Storm Damage Make-Safe and Roof Tarping SWMS

For roofers, builders, restoration crews and emergency repair contractors who make storm-damaged houses and buildings safe. It follows the job in order, from assessing the property and power lines through the drop zone, ladder or EWP access, checking the roof, clearing debris and fitting the tarp, to checking inside and handing over. General roofing has its own SWMS.

Work with a risk of a fall of more than 2 metres (WHS Regulation s 291(a)) and work on or near energised electrical installations or services (s 291(k)) are ticked for you, so a SWMS is required before the work starts (s 299). Tick the other items that apply on the form: the asbestos item (WHS Regulation s 291(d)) if the work may disturb asbestos-cement sheets, the temporary support item (s 291(e)) if the roof structure needs temporary support to prevent collapse, and the powered mobile plant item (s 291(o)) when an EWP, truck or crane moves in the work area. Storm make-safe is treated as construction work (repair of a structure); only maintenance or repair of a minor nature is outside that meaning (s 289(3)(d)), so a very small job may not be high risk construction work.

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

What Is Covered In Our Storm Damage Make-Safe and Roof Tarping SWMS?

After the standard pre-start checks, the job steps run from “Assess the property from the ground and agree the plan” to “Complete the job and hand over”. The hazards and controls include:

• Falls through damaged or wet roofing
• Falls from ladders and EWPs
• Contact with live and downed power lines
• Live damaged service lines and meter boxes
• Wind catching tarps and pulling workers off balance
• Asbestos sheeting broken by the storm
• Roof frames giving way
• Debris and tools falling on people below
• Cuts from torn metal and broken tiles
• Ceilings collapsing under water
• Heat, fatigue and lightning
• Rescue of a stranded worker

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:

• Involves a risk of a person falling more than 2m
• Is carried out on or near energised electrical installations or services

Licences, Training and Competency

• General construction induction training card (white card) for construction work, and site induction
• Boom-type EWP high risk work licence for a boom length of 11 m or more; documented training and verified competence for smaller EWPs
• Training in the fall protection equipment used (travel restraint, harness, lanyards, anchors) and in the rescue plan; no high risk work licence class covers working at heights
• Competent person to inspect the roof, approve anchorage points and check equipment
• Licensed scaffolder (the class needed for the scaffold) where scaffolding work is done from which a person could fall more than 4 m
• Licensed electrician for any electrical work, and the electricity entity for lines and service lines
• Safety observer trained for the role where work is near power lines
• Licensed asbestos removalist if asbestos-containing material has to be removed
• CPR and first aid training for the crew

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 78 to 80 and 306C to 306M (falls and ladders), ss 458, 485 and 487 (asbestos removal licences), ss 289, 291 and 299 (high risk construction work and SWMS)
• Managing the Risk of Falls at Workplaces Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Risks of Plant in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Hazardous Manual Tasks Code of Practice 2021
• Scaffolding Code of Practice 2021 (where scaffold is used for access)
• How to Manage and Control Asbestos in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• How to Safely Remove Asbestos Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Risks of Hazardous Chemicals in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Managing the Work Environment and Facilities Code of Practice 2021
• 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): ss 10 to 13 and schedule 2 (exclusion zones for overhead electric lines), s 292 (serious electrical incidents and dangerous electrical events)
• Electrical Safety Code of Practice 2020 – Working near overhead and underground electric lines (distances come from the 2026 Regulation)
• WorkSafe Queensland guidance: Managing the risk of falls while working on roofs in housing construction (guidance, not a code)
• Safe Work Australia model Code of Practice: Elevating work platforms (guidance)
• Safe Work Australia model Code of Practice: Managing the risk of fatigue at work (guidance)

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: safety boots with a non-slip sole; hard hat with chin strap; high-visibility clothing; safety glasses
• Emergency arrangements for: contact with a power line, fall or stranded worker and broken asbestos-cement sheeting found
• 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.