General Welding SWMS

Suits fabricators, boilermakers, maintenance crews and site welders who need a job-step safe work method statement for welding and cutting. It follows the work from the hot work permit and electrical set-up through gas cylinders, fume, arc flash, work at height, hot weather and pack-up.

A SWMS is legally required under WHS Regulation s 299 only when welding is construction work that also meets a high risk item in s 291 (for example a confined space, a fall of more than 2 metres or a flammable atmosphere); otherwise it works as a written safe work procedure or task risk assessment.

New to SWMS? Read What is a safe work method statement?

What is covered in our general welding SWMS?

After the standard pre-start checks, the job steps run from “Set up the work area and hot work controls” to “Cool-down, fire watch and pack-up”. The hazards and controls include:

• Fire and explosion from sparks and hot slag
• Electric shock from welders and leads
• Welding fume, toxic gases and lead paint
• Gas cylinder leaks, flashback and backfire
• Arc flash and ultraviolet burns
• Burns from hot metal and spatter
• Noise from grinding and chipping
• Welding at height and from scaffolds
• Welding in or near confined spaces
• Pacemakers and electromagnetic fields
• Heat illness in hot conditions
• Trips over leads and hoses
• Smouldering fires after hot work

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

• Trade qualification or verified competency in each process used (arc, MIG, TIG or oxy-fuel)
• Training in oxy-fuel equipment and gas cylinders where oxy-fuel is used
• General construction induction training card (white card) for construction work
• Site induction, including hot work permit rules
• Fire watch person trained to use the extinguisher and raise the alarm
• Training in fit, use and care of the respirator and other PPE
• No high risk work licence class covers welding; licences apply only to other plant, such as a boom-type EWP with a boom of 11 m or more
• High risk work licence for the scaffolding class that matches the scaffold (basic, intermediate or advanced) for anyone erecting, altering or dismantling a scaffold from which a person or object could fall more than 4 m
• Confined space entry training if welding in a confined space
• Licensed electrician for repairs to welders and leads

Legislation and codes of practice referenced

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld)
• Welding Processes Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Risks of Hazardous Chemicals in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Noise and Preventing Hearing Loss at Work Code of Practice 2021
• Hazardous Manual Tasks Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Risks of Plant in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Confined Spaces Code of Practice 2021
• Managing the Risk of Falls at Workplaces Code of Practice 2021
• Scaffolding Code of Practice 2021
• Managing the Work Environment and Facilities Code of Practice 2021
• Electrical Safety Act 2002 (Qld)
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld)
• Electrical Safety Code of Practice 2021 – Managing electrical risks in the workplace
• Safe Work Australia model Code of Practice: Elevating work platforms (guidance)
• AS 1674.1 Safety in welding and allied processes – Fire precautions
• AS 1674.2 Safety in welding and allied processes – Electrical
• AS 4332 The storage and handling of gases in cylinders
• AS/NZS 1338.1 Filters for eye protectors – Filters for protection against radiation generated in welding and allied operations
• AS/NZS 1716:2012 (Respiratory protective devices) and AS/NZS 1715:2009 (Selection, use and maintenance of respiratory protective equipment)

What you get

• An editable Microsoft Word document (17 pages), laid out on 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: welding helmet with the correct filter shade for the process and current; dark-lens goggles for oxy-fuel welding and cutting; safety glasses worn under the helmet, with a face shield for grinding
• Emergency arrangements for: clothing on fire, gas leak or flashback and electric shock
• 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.

Checked against the Queensland laws and codes of practice listed above. Last reviewed October 2026.