Cut-In Roof Framing SWMS

For carpenters and builders who cut in roofs on site rather than using trusses. It follows the work in order, from reading the framing plan and setting up edge protection to cutting, lifting, ridge and hip bracing, rafters and handover to the next trade. Truss roofs use the Roof Truss Installation SWMS.

The fall of more than 2 metres item is pre-ticked because work on an open roof frame is at height. Tick any other item that applies, such as energised electrical services near the work or powered mobile plant moving in the area.

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

What Is Covered In Our Cut-In Roof Framing SWMS?

After the standard pre-start checks, the job steps run from “Plan the job, read the framing plan and check the site” to “Hand over to the next trade, clean up and remove temporary controls”. The hazards and controls include:

• Falls from the roof frame and top plates
• Falls through ceiling joists and open gaps
• Unstable ridge, hips and rafters before bracing
• Collapse of a partly braced frame in wind
• Falling tools and members striking people below
• Nail gun misfires and double-fire injuries
• Saw cuts and noise at the cutting station
• Treated timber dust
• Manual handling of long rafters and beams
• Crane and hoist lifts of heavy members
• Contact with overhead power lines
• Heat, sun and fatigue at height

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

Licences, Training and Competency

• General construction induction training card (white card) for construction work, and site induction
• Queensland Building and Construction Commission licence where the work requires one (check the QBCC requirements for your job)
• Carpentry trade qualification or experience in cutting in roofs; apprentices and new workers work under a qualified carpenter
• A competent person to oversee roof framing set-out, bracing and temporary stability (the engineer’s or designer’s roof framing details are followed)
• High risk work licence in the scaffolding class that matches the perimeter scaffold, for whoever erects, alters or dismantles it where a person or object could fall more than 4 m (a separate SWMS covers scaffold erection)
• High risk work licence in the dogging class, or a higher rigging class (Schedule 3), for anyone who slings a load or directs a crane or hoist operator when the load is out of the operator’s view; crane and hoist operators hold the high risk work licence for their class; telehandler operators are trained and familiarised (no high risk work licence unless Schedule 3 says)
• High risk work licence for the boom-type elevating work platform class where the boom length is 11 m or more; trained and familiarised operators for smaller platforms
• Nail gun, saw and power tool training with competency verified before working unsupervised
• Training in the fall arrest system and the rescue plan for anyone who uses a harness system
• First aid equipment and trained first aiders as the first aid assessment shows the site needs (WHS Regulation s 42)

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 78 to 80 and 306C to 306J (managing fall risk, rescue, thresholds of 3 m for housing construction work and 2 m for other construction work, roofs over 26 degrees, edge protection, covers and safety nets)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): ss 306K to 306M (ladders), 54 and 55 (falling objects) and 315E to 315M (falling object controls)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): ss 56 and 57 (noise)
• Managing the Risk of Falls at Workplaces Code of Practice 2021
• Scaffolding Code of Practice 2021
• Hazardous Manual Tasks Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Risks of Plant in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Noise and Preventing Hearing Loss at Work Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Risks of Hazardous Chemicals in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• How to Manage and Control Asbestos in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021 (renovation and extension work)
• Mobile Crane Code of Practice 2024 (where a crane lifts framing)
• Managing the Work Environment and Facilities 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
• Electrical Safety Act 2002 (Qld)
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): overhead power line exclusion zones in schedule 2
• Electrical Safety Code of Practice 2020 – Working near overhead and underground electric lines (distances come from the 2026 Regulation)
• Safe Work Australia model Code of Practice: Managing the risk of falls in housing construction (guidance)

What You Get

• An editable Microsoft Word document (14 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: safety boots with slip-resistant soles; safety glasses; gloves for timber and sharp-edged fixings; hearing protection when sawing, nailing or using powered tools
• Emergency arrangements for: fall from the roof frame, frame movement or collapse and contact with a power line
• 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.