Ductwork Installation SWMS

For air conditioning, ventilation and sheet metal contractors who fabricate, lift and fix commercial and industrial ductwork. It follows the job in order: planning and asbestos checks, deliveries, cutting sheet metal, setting up the EWP or scissor lift, fixing hangers, lifting duct, jointing and sealing, dampers and plant connections, ceiling spaces and handover. Residential air conditioning and detailed EWP operation have their own SWMS.

Installing commercial ductwork is construction work. It is fixed overhead from EWPs, scissor lifts and ceiling spaces, where a person could fall more than 2 metres, so item 0 is ticked (WHS Regulation ss 291(a) and 299); clear it only if your job stays at low level. Also tick item 14 when an EWP, scissor lift or forklift moves in the work area, item 3 if asbestos may be disturbed, item 10 if you work on or near energised electrical services, and item 11 where drilling or cutting creates silica dust, as the approved silica code advises.

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

What Is Covered In Our Ductwork Installation SWMS?

After the standard pre-start checks, the job steps run from “Plan the job and survey the building” to “Test, tidy up and hand over”. The hazards and controls include:

• Falls from EWPs, scissor lifts and ceiling spaces
• EWP and scissor lift overturning or overloading
• Contact with overhead power lines
• Sheet-metal cuts and crush injuries
• Duct sections dropping during overhead lifting
• Silica dust from drilling concrete soffits
• Asbestos in older ceilings and lagging
• Striking live cables and services when drilling
• Dropped tools and fixings striking people below
• Strains from handling long duct and overhead fixing
• Fibres and fumes from insulation and sealants
• Fans starting during connection and testing
• Heat stress in ceiling spaces and plant rooms

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
• High risk work licence for the boom-type elevating work platform class (boom length 11 m or more) for anyone operating a boom-type EWP of that length; trainees work under the supervision of a licence holder
• Documented training and verified competency in the EWP or scissor lift used, including its controls and emergency lowering (no licence class applies to scissor lifts or boom-type EWPs under 11 m)
• Training in fall-arrest harness use and EWP rescue for everyone who works from a boom-type platform
• High risk work licence in the forklift truck class for anyone operating a forklift to unload or move ductwork
• High risk work licence in the dogging class, or a higher rigging class, for anyone who slings duct for a crane or hoist lift (a lift needs its own lifting plan and SWMS)
• Sheet metal workers trained in the guillotine, folder, nibbler, snips and grinders they use; apprentices supervised
• Asbestos awareness so installers recognise suspected asbestos in older ceilings, lagging and sheet, stop work and report it
• An adequate number of people trained in first aid, and a first aid kit on the job (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 306D to 306J (construction falls of at least 2 m, or 3 m in housing), ss 54, 55 and 315B to 315M (falling objects) and ss 214 and 215 (powered mobile plant)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): s 60 (hazardous manual tasks), ss 56 and 57 (noise), ss 344, 346 and 351 (chemicals), ss 419 and 422 (asbestos) and ss 529CA and 529CB (silica assessment and risk control plan)
• Managing the Risk of Falls at Workplaces Code of Practice 2021
• 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
• How to Manage and Control Asbestos in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Managing respirable crystalline silica dust exposure in construction and manufacturing of construction elements Code of Practice 2022
• Safe Design of Structures Code of Practice 2021 (lighter, pre-insulated ductwork reduces handling and time at height)
• Managing the Work Environment and Facilities Code of Practice 2021
• How to Manage Work Health and Safety Risks Code of Practice 2021
• First Aid in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Safe Work Australia model Code of Practice: Elevating work platforms (guidance)
• Electrical Safety Act 2002 (Qld)
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): ss 10, 11, 13 and Schedule 2 (overhead electric lines) and s 140 (electrical equipment for construction work)
• Electrical Safety Code of Practice 2020 – Working near overhead and underground electric lines (distances come from Schedule 2 of the 2026 Regulation)

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
• 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: hard hat where the site requires it and where work above or around others is under way; safety glasses for cutting, drilling and fixing overhead
• Emergency arrangements for: fall from the platform or a worker hanging in a harness, platform control failure or operator unwell and contact with an overhead 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 October 2026.