Timber Deck and Pergola SWMS

Suits carpenters, builders and landscapers who build timber decks and pergolas on houses and units. It covers services checks, post holes and footings, cutting treated timber, framing, decking, pergola beams and rafters, and finishing. Steel awnings and carports, elevated balcony construction, roofing and powered augers use separate SWMS.

A SWMS is legally required when the work is high risk construction work, such as work with a risk of a person falling more than 2 metres (WHS Regulation sections 291 and 299). That 2 metre test applies to housing construction too; the 3 metre figures in sections 306C and 306D only decide which fall controls apply. A low ground-level deck may not be high risk construction work, and then this document works as a written safe work procedure or task risk assessment. No item is pre-ticked. Tick the fall item if a person on your job could fall more than 2 metres.

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

What Is Covered In Our Timber Deck and Pergola SWMS?

After the standard pre-start checks, the job steps run from “Plan the job and check the site, services and structure” to “Clean up and hand over the work area”. The hazards and controls include:

• Striking underground services when digging
• Overhead and service line contact
• Asbestos in old fibro eaves and cladding
• Powered auger kickback
• Cement burns and dust
• Treated timber and hardwood dust
• Saw and nail gun injuries
• Falls from ladders and deck edges
• Heavy members falling from height
• Manual handling of timber
• Noise from saws and drills
• Heat and sun 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

• General construction induction training card (white card)
• Queensland Building and Construction Commission licence where the work requires one (check the QBCC requirements for your job)
• Training and competency for the nail guns, saws and power tools used
• Powered auger operator training (see the separate SWMS)
• Site induction
• First aid arrangements for the site (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 78, 80 and 306A to 306Q (falls: management of risk, rescue, ladders and trestle platforms, scaffolding)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): ss 306C and 306D (fall risk of less than 3 m and 3 m or more in housing construction work)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): ss 351 and 342 (hazardous chemicals)
• Managing the Risk of Falls at Workplaces Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Risks of Plant in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Excavation Work Code of Practice 2021
• Hazardous Manual Tasks Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Risks of Hazardous Chemicals in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Noise and Preventing Hearing Loss at Work Code of Practice 2021
• How to Manage and Control Asbestos 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): overhead power line 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 (13 A4 landscape pages). Type your business, client and job details once and they fill in on every page, with a space for your logo
• 11 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; safety glasses; cut-resistant or leather gloves; waterproof gloves for cement and sealers
• Emergency arrangements for: person falls from height, underground service struck and cement or chemical splash to the eyes
• 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 November 2026.