Home Battery Storage Installation SWMS

For licensed electrical contractors and solar installers who fit home battery storage and connect it to an existing house switchboard and solar system. It follows the job from site assessment and heavy lifting through isolation, wiring, commissioning and customer handover.

The high risk construction work box for energised electrical installations or services (WHS Regulation s 291(k)) is ticked because the switchboard, the supply and solar DC strings stay energised until they are isolated and proved dead, and a battery stays live at its terminals. Tick any other box that applies, such as asbestos in an old switchboard or a fall of more than 2 metres. Live work needs its own SWMS.

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

What Is Covered In Our Home Battery Storage Installation SWMS?

After the standard pre-start checks, the job steps run from “Plan the job and assess the site” to “Hand over, brief the client and remove waste”. The hazards and controls include:

• Heavy battery handling and manual tasks
• DC arc flash and short circuit at battery terminals
• Electric shock from AC and solar DC supplies
• Re-energising during the work
• Battery fire and thermal runaway
• Blocked ventilation and heat build-up
• Asbestos in old switchboard boards
• Silica dust from drilling masonry
• Hidden cables and pipes when fixing
• Falls from ladders and platforms
• Customer not knowing the shutdown steps
• Damaged or swollen battery modules

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:

• Is carried out on or near energised electrical installations or services

Licences, Training and Competency

• Electrical work licence that authorises the work (Electrical Safety Act 2002 s 55); the employer holds an electrical contractor licence (s 56)
• Manufacturer or industry training for installing the battery and inverter being fitted
• Competence in rescue and resuscitation for every worker who does, or helps with, electrical work (Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 s 211)
• Competent person for the risk assessment and for testing that equipment is dead
• Training in the isolation and lock-out procedure, test instruments and PPE in use
• General construction induction training card (white card) when the work is construction work
• Site induction
• Trained first aider on site

Legislation and Codes of Practice Referenced

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld)
• Electrical Safety Act 2002 (Qld)
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): part 8, division 3 (electrical work on or near energised electrical equipment), ss 193 to 204
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): s 211 (rescue and resuscitation training)
• Electrical Safety Code of Practice 2021 – Managing electrical risks in the workplace
• Hazardous Manual Tasks Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Risks of Hazardous Chemicals in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Managing respirable crystalline silica dust exposure in construction and manufacturing of construction elements Code of Practice 2022
• How to Manage and Control Asbestos in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Managing the Risk of Falls at Workplaces 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

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
• 9 job steps for this work, each with its hazards, controls, initial and residual risk scores and the person responsible
• PPE listed for this job: insulated gloves rated for the voltage, as the electrical risk assessment requires; safety glasses or face shield for connecting and testing; safety boots; cut-resistant gloves for handling
• Emergency arrangements for: electric shock and battery fire or overheating
• 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.