Irrigation Pump Station Installation SWMS

For irrigation contractors, farm builders and civil crews who install pump stations, pump sheds and pipework. It covers planning who does licensed electrical and plumbing work, lifting heavy pumps, trenching, pits and sumps, pipework, commissioning and work near dams and tanks. It leaves irrigation system installation and electrical work to separate SWMS.

Energised electrical services (item 10 in the high risk construction work list, s 291(k)) and powered mobile plant (item 14, s 291(o)) are pre-ticked, so a SWMS is required by law (s 299). Also tick the trench item for any excavation deeper than 1.5 m, the confined space item for a pit or sump that is a confined space, and the drowning item for work in or near deep water.

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 Irrigation Pump Station 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:

• Electric shock from pump and switchboard connection
• Unlicensed electrical or plumbing work
• Heavy pumps and motors falling or crushing
• Trench collapse
• Striking underground services
• Contact with overhead power lines
• Toxic gas and engulfment in pits and sumps
• Drowning near dams and tanks
• Pipe failure under pressure
• Solvent cement fumes and fire
• Rotating shafts and couplings
• Silica dust and noise from drilling

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
• Is carried out in an area at a workplace in which there is any movement of powered mobile plant

Licences, Training and Competency

• General construction induction training card (white card) for construction work
• Electrical work licence for electrical work (Electrical Safety Act 2002 s 55, which has limited exemptions); only a licensed electrical worker connects power, controls and the pump motor
• Licensed plumber, where plumbing law requires one for the connected pipework
• High risk work licence in the dogging class, or a higher rigging class (Schedule 3), for anyone who slings a load or directs a plant operator when the load is out of the operator’s view (Schedule 19)
• Licensed operator for any crane or forklift used (separate SWMS); no high risk work licence class applies to an excavator
• Competent person for confined space risk assessment and gas testing where a pit is a confined space
• Spotter briefed on the exclusion zone and hand signals
• First aider, including for drowning rescue and electric shock; site induction

Legislation and Codes of Practice Referenced

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld)
• Excavation Work Code of Practice 2021
• Confined Spaces Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Risks of Plant in the Workplace 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
• Managing respirable crystalline silica dust exposure in construction and manufacturing of construction elements Code of Practice 2022
• Rural Plant Code of Practice 2024 (section 7.8, irrigation and associated equipment)
• 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
• Plumbing and Drainage Act 2018 (Qld): ss 56 to 58 (a licence is needed to carry out, supervise or direct plumbing or drainage work, with exemptions that include unregulated work)
• Electrical Safety Act 2002 (Qld): s 55 (electrical work licence)
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): overhead and underground electric lines (ss 10 to 15 and schedule 2) and electrical equipment (ss 139 and 140)
• Electrical Safety Code of Practice 2020 – Working near overhead and underground electric lines (distances come from the 2026 Regulation)

What You Get

• An editable Microsoft Word document (14 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.