Circular Saw SWMS

For carpenters, builders, framers, fitters and handymen who cut timber, board and sheet material with a portable circular saw. It covers checking the saw, setting up and supporting the material, powering the saw, cutting into existing structures, making the cut, clearing jams and packing up.

A SWMS is legally required under the WHS Regulation (s 299) only when the cutting is part of high risk construction work, such as a fall risk over 2 metres, work near energised services, asbestos disturbance or cutting that creates silica dust (tick the contaminated atmosphere item, s 291(l)); otherwise this document works as a written safe work procedure or task risk assessment.

New to SWMS? Read What is a safe work method statement?

What is covered in our circular saw SWMS?

After the standard pre-start checks, the job steps run from “Check the saw, blade and guard” to “Pack up and store”. The hazards and controls include:

• Kickback and binding of the blade
• Contact with the blade or a jammed guard
• Electric shock from leads and wet conditions
• Cutting through concealed cables in existing walls
• Asbestos in older buildings
• Timber and board dust
• Respirable crystalline silica dust from fibre cement and masonry
• Flying chips and debris to the eyes
• Noise and hearing loss
• Hand-arm vibration
• Lithium-ion battery fires
• Saw or material dropped from height onto people below

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) for construction work
• Site induction
• Training or verified competence in using a portable circular saw, including kickback, blade changes and dust control
• No high risk work licence is needed for a portable circular saw
• Respirator fit-testing before first use and at least yearly (as the approved silica code recommends)
• Health monitoring once a worker needs a respirator on 30 or more days in 12 months (approved silica code)
• Person holding an electrical work licence that authorises the work, when live wiring cannot be ruled out
• Competent person to inspect and test corded saws, leads and safety switches

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 36, 44 (control measures, PPE), ss 56 to 58 (noise)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): s 60 (hazardous manual tasks), ss 205 to 213 (plant)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): ss 49, 368 and Chapter 8A, ss 529A to 529J (silica dust)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): ss 419, 422, 446 (asbestos)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): ss 306K to 306O (ladders, trestle platforms)
• Managing Risks of Plant in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Hazardous Manual Tasks Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Noise and Preventing Hearing Loss at Work 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
• How to Manage Work Health and Safety Risks Code of Practice 2021
• First Aid in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Work Health and Safety Consultation, Co-operation and Co-ordination Code of Practice 2021
• Electrical Safety Act 2002 (Qld)
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): ss 17, 18 and 140 (unsafe equipment, leads, construction electrical equipment)
• AS/NZS 1716:2012 (Respiratory protective devices) and AS/NZS 1715:2009 (Selection, use and maintenance of respiratory protective equipment), as named in WHS Regulation s 529B

What you get

• An editable Microsoft Word document (15 pages), laid out on 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: impact-rated safety glasses or goggles; hearing protection (earmuffs or earplugs) fitted to the wearer
• Emergency arrangements for: deep cut or amputation, electric shock and eye injury
• 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.

Checked against the Queensland laws and codes of practice listed above. Last reviewed October 2026.