Heat Stress and Working Outdoors SWMS

Suits builders, trades, landscapers, labourers, road crews and any team that works outside in Queensland heat. It follows the work from checking the forecast and setting up shade and drinking water through acclimatisation, hot work, UV protection, working alone, storms, first aid for heat illness and pack-up.

Hot weather is not high risk construction work by itself, so WHS Regulation s 299 does not require a SWMS for it; one is legally required where construction work is in an area with artificial extremes of temperature (s 291(p)), such as beside a furnace, boiler or cold room or in a roof space that gets extremely hot; otherwise this works as a written safe work procedure or task risk assessment for outdoor work in the heat.

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

What is covered in our heat stress & working outdoors SWMS?

After the standard pre-start checks, the job steps run from “Plan the work and check the forecast” to “Pack up, rehydrate and review”. The hazards and controls include:

• Heat exhaustion and heat stroke in hot, humid conditions
• Dehydration and a lack of cool drinking water
• Sunburn, UV exposure and glare
• Workers new to the heat or returning from leave
• Young workers who do not speak up when unwell
• Heat build-up in roof cavities and enclosed hot spaces
• Working alone or in remote locations
• Lightning, storms and wind-blown debris
• Burns from sun-heated metal, tools and surfaces
• Errors and incidents caused by heat and tiredness
• Delayed first aid for heat illness
• Driving home affected by heat or fatigue

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

• General construction induction training card (white card) for construction work
• Site induction, including the site heat and weather rules
• Training for all workers and supervisors in recognising and responding to heat illness
• Extra briefing for new, young and returning workers on heat, sun protection and speaking up when unwell
• Current first aid qualification for the nominated first aider

Legislation and codes of practice referenced

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld)
• 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
• Hazardous Manual Tasks Code of Practice 2021
• Children and Young Workers Code of Practice 2006
• Traffic Management for Construction or Maintenance Work Code of Practice 2008
• Safe Work Australia model Code of Practice: Managing the risk of fatigue at work (guidance)

What you get

• An editable Microsoft Word document (14 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
• 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: wide-brim hat, or hard hat with a brim and neck flap on construction sites; long-sleeved collared shirt and long pants in light, breathable fabric (high-visibility where required)
• Emergency arrangements for: suspected heat stroke (confusion, collapse, seizure) and lightning close by
• 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.

Free heat stress poster: pair it with our free A3 poster on the warning signs, first aid and prevention, in our guide to heat stress at work.

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