Accident Scene Vehicle Recovery SWMS

Suits tow truck and recovery operators who attend crash scenes to make a vehicle safe and take it away. It follows the job from the call-out and approach, through making the vehicle safe, rigging, winching and loading onto a tilt tray, to leaving the scene. It does not cover setting up traffic control.

A SWMS is required by law only for high risk construction work (WHS Regulation s 299), and roadside vehicle recovery is not by itself construction work. No item is pre-ticked. Tick the items that apply if the job turns into high risk construction work, for example work on a road or other traffic corridor in use (s 291). Otherwise this works as a written safe work procedure and task risk assessment.

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

What Is Covered In Our Accident Scene Vehicle Recovery SWMS?

After the standard pre-start checks, the job steps run from “Pre-start check of the recovery truck, winch and gear” to “Leave the scene and secure the load for the road”. The hazards and controls include:

• Struck by traffic at the roadside
• Fire from spilled fuel and damaged batteries
• Fallen power lines at the scene
• High-voltage battery hazards in electric and hybrid vehicles
• Undeployed airbags and pretensioners
• Unstable or rolled vehicles
• Winch rope and hook failure
• Crush injuries under the tray and ramp
• Cuts from glass and sharp metal
• Blood and body fluids at the scene
• Distressing scenes and aggressive bystanders
• Fatigue after night and long call-outs

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

• Driver licence for the class of the recovery truck
• Training and verified competency on the tilt tray, winch, remote control and recovery gear in use
• Training in recovering damaged, rolled, electric and hybrid vehicles, using the vehicle maker’s rescue and recovery guidance
• A high risk work licence for the vehicle loading crane class (capacity 10 metre tonnes or more) only if a truck-mounted loading crane is used
• First aid training (recommended: operators are often first at a scene)
• Any authority or accreditation that Queensland tow truck law requires for the operator and driver
• Traffic controller accreditation only for a person who directs traffic; this SWMS does not cover that work

Legislation and Codes of Practice Referenced

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld)
• Managing Risks of Plant in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Hazardous Manual Tasks Code of Practice 2021
• First Aid in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Managing the risk of psychosocial hazards at work Code of Practice 2022
• How to Manage Work Health and Safety Risks Code of Practice 2021
• Electrical Safety Act 2002 (Qld)
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): overhead power line exclusion zones in sections 10 to 13 and schedule 2
• Safe Work Australia model Code of Practice: Managing the risk of fatigue at work (guidance)
• Safe Work Australia model Code of Practice: Managing the risks of biological hazards at work (guidance, for blood and body fluids at scenes)

What You Get

• An editable Microsoft Word document (14 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: high-visibility clothing suited to day and night road work; safety boots; cut-resistant gloves for glass and metal; nitrile gloves under them for blood and fluids; safety glasses
• Emergency arrangements for: fire or fuel leak, fallen or low power lines and casualty or trapped person
• 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.