Commercial Main Switchboard Replacement SWMS

Suits licensed electrical contractors replacing main switchboards in shops, offices, warehouses and other commercial buildings. It follows the job from shutdown planning and temporary supplies through isolation, removal, installation, termination, testing and staged re-energising to certificates and handover. Domestic switchboard upgrades and live work are covered by separate SWMS.

The high risk construction work box for energised electrical installations or services is ticked because the supply side of the main switch and the incoming cables stay live until the supply is disconnected, and proving isolation is energised work. Tick any other box (for example asbestos or crane lifts) that applies to your job. This SWMS does not cover high voltage work or live work, which need their own SWMS.

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

What Is Covered In Our Commercial Main Switchboard Replacement SWMS?

After the standard pre-start checks, the job steps run from “Plan the shutdown and survey the switchroom” to “Respond to electric shock, arc flash, fire or a crush injury”. The hazards and controls include:

• Parts of the installation still live after shutdown
• Missed sources of supply such as generators, solar and batteries
• Cutting a cable that is still energised
• Arc flash and shock when connecting or energising
• Heavy switchgear causing manual handling injuries or crush
• Asbestos in old backing boards and penetrations
• Silica dust from drilling and coring floors
• Falls into trenches and floor openings
• Faulty temporary supplies and leads
• Connecting an untested installation
• Missing test certificates and notices
• Loss of power to essential services

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:

• Is carried out on or near energised electrical installations or services

Licences, Training and Competency

• Electrical work licence that authorises the work (Electrical Safety Act 2002 s 55); the business holds an electrical contractor licence (s 56)
• Apprentices and other training persons supervised by a licensed electrical worker at all times (Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 s 307)
• Competence in rescue and resuscitation for every worker doing or helping with the electrical work (Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 s 211)
• Competent person to test whether equipment is energised and to carry out and read the installation tests
• Training in the isolation and lock-out procedure and the test instruments in use
• Safety observer for any energised electrical work, as the energised work SWMS requires
• Rigger or crane operator holding the right licence class where a crane is used for lifting (separate SWMS)
• General construction induction training card (white card) for construction work, and site induction
• Asbestos training (WHS Regulation s 445) for workers who may do asbestos-related work
• Crystalline silica training where the dust assessment finds drilling or coring high risk (WHS Regulation s 529CD)

Legislation and Codes of Practice Referenced

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): ss 60 and 306F (hazardous manual tasks; fall protection covers over openings), ss 419, 422, 445, 446 and 450 to 451 (asbestos) and ss 529A to 529CD (crystalline silica)
• Electrical Safety Act 2002 (Qld): ss 11, 12, 18 and 55 to 56
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): ss 17, 140 and 193 to 204 (unsafe equipment, construction wiring, energised work, lock-out)
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): ss 207, 208, 210 and 217 to 224 (testing, connection and reconnection)
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): ss 228, 229, 233 and 234 (notices, certificates and meter advice), s 211 (rescue) and s 307 (training persons)
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): ss 292 and 296 (serious electrical incidents)
• Electrical Safety Code of Practice 2021 – Managing electrical risks in the workplace
• How to Manage Work Health and Safety Risks Code of Practice 2021
• Hazardous Manual Tasks Code of Practice 2021
• How to Manage and Control Asbestos 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 Noise and Preventing Hearing Loss at Work Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Risks of Hazardous Chemicals in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Managing the Work Environment and Facilities Code of Practice 2021
• First Aid in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• AS/NZS 3000 (Electrical installations (known as the Australian/New Zealand Wiring Rules)) and AS/NZS 3012 (Electrical installations – Construction and demolition sites), as named in the Electrical Safety Regulation 2026
• AS/NZS 3017 Electrical installations – Verification by inspection and testing, as named in the Electrical Safety Code of Practice 2021
• Safe Work Australia model Code of Practice: Managing the risk of fatigue at work (guidance)

What You Get

• An editable Microsoft Word document (17 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: non-conductive safety footwear; safety glasses without metal frames; arc-rated clothing and face protection selected from the risk assessment for energising and live testing
• Emergency arrangements for: electric shock or arc flash, electrical fire and crush injury under switchgear
• 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.