Bird Proofing Netting and Spike Installation SWMS

For pest control and building maintenance contractors who fit bird netting, spikes and deterrent wires to roofs, ledges, eaves and structures. It follows the job from the site inspection and power line check to access, fixing, droppings and clean-up, and covers the biological hazards and fall controls that apply in Queensland.

The fall of more than 2 metres item is ticked for you because fitting bird proofing to a building is treated as construction work on a structure (alteration or fitting-out, including installation: WHS Regulation s 289). If every part of your job is below 2 metres and not otherwise high risk construction work, a SWMS is not required by law (s 299), and this works as a written safe work procedure and task risk assessment; untick the item and add any others that apply, such as work near energised electrical services.

Learn More: What Is A Safe Work Method Statement?
Have you ever been asked to provide a SWMS on a project in Queensland? Read our guide to what a Safe Work Method Statement is and when you need one.

What Is Covered In Our Bird Proofing Netting and Spike Installation SWMS?

The job steps run in the order the work is done, from pre-start checks to finishing up. The hazards and controls include:

• Falls from EWPs, ladders, scaffold and roof edges
• Falls through fragile roofs and skylights
• Contact with overhead power lines
• Breathing in droppings and nest dust
• Skin contact with droppings, mites and dead birds
• Cuts from spikes, wire and mesh
• Wire or cable releasing under tension
• Silica dust and service strikes when drilling masonry
• Tools and fixings falling on people below
• Heat, sun and stings in roof spaces
• Working alone at height
• Spreading contamination on clothes and equipment

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

Licences, Training and Competency

• General construction induction training card (white card): installing netting, spikes and wires on a building or structure is construction work (fitting-out or alteration)
• Site induction, including roof access rules, keys, alarms and restricted areas
• High risk work licence for the boom-type elevating work platform class where the boom length is 11 m or more (Schedule 3, item 21); no licence is needed for scissor lifts, spider lifts or ladders
• Training and competency for the access equipment used, and in fall prevention, work positioning and fall arrest equipment including rescue
• Advanced scaffolding class licence for anyone erecting a hung or suspended scaffold; basic, intermediate or advanced class as Schedule 3 requires for any scaffold erected above 4 m (scaffold erected by a licensed scaffolder, using a separate SWMS)
• Training in the biological hazards of bird droppings (psittacosis, cryptococcosis, histoplasmosis), respirator fit testing and the decontamination steps
• Training in the drill, fixing tools, wire tensioning tools and adhesives used
• Training in the identification and safe handling of asbestos for workers the PCBU reasonably believes may be involved in asbestos-related work (WHS Regulation s 445); other workers stop and report suspect material
• First aid equipment, facilities and trained first aiders (or access to them) as the work needs (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 to 80 (falls), ss 306C and 306D (construction falls), ss 306K to 306M (ladders)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): s 54 (falling objects) and s 225 (scaffolds)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): ss 344, 346 and 351 (safety data sheets, hazardous chemicals register, managing chemical risks)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): s 699 (notifiable serious illness; psittacosis is listed in s 699(b))
• How to Manage Work Health and Safety Risks 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
• Scaffolding Code of Practice 2021: section 2.7.3 (bird droppings and the diseases they can cause)
• Managing Risks of Hazardous Chemicals in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Labelling of Workplace Hazardous Chemicals Code of Practice 2021
• Hazardous Manual Tasks 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 and Control Asbestos in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Managing respirable crystalline silica dust exposure in construction and manufacturing of construction elements Code of Practice 2022
• Electrical Safety Act 2002 (Qld)
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): overhead electric line exclusion zones and unsafe distances, ss 10 to 13 and schedule 2
• Electrical Safety Code of Practice 2020 – Working near overhead and underground electric lines (distances come from the 2026 Regulation)
• Safe Work Australia model Code of Practice: Managing the risks of biological hazards at work (guidance only: a model code, not approved in Queensland)
• Safe Work Australia model Code of Practice: Elevating work platforms (guidance only: a model code, not approved in Queensland)

What You Get

• An editable Microsoft Word document (16 pages), laid out on A4 landscape pages
• Business, client, job and document details typed once and filled in on every page, plus a space for your logo
• The high risk construction work checklist, worded as WHS Regulation s 291, and the construction project question (s 292)
• A worker and health and safety representative consultation record
• Qualifications, plant, PPE, hazardous chemicals, safety equipment, permits, references and emergency arrangements filled in for this work
• A 5 x 5 risk matrix, and job steps with initial and residual risk scores and the people responsible
• Implementing, monitoring and review requirements, an additional controls log, revision history and a worker sign-on sheet

Review and adjust it for your site, your plant and the way your crew does the job, and talk it through with your workers before work starts. If you have any trouble downloading this SWMS, you can contact us at any time. Please make sure you read our Disclaimer before downloading this SWMS.