Cooling Tower Cleaning and Disinfection SWMS

Suits air-conditioning, mechanical services and water treatment contractors, and building maintenance teams, who shut down, disinfect, clean and restart cooling towers. It follows the job from the records review and isolation through access, disinfection, cleaning, basin entry, descaling, restart and sampling.

Routine cleaning and disinfection of an existing cooling tower can be testing, maintenance or repair work of a minor nature, which is not construction work (WHS Regulation s 289(3)(d)), so no high risk item is pre-ticked and a SWMS is not legally required for it (s 299); the document then works as a written safe work procedure and task risk assessment. A larger repair or refurbishment of a tower is construction work: tick the items that apply on the form, for example the fall item (s 291(a)) for work on a tower top, fan deck or roof, and the confined space item (s 291(f)) when people enter a basin or sump that is a confined space; that entry also needs the written risk assessment and permit that Part 4.3 of the WHS Regulation requires. The template sets no Legionella dose, testing or notification requirement: follow the tower owner’s records and the water treatment provider’s procedure.

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

What Is Covered In Our Cooling Tower Cleaning and Disinfection SWMS?

After the standard pre-start checks, the job steps run from “Plan the clean and review the tower’s records” to “Waste, wash-down and pack-up”. The hazards and controls include:

• Legionella bacteria breathed in from spray and mist
• Oxidising biocide splashes, fumes and chlorine gas from mixed chemicals
• Fans, pumps and dosing starting during the clean
• Falls from the roof edge, tower top or ladder
• Falling through fragile fan decks and covers
• Oxygen shortage and toxic gas in the basin or sump
• Slips on wet and slimy surfaces
• Lifting fill packs, eliminators and sludge
• Electric shock from wet tools and equipment
• Heat and sun exposure on a roof
• Chemical burns from descaling acids
• Handling and disposing of contaminated waste

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 or the site requires it
• Workers trained in cooling tower cleaning and disinfection, Legionella hazards and the written procedure for this tower
• Competent person to prepare the written risk assessment and, where a basin or sump is entered, the confined space entry permit (WHS Regulation ss 66 and 67)
• Training in the safety data sheets, handling and emergency response for each chemical (WHS Regulation s 39)
• Confined space training for entrants, the standby person and rescuers where the basin or sump is a confined space (WHS Regulation s 76)
• Training in the fall protection used, in rescue from a harness and in the safe use of ladders
• Licensed electrician for any electrical isolation that needs a panel opened or wiring disconnected
• Fit-tested workers for P2 respirators (clean-shaven where the mask seals)
• First aid certificate for at least one worker on site
• Site induction

Legislation and Codes of Practice Referenced

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld)
• Confined Spaces 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 (decanted products)
• Managing the Risk of Falls at Workplaces Code of Practice 2021
• Managing the Work Environment and Facilities Code of Practice 2021 (s 2.2: cooling towers should be designed, installed and maintained to AS/NZS 3666 SET:2011, as the code names it)
• Hazardous Manual Tasks Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Risks of Plant in the Workplace 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
• Safe Work Australia model Code of Practice: Managing the risks of biological hazards at work (guidance)
• Electrical Safety Act 2002 (Qld)
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): electrical equipment on construction sites (s 140)
• Electrical Safety Code of Practice 2021 – Managing electrical risks in the workplace

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
• 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: fit-tested P2 respirator, or a respirator with the filter type the SDS names for the chemical in use; chemical goggles and a face shield
• Emergency arrangements for: chemical splash, gas or mist, person fallen, suspended or collapsed in the basin and uncontrolled chemical release
• 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.