Alarm Response and Premises Check SWMS

For security companies and in-house officers who respond to alarm activations and check premises alone or in pairs. It follows the response from the call-out and risk assessment through travel, the perimeter check, entry and search, offenders, emergencies and handover to reporting. Routine patrols are separate work.

Alarm response is not high risk construction work, so a SWMS is legally required only where the work is part of high risk construction work, such as on a construction site (WHS Regulation s 299); otherwise this works as a written safe work procedure or task risk assessment. Tick any items that apply, such as movement of powered mobile plant, if the premises involves them.

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

What Is Covered In Our Alarm Response and Premises Check SWMS?

After the standard pre-start checks, the job steps run from “Receive the alarm, assess the risk and decide who responds” to “Record, report and finish the response”. The hazards and controls include:

• Confronting an offender or aggressive person
• Working alone with no help nearby
• Road crashes on alarm call-outs
• Dark and unsafe premises, stairs and grounds
• Dog bites and animal attacks
• Broken glass, sharps and spills
• Damaged wiring, fire and gas found inside
• Slips, trips and falls on uneven ground
• Stress and fatigue from night call-outs
• Lone work check-ins and missed check-ins

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

• Security licence of the right class for the work, as required under Queensland security licensing law (the Security Providers Act 1993); check the current licence class and conditions with the licensing authority
• Driver licence of the class for the vehicle used, and a vehicle in a roadworthy state
• Training in alarm response procedures, premises searches, radio use, incident reporting, conflict de-escalation and the limits of the officer’s powers
• First aid certificate for officers expected to give first aid; an adequate number of trained first aiders or access to them (WHS Regulation s 42)
• Site induction or site instructions for each client premises, and a general construction induction training card (white card) only if the premises is a construction site
• Training in the use of any equipment the officer carries (torch, radio, body-worn camera)

Legislation and Codes of Practice Referenced

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld)
• Managing the Work Environment and Facilities Code of Practice 2021 (remote or isolated work)
• Managing the risk of psychosocial hazards at work Code of Practice 2022
• Hazardous Manual Tasks 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
• Electrical Safety Act 2002 (Qld): s 55, only licensed electrical workers perform electrical work
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): overhead and underground electric lines and exclusion zones in schedule 2
• Safe Work Australia model Code of Practice: Managing the risk of fatigue at work (model code, not approved in Queensland; guidance only)

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
• 9 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 vest or shirt when working near roads and vehicles, and a sun-safe hat and sunscreen for outdoor work; sturdy, slip-resistant boots with good ankle support
• Emergency arrangements for: offender present or threat made, fire, smoke, gas smell or electrical fault found and missed check-in
• 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.