Mowing Steep Slopes and Embankments SWMS

Suits councils, road managers, grounds and landscaping teams who mow banks and embankments with ride-on, remote-controlled, push and self-propelled mowers. It follows the work from assessing each slope and choosing the method, through machine checks and setting up, to mowing, edges, heat and snakes, and transport.

A SWMS is legally required only for high risk construction work (WHS Regulation s 299), and mowing is not construction work by itself; otherwise this works as a written safe work procedure and task risk assessment. If the work forms part of construction work, tick any high risk construction work item that applies, such as work beside a road in use or in an area where powered mobile plant moves.

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 Mowing Steep Slopes and Embankments SWMS?

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

• Ride-on mower and tractor rollover on slopes
• Push mower slipping and blade contact
• Remote mower running away or rolling
• Stones and wire thrown from the deck
• Machine falling over edges, drains and dams
• Traffic beside roadside embankments
• People below the slope on the fall line
• Contact with overhead power lines
• Hearing loss and vibration
• Heat illness and sunburn
• Snakes, ticks and wasps
• Fuel fire and grass fire

High Risk Construction Work

No high risk construction work items (WHS Regulation 2011 (Qld) s 291) are pre-ticked, because this work is not high risk construction work by itself. Tick the items that apply to your job, such as a fall risk of more than 2 metres or work where powered mobile plant is moving.

Licences, Training and Competency

• No high risk work licence applies to mowers, tractors or remote-controlled slope mowers (Schedule 3 of the WHS Regulation)
• Operator trained in the specific machine and verified as competent on slopes, covering its slope limit, controls, blade stop, roll-over protection and the manufacturer’s safe-use rules, with supervised practice before working unsupervised
• For a remote-controlled mower: training in the controller, its range, the stop function and keeping the machine in line of sight
• Supervisor or competent person who assesses each slope and signs off which machine, if any, may work on it
• Workers under 18 are supervised and given extra instruction before working on slopes with mowers
• Trained traffic controllers where traffic control is needed on or beside a road
• First aid trained person or access to one, including cuts, crush injuries, heat illness and snake bite (WHS Regulation s 42)
• General construction induction training card (white card) only if the work is part of construction work on a construction site
• Site induction, and the client’s or road manager’s access, safety and working-hours rules

Legislation and Codes of Practice Referenced

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): ss 206 to 216 (plant, powered mobile plant and roll-over protection on tractors) and ss 56 to 58 (noise)
• Managing Risks of Plant in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Rural Plant Code of Practice 2024
• Managing Noise and Preventing Hearing Loss at Work Code of Practice 2021
• Hazardous Manual Tasks Code of Practice 2021
• Managing the Work Environment and Facilities Code of Practice 2021 (outdoor work, heat, UV and remote or isolated work)
• Managing the Risk of Falls at Workplaces Code of Practice 2021 (work near edges)
• Managing Risks of Hazardous Chemicals in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021 (fuel)
• First Aid in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Children and Young Workers Code of Practice 2006
• Traffic Management for Construction or Maintenance Work Code of Practice 2008 (mowing beside roads)
• How to Manage Work Health and Safety Risks Code of Practice 2021
• Transport Operations (Road Use Management – Accreditation and Other Provisions) Regulation 2015 (Qld): traffic controllers, sections 51 to 55
• Electrical Safety Act 2002 (Qld)
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): overhead power line exclusion zones, 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)

What You Get

• An editable Microsoft Word document (15 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.