Agricultural Spray Drone Operation SWMS

Suits contractors who spray agricultural chemicals from drones (remotely piloted aircraft) on Queensland properties. It covers licence and approval checks, label and SDS review, drift and buffer planning, transport, mixing and loading, the spray flight, refilling, decontamination and records. Use the Drone Operations SWMS for general mapping and survey flights. It does not replace CASA approvals or an operations manual.

Spraying farmland is not construction work, so a SWMS is not legally required for it (WHS Regulation s 299 applies to high risk construction work). It works as a written safe work method and task risk assessment, and as part of the chemical handling controls the WHS Regulation requires. If the job is site preparation on a construction project with a high risk trigger, a SWMS is required.

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 Agricultural Spray Drone Operation SWMS?

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

• Spraying without the licences or approvals required
• Using a product contrary to its approved label
• Spray drift onto neighbours, stock, crops and water
• Splash, inhalation and skin contact when mixing and loading
• Chemical spills and contamination of waterways
• Aircraft striking people, wires and poles
• People entering the spray area during a flight
• Overweight take-off and tank or nozzle leaks
• Battery fire and generator hazards when refilling
• Residual chemical on equipment and PPE
• Heat illness in chemical PPE
• Missing spray records and unsafe chemical storage

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.

Licences, Training and Competency

• RePL that covers the aircraft, for spraying for hire or reward with an aircraft over 2 kg; take-off weight includes a full tank and batteries (CASR regs 101.237, 101.252; MOS 1.04(2))
• RPA operator’s certificate (ReOC) held by the business, with spraying covered by procedures CASA has accepted (CASR reg 101.270)
• Queensland pilot chemical rating licence for the pilot in command (the application needs a civil aviation authorisation to control the UAV, Act s 12) and aerial distribution contractor licence for the business, where the Agricultural Chemicals Distribution Control Act applies to the property (Act s 39(1))
• Chemical qualification for the pilot licence: a spraysafe accreditation, or statements of attainment for AHCCHM307 and AHCCHM304 (Regulation 2021 s 6(4))
• Any extra qualification a product carries under the Chemical Usage (Agricultural and Veterinary) Control Regulation 2017
• Aircraft registered with CASA
• Recorded competency on the aircraft model and its spray system, and chemical handling training (WHS Reg s 39)
• First aid training for at least one crew member
• Landholders spraying their own land: the aircraft rules differ (CASR reg 101.237(4) and (7)) but aerial distribution licensing still applies (Act s 39(1)); confirm the pilot licence requirement with Biosecurity Queensland
• Spotter briefed on duties, signals and the spray zone

Legislation and Codes of Practice Referenced

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld)
• Agricultural Chemicals Distribution Control Act 1966 (Qld)
• Agricultural Chemicals Distribution Control Regulation 2021 (Qld)
• Chemical Usage (Agricultural and Veterinary) Control Act 1988 (Qld)
• Chemical Usage (Agricultural and Veterinary) Control Regulation 2017 (Qld)
• Transport Operations (Road Use Management – Dangerous Goods) Regulation 2018 (Qld)
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld)
• Civil Aviation Act 1988 (Cth)
• Civil Aviation Safety Regulations 1998 (Cth): Part 47 (registration) and Part 101 (unmanned aircraft)
• Part 101 (Unmanned Aircraft and Rockets) Manual of Standards 2019 (Cth)
• Transport Safety Investigation Act 2003 (Cth) and Transport Safety Investigation Regulations 2021 (Cth): type 1 and type 2 RPA only
• How to Manage Work Health and Safety Risks Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Risks of Hazardous Chemicals in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Labelling of Workplace Hazardous Chemicals Code of Practice 2021
• Preparation of Safety Data Sheets for Hazardous Chemicals Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Risks of Plant in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• First Aid in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Hazardous Manual Tasks Code of Practice 2021
• Rural Plant Code of Practice 2024 (agricultural aviation section covers drones)
• Electrical Safety Code of Practice 2020 – Electrical equipment rural industry
• Product use must follow the approved label and any APVMA permit (Chemical Usage Act s 13)
• A SWMS is legally required only before high risk construction work (WHS Reg s 299). Spraying farmland is not construction work, so this SWMS is used as good practice and as a written safe work method
• This SWMS does not replace CASA approvals, the ReOC holder’s operations manual or the operator’s CASA-accepted procedures

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 aircraft 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.