Artificial Turf Installation SWMS

Suits landscapers, turf installers, builders and sports surface contractors who lay synthetic turf on prepared bases. It follows the job from site planning and services checks through digging out, building the base, handling rolls, cutting, seaming, edging, infill and handover.

Installing artificial turf is not high risk construction work by itself, so no item is ticked. A SWMS is legally required under WHS Regulation s 299 only when the work is construction work that also meets an s 291 item, such as a fall of more than 2 metres on a roof or podium, energised electrical services, a road in use or powered mobile plant moving in the area, and the contaminated atmosphere item when base or infill work creates silica dust, as the approved silica code advises; otherwise it works as a written safe work procedure and task risk assessment. Natural turf laying and plate compactor use need separate SWMS.

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

What Is Covered In Our Artificial Turf Installation SWMS?

After the standard pre-start checks, the job steps run from “Plan the job and inspect the site” to “Clean up, remove waste and hand over”. The hazards and controls include:

• Strains from heavy turf rolls and base material
• Crush injuries when rolls move or fall
• Knife cuts when trimming and cutting
• Solvent vapour and skin contact from adhesives
• Fire from flammable adhesives
• Silica dust from base material and sand infill
• Striking underground services when digging out
• Contact with overhead power lines
• Nail gun and staple gun injuries
• Noise and fumes from a power broom
• Heat illness on hot synthetic surfaces
• Trips on loose turf and offcuts

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) when the work is construction work
• No high risk work licence class applies to laying artificial turf
• Installer trained in the safe use of knives, power brooms and the adhesives used, with competency verified before working unsupervised
• Trained person to use a cable and pipe locator where private services must be traced
• High risk work licence for the class of any forklift, crane or elevating work platform used to move rolls (under that plant’s own SWMS)
• First aid certificate for the nominated first aider
• Site induction

Legislation and Codes of Practice Referenced

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld)
• How to Manage Work Health and Safety Risks Code of Practice 2021
• Hazardous Manual Tasks 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
• Managing Risks of Plant in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Noise and Preventing Hearing Loss at Work Code of Practice 2021
• Managing the Work Environment and Facilities Code of Practice 2021 (heat)
• Managing the Risk of Falls at Workplaces Code of Practice 2021 (roofs, balconies and podium edges)
• First Aid in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Electrical Safety Act 2002 (Qld)
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): overhead line exclusion zones (ss 10 to 13 and sch 2) and underground electric lines (ss 14 and 15); electrical equipment on construction sites (s 140)
• Electrical Safety Code of Practice 2020 – Working near overhead and underground electric lines

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: safety boots with toe protection; knee pads, worn over the clothing, for kneeling on the base and turf; cut-resistant gloves for knife work and chemical-resistant gloves when applying adhesive
• Emergency arrangements for: knife cut, adhesive in the eyes or on the skin and heat illness
• 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 October 2026.