Gas Pipework Pressure Testing and Leak Detection SWMS

Suits gas fitters, plumbers, maintenance contractors and builders who pressure test gas pipework and find leaks. It covers planning the test, removing ignition sources, isolating and blanking the pipework, connecting test equipment, pressurising and holding the test, leak detection, depressurising and recommissioning.

Installing or testing an essential service such as gas in connection with a structure is construction work (WHS Regulation s 289), and construction work on or near fuel lines, or in an area that may have a flammable atmosphere, is high risk construction work (s 291(j) and (l)), so those two items are ticked. Tick the pressurised gas distribution mains or piping item (s 291(i)) as well when the work is on a gas main or distribution piping; other items can be added where they apply. Testing of a minor nature is excluded from construction work (s 289(3)(d)); in that case this document works as a written safe work procedure. A SWMS does not replace the gas work licence or authorisation.

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

What Is Covered In Our Gas Pipework Pressure Testing and Leak Detection SWMS?

After the standard pre-start checks, the job steps run from “Plan the test and check the system” to “Complete records, pack up and hand over”. The hazards and controls include:

• Stored pressure released from fittings and caps
• Flammable gas leaks and fire or explosion
• Ignition from sparks, static and electrical equipment
• Gas collecting in roof voids, pits and ducts
• Over-pressurising pipework and connected devices
• Hose and cylinder failure
• Wrong or unsafe test gas
• Missed leaks and incomplete purging
• Falls when reaching pipework
• Buried pipe and other services
• Venting gas near people and air intakes
• Manual handling of cylinders and test equipment

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:

• Is carried out on or near chemical, fuel or refrigerant lines
• Is carried out in an area that may have a contaminated or flammable atmosphere

Licences, Training and Competency

• Gas work licence for gas work on a type A gas device (or fuel gas refrigeration device), or on the pipes supplying a type B gas device; for other gas work on a type B gas device, the person holds, or acts under, the gas work authorisation issued for that device (testing a gas system is gas work)
• Competent person trained in the pressure test method for the system and in the test equipment used
• Training in the use of a calibrated flammable gas detector and in emergency isolation of the gas supply
• General construction induction training card (white card) when the work is construction work on a site
• Site induction
• First aider on site, briefed on burns and gas exposure

Legislation and Codes of Practice Referenced

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld)
• Petroleum and Gas (Production and Safety) Act 2004 (Qld): ss 725 to 727 (gas work and licences), ss 734 and 734A (installation and safety duties), s 706 (reporting incidents)
• Petroleum and Gas (Safety) Regulation 2018 (Qld): ss 8 and 10 (dangerous and prescribed incidents), s 93 (network operator notice), Schedule 5 (gas work licences and authorisations)
• AS/NZS 5601.1 Gas installations, Part 1 General installations (named in the Petroleum and Gas (Safety) Regulation 2018 as the gas system pressure test)
• Managing Risks of Hazardous Chemicals in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Welding Processes Code of Practice 2021 (compressed and liquefied gas cylinders)
• Confined Spaces Code of Practice 2021
• Excavation Work Code of Practice 2021 (underground essential services)
• Managing the Risk of Falls at Workplaces Code of Practice 2021
• Hazardous Manual Tasks 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

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; cotton or flame-resistant long-sleeve clothing (not synthetic fabric that melts or holds static); safety glasses, with a face shield when working on connections under pressure
• Emergency arrangements for: gas leak or smell of gas, gas fire and burst hose, rupture or sudden pressure release
• 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.