Courier Van Delivery SWMS

For courier companies, owner-drivers and small businesses that deliver parcels by van. It follows the run from planning and the van check through loading, driving, parking, carrying parcels, dogs and difficult customers, reversing, commercial sites and docks, damaged parcels and the end of the shift. Heavy vehicle driving needs a separate SWMS.

Courier work is not construction work, so WHS Regulation s 299 requires a SWMS only if the work is part of high risk construction work; if it is, tick the reg 291 items that apply. Otherwise the document works as a written safe work procedure and task risk assessment, and no high risk construction work item is pre-ticked.

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

What Is Covered In Our Courier Van Delivery SWMS?

After the standard pre-start checks, the job steps run from “Plan the run and check the delivery list” to “End of shift: return, report and rest”. The hazards and controls include:

• Collision while driving between stops
• Fatigue and time pressure on the run
• Phone and screen distraction
• Struck by traffic at the kerb
• Reversing into people and objects
• Strains from lifting and carrying parcels
• Shifting loads in the van
• Dog bites and attacks
• Abuse or aggression from customers
• Falls on stairs and uneven paths
• Plant at loading docks
• Damaged or leaking parcels

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

• Current Queensland driver licence for the class of vehicle driven (heavy vehicle classes are covered by the Driving Vehicles SWMS)
• Induction in the carrier’s procedures for parcel handling, dangerous goods and incident reporting
• Manual handling training for parcel and trolley work
• Awareness training in dealing with aggressive customers, dogs and working alone
• First aid equipment, facilities and trained first aiders or access to them (WHS Regulation s 42)
• No high risk work licence is needed to drive or deliver by light van (WHS Regulation schedule 3)

Legislation and Codes of Practice Referenced

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld): s 8 (a vehicle can be a workplace)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): s 48 (remote or isolated work) and s 60 (hazardous manual tasks)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): ss 55A to 55D (psychosocial hazards and risks, including violence and aggression)
• Hazardous Manual Tasks Code of Practice 2021
• Managing the risk of psychosocial hazards at work Code of Practice 2022
• Managing the Work Environment and Facilities Code of Practice 2021 (remote or isolated work, s 4.2)
• 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 risk of fatigue at work (guidance)
• Queensland road rules and driver licensing rules: named generally and not reproduced here
• Transport Operations (Road Use Management) Act 1995 (Qld): ss 146 and 150 (regulations about driver behaviour and loading and securing loads)

What You Get

• An editable Microsoft Word document (13 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 footwear or non-slip enclosed shoes; high-visibility clothing when working at the kerb or on commercial sites; gloves for sharp-edged packaging and damaged parcels
• Emergency arrangements for: crash, dog attack or violent customer and fire in the van
• 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.