Commercial Washer-Extractor and Ironer SWMS

For commercial laundries, hotels, hospitals, aged care homes, uniform and linen services and restaurants that run washer-extractors and flatwork ironers. It follows the work from the pre-start check, sorting and loading, chemical dosing, wash and extract cycles and ironing to clearing jams under isolation, cleaning, heat and noise control, and shutting down. Boiler, gas and electrical repair work need their own procedures.

Operating a commercial laundry is not construction work, so no high risk construction work item is pre-ticked and a SWMS is required by law only for high risk construction work (WHS Regulation s 299); this document works as a written safe work procedure or task risk assessment that you tailor to your laundry. If any of the work is part of construction work, for example installing or relocating the machines on a building site, tick the reg 291 items that apply, such as a risk of a fall of more than 2 m or movement of powered mobile plant.

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

What Is Covered In Our Commercial Washer-Extractor and Ironer SWMS?

After the standard pre-start checks, the job steps run from “Pre-start machine check” to “Shut down, secure and report”. The hazards and controls include:

• Entrapment in the drum, door or ironer rolls
• Door interlocks and guards bypassed or damaged
• Burns and scalds from steam, hot water and heated parts
• Unexpected start-up while clearing jams or cleaning
• Stored energy in steam, hot water and pressure lines
• Strains from heavy, wet linen
• Splashes and fumes from laundry chemicals
• Mixing bleach with acids or other products
• Sharps and soiled items hidden in linen
• Lint fires near the ironer and exhaust
• Heat illness and humidity
• Noise and wet, slippery floors

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

• Training and verified competency on the washer-extractor and ironer models in use: controls, door interlocks, emergency stops, programs, load limits and the maker’s cleaning and isolation instructions
• Training in the site’s isolation procedure (lock out, tag out, test out) for everyone who clears jams, cleans or services the machines
• Training in the labels and safety data sheets (SDS) of the laundry chemicals used, including dosing, spills and first aid (WHS Regulation s 39)
• Competent person to maintain, inspect and test the machines to the maker’s recommendations (WHS Regulation s 213)
• Licensed electrical worker for any electrical fault finding or repair (Electrical Safety Act 2002 s 55)
• Whoever operates the boiler that supplies steam holds the high risk work licence class Schedule 3 sets for it (standard boiler operation, item 26, or advanced boiler operation, item 27; the Schedule 19 definition of boiler excludes some small and certified unattended boilers). Laundry operators who only run the washer-extractors and ironers do not need that licence, and boiler work is outside this SWMS
• Training in handling soiled linen, sharps found in linen and infection control where the laundry takes linen from healthcare, aged care or food businesses
• First aid equipment, facilities and trained first aiders or access to them as the work needs, including burns first aid (WHS Regulation s 42)
• Site induction

Legislation and Codes of Practice Referenced

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld)
• WHS Regulation 2011 (Qld) ss 206, 208, 209, 210, 211 and 213: proper use of plant and its safety features, guarding, guarding or insulation from heat, operational controls (lockable in the off position), emergency stops, maintenance and inspection by a competent person
• WHS Regulation 2011 (Qld) ss 40, 41, 56, 57 and 60: workplace facilities, drinking water, noise exposure standard and hearing loss, hazardous manual tasks
• WHS Regulation 2011 (Qld) ss 341, 342, 344, 346, 351, 354 and 357: labelling, safety data sheets, register, managing risks, reactions between chemicals and spills
• Managing Risks of Plant in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021 (guarding, emergency stops and isolating energy sources)
• Hazardous Manual Tasks 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 Noise and Preventing Hearing Loss at Work Code of Practice 2021
• Managing the Work Environment and Facilities Code of Practice 2021 (heat, ventilation, floors and lighting)
• 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 a licensed electrical worker performs electrical work)
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): s 17 (unsafe electrical equipment is disconnected or isolated)
• Safe Work Australia model Code of Practice: Managing the risks of biological hazards at work (model code, not approved in Queensland; guidance only)

What You Get

• An editable Microsoft Word document (15 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 footwear with a non-slip sole for wet floors; chemical-resistant gloves, splash-proof goggles or a face shield and an apron for dosing, decanting and cleaning with chemicals, as the SDS directs
• Emergency arrangements for: person caught in the drum, door or ironer rolls, steam or hot water burn and chemical splash or fumes
• 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.