Boom Lift SWMS

For electricians, signwriters, builders, maintenance crews and hire customers who work from boom lifts such as knuckle booms and telescopic booms. It follows the job from the pre-start check and transport through ground set-up, power line and road hazards to working from the platform, rescue and shutting down, using the Queensland boom-type EWP licence class.

Using a boom lift is not high risk construction work by itself; a SWMS is legally required when boom lift work is construction work with a risk of a fall of more than 2 metres or movement of powered mobile plant (WHS Regulation s 299), and otherwise the document works as a written safe work procedure or task risk assessment.

New to SWMS? Read What is a safe work method statement?

What is covered in our boom lift SWMS?

After the standard pre-start checks, the job steps run from “Pre-start boom lift check” to “Shut down, pack up and store”. The hazards and controls include:

• Falls from the platform or when ejected by a knock
• Boom lift overturning on soft or sloping ground
• Contact with overhead power lines
• Crushing against beams, ceilings and structures
• Vehicles striking the lift on or beside a road
• Tools and materials falling on people below
• Lift rolling or tipping when loading and transporting
• Operator trapped or stranded at height
• Suspension trauma after a fall into a harness
• Wind loading and lightning
• Fuel, LPG and battery acid hazards
• Slips and falls climbing on and off the lift

High risk construction work

These high risk construction work items (WHS Regulation 2011 (Qld) s 291) are already ticked because they are part of this work. Tick any others that apply to your job:

• Involves a risk of a person falling more than 2m
• Is carried out in an area at a workplace in which there is any movement of powered mobile plant

Licences, training and competency

• High risk work licence for the boom-type elevating work platform class where the boom length is 11 m or more
• Trainee operators of lifts with a boom length of 11 m or more are enrolled in a licence course and supervised by a licence holder (WHS Regulation s 82)
• Operator trained and instructed in the make and model of lift used, including the ground-level emergency lowering controls
• Ground person trained to use the ground controls and emergency lowering
• Training in fitting, inspecting and using harnesses, and in the rescue plan for this lift
• Safety observer trained for the role where the lift works near overhead power lines
• Accredited traffic controller for anyone directing traffic
• General construction induction training card (white card) when carrying out construction work, and site induction

Legislation and codes of practice referenced

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld)
• Managing the Risk of Falls at Workplaces Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Risks of Plant in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Traffic Management for Construction or Maintenance Work Code of Practice 2008
• Managing Risks of Hazardous Chemicals in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• First Aid in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Transport Operations (Road Use Management – Accreditation and Other Provisions) Regulation 2015 (Qld): traffic controller accreditation
• 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)
• AS 2550.10 Cranes, hoists and winches – Safe use – Part 10: Mobile elevating work platforms (as named in the Managing the Risk of Falls at Workplaces Code of Practice 2021)
• Safe Work Australia model Code of Practice: Elevating work platforms (guidance)

What you get

• An editable Microsoft Word document (15 pages), laid out on A4 landscape pages. Type your business, client and job details once and they fill in on every page, with a space for your logo
• 11 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; long-sleeve high-visibility clothing; safety glasses; gloves suited to the task (chemical-resistant gloves for fuel, LPG and battery acid)
• Emergency arrangements for: stranded or trapped worker, fall into a harness and power line contact
• 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.

Checked against the Queensland laws and codes of practice listed above. Last reviewed October 2026.