SWMS)
• An adequate number of people trained in first aid, and a first aid kit on the job (WHS Regulation s 42)

Legislation and Codes of Practice Referenced

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): ss 51 to 53 (hazardous atmospheres, ignition sources, flammable and combustible material) and s 355 (fire and explosion)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): s 60 (hazardous manual tasks) and ss 344, 346 and 351 (safety data sheets, register and chemical risks)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): ss 419 and 422 (work involving asbestos, identifying asbestos) and ss 316 and 317 (construction induction)
• Hazardous Manual Tasks 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 (decanted adhesives)
• How to Manage and Control Asbestos in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Risks of Plant in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Managing the Work Environment and Facilities 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 Regulation 2026 (Qld): s 140 (electrical equipment for construction work)
• Managing respirable crystalline silica dust exposure in construction and manufacturing of construction elements Code of Practice 2022 (only if concrete is drilled or cut)

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: knee pads in good condition, fitted to each worker, for all floor-level work; safety boots with non-slip soles and toe protection
• Emergency arrangements for: serious cut or staple injury, burn from the seaming iron and fire from adhesive vapour
• 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.