Drill Press SWMS

Suits fabricators, machine shops, joinery and cabinet makers, maintenance workshops, schools, makerspaces and training colleges that use pedestal or bench drill presses. It follows the job in order: planning, pre-start checks, speed and bit changes, work holding, drilling, accessories and different materials, swarf and coolant, noise and posture, clearing jams, and shut-down. Hand-held drills need a separate SWMS (see the Safe Operation of Drills SWMS).

Using a drill press in a workshop is not high risk construction work, so no item is pre-ticked and a SWMS is required by law only for high risk construction work (WHS Regulation s 299). If the drill press is used as part of construction work, tick the reg 291 items that apply. Otherwise the document works as a written safe work procedure and task risk assessment that you tailor to your machine.

Similar job: if it is closer to your work, see the Disc Sander SWMS.

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

What Is Covered In Our Drill Press SWMS?

After the standard pre-start checks, the job steps run from “Plan the job and prepare the work area” to “Shut down, clean and store”. The hazards and controls include:

• Entanglement in the rotating chuck and bit
• Chuck key thrown from the chuck
• Work piece spun or flung by the bit
• Missing or by-passed belt and chuck guards
• Flying swarf and eye injury
• Hot, sharp swarf and cuts
• Hole saws and large bits grabbing
• Loose column, head or table
• Cutting fluid, oil mist and skin disease
• Dust from timber, boards and composites
• Noise from drilling sheet metal
• Starting the machine by mistake during adjustment

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

• Operator trained and assessed as competent on the particular drill press, covering guarding, speed changes, work holding, chuck key practice and the stop control (no high risk work licence class applies to a drill press)
• Instruction in the maker’s isolation procedure for the machine (lockout and tagout are code or good practice)
• Competent person to inspect, maintain and test the machine and its guards (WHS Regulation s 213)
• Training in the hazardous chemicals used, such as cutting fluids, oils and solvents (SDS read), and in the PPE chosen
• First aid provided as s 42 of the WHS Regulation requires
• Young workers and students use the machine only after training and with close supervision (Children and Young Workers Code of Practice 2006)
• Site induction, and a general construction induction training card (white card) only for a worker who carries out construction work (WHS Regulation s 317)

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 205, 206, 207, 208, 210, 211 and 213: plant (alterations, proper use, plant not in use, guarding, operational controls, emergency stops, maintenance and inspection)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld) ss 36 and 44: hierarchy of control measures and personal protective equipment
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld) ss 56 and 57: noise exposure standard and managing the risk of hearing loss
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld) s 60: managing risks of hazardous manual tasks
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld) ss 49 and 351: airborne exposure standards (in the Workplace Exposure Standard for Airborne Contaminants) and managing risks of hazardous chemicals
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld) ss 52 and 53: ignition sources and flammable material
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld) s 42 (first aid) and s 48 (remote or isolated work)
• Managing Risks of Plant in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Hazardous Manual Tasks 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
• Managing the Work Environment and Facilities Code of Practice 2021
• First Aid in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Children and Young Workers Code of Practice 2006
• How to Manage Work Health and Safety Risks Code of Practice 2021
• Electrical Safety Act 2002 (Qld): s 55 (electrical work licence)
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): ss 131 to 136, only where the work is manufacturing work as section 123 defines it (assembly, disassembly, fabrication, installation, maintenance, manufacturing, refurbishment or repair, but not amusement, construction or rural industry work): no double adaptors or piggyback plugs (s 132); specified electrical equipment inspected, tested and tagged by a competent person at least yearly if double insulated and otherwise at least every 6 months, and used from a socket-outlet that has a safety switch (s 133, with the exemption in s 135); a non-portable safety switch for qualifying socket-outlets, only where manufacturing work is the primary work performed at the workplace (s 134); and testing of safety switches under AS/NZS 3760 (In-service safety inspection and testing of electrical equipment and RCDs) (s 136)
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): ss 137 to 139, only where the work is service work or office work as section 123 defines it (for example teaching at an education facility): specified electrical equipment inspected and tested by a competent person (at least yearly, or at least every 5 years if used only for office work) or connected to a safety switch (s 138), and testing of safety switches under AS/NZS 3760 (s 139)
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): s 140, only where the work is construction work: electrical equipment for the work, and construction wiring, comply with AS/NZS 3012 (Electrical installations – Construction and demolition sites); a tag showing a test or retest date goes only on equipment mentioned in AS/NZS 3012 clause 3.1 that is new or was inspected and tested by a competent person and found to comply (s 140(3)); s 140 sets no test interval and no safety switch rule
• 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
• 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 glasses with side shields, with a face shield over them for hole saws, large bits and dry drilling; hearing protection suited to the noise level, used after the other noise controls
• Emergency arrangements for: hand, hair, sleeve or glove caught by the chuck, bit or work piece, deep cut, puncture or amputation and swarf or a splinter in the eye
• 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.