Garden Maintenance SWMS

For garden maintenance contractors, groundskeepers, caretakers and property teams who look after residential, commercial and council grounds. It follows the job from site checks and tool preparation through mowing, trimming, hand pruning, weeding, blowing and green waste to pack-up. It does not cover tree work or detailed leaf blower use, which need their own SWMS.

Routine garden maintenance is not usually construction work (WHS Regulation s 289), so s 299 does not require a SWMS for it, because only high risk construction work needs one. This document works as a written safe work procedure or task risk assessment, and as a SWMS when the work is part of high risk construction work.

Learn More: What Is A Safe Work Method Statement?
Have you ever been asked to provide a SWMS on a project in Queensland? Read our guide to what a Safe Work Method Statement is and when you need one.

What Is Covered In Our Garden Maintenance SWMS?

The job steps run in the order the work is done, from pre-start checks to finishing up. The hazards and controls include:

• Stones and debris thrown by mowers and trimmers
• Contact with blades, cutting lines and hedge trimmers
• Ride-on mower rollover on slopes and banks
• Contact with overhead power lines and cut cords
• Noise and hand-arm vibration from petrol tools
• Petrol fire and lithium-ion battery charging
• Falls from ladders while pruning
• Cuts, needlesticks and glass in leaf litter and green waste
• Herbicide and chemical exposure
• Dust, mould and soil bacteria
• Traffic when working beside roads
• Heat illness, UV exposure and snake, spider and fire ant bites
• Manual handling of green waste and equipment

High Risk Construction Work

No high risk construction work items (WHS Regulation 2011 (Qld) s 291) are pre-ticked, because this work is not high risk construction work by itself. Tick the items that apply to your job, such as a fall risk of more than 2 metres or work where powered mobile plant is moving.

Licences, Training and Competency

• Schedule 3 of the WHS Regulation has no high risk work licence class for mowing, trimming, pruning, weeding, blowing or green-waste handling
• Workers trained in the safe use of each mower and powered tool (the manufacturer’s start-up, shut-down and emergency stop procedures), including ride-on mower slope limits and the correct use of guards, harnesses and ladders
• Workers trained in the label and SDS for each chemical before they first use it
• Herbicide licensing: hand-powered sprayers, equipment powered by compressed air or gas applied straight to the spray liquid, and hose proportioning devices need no licence outside hazardous areas; applying herbicide with other powered ground equipment, when that is the main purpose the client engaged you for, needs a commercial operators licence (G) for the operator and a ground distribution contractor licence (GDC) for the business under the Agricultural Chemicals Distribution Control Act 1966, in the areas where that Act applies (Business Queensland, ‘Licensing arrangements for ground distribution of herbicides’); read the label and SDS before each use
• A worker trained in first aid, or access to a trained first aider, including for snake bite and severe allergic reactions
• General construction induction training card (white card) if the work is part of construction work on a construction site
• Site induction, and the client’s or property manager’s access, safety and working-hours rules

Legislation and Codes of Practice Referenced

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld)
• 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
• Labelling of Workplace Hazardous Chemicals Code of Practice 2021 (decanted containers)
• Managing the Work Environment and Facilities Code of Practice 2021 (outdoor work, heat, UV and remote work)
• First Aid in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Managing the Risk of Falls at Workplaces Code of Practice 2021 (ladders)
• Traffic Management for Construction or Maintenance Work Code of Practice 2008 (mowing and pruning beside roads)
• How to Manage Work Health and Safety Risks Code of Practice 2021
• Electrical Safety Act 2002 (Qld)
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): overhead electric line exclusion zones in schedule 2, and electrical equipment for service work (ss 138-139)
• 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 risks of biological hazards at work (guidance)

What You Get

• An editable Microsoft Word document (17 pages), laid out on A4 landscape pages
• Business, client, job and document details typed once and filled in on every page, plus a space for your logo
• The high risk construction work checklist, worded as WHS Regulation s 291, and the construction project question (s 292)
• A worker and health and safety representative consultation record
• Qualifications, plant, PPE, hazardous chemicals, safety equipment, permits, references and emergency arrangements filled in for this work
• A 5 x 5 risk matrix, and job steps with initial and residual risk scores and the people responsible
• Implementing, monitoring and review requirements, an additional controls log, revision history and a worker sign-on sheet

Review and adjust it for your site, your plant and the way your crew does the job, and talk it through with your workers before work starts. If you have any trouble downloading this SWMS, you can contact us at any time. Please make sure you read our Disclaimer before downloading this SWMS.