Helicopter Mustering Ground Crew SWMS

For graziers, mustering contractors and ground crew who work with a helicopter on a muster. It follows the work from planning with the pilot through the landing zone, working around the aircraft, radio calls, receiving the mob and yard work, to incident response and finishing up. Aircraft operation and aviation rules stay with the pilot and the operator.

Helicopter mustering is not high risk construction work, so a SWMS is legally required only where the work is part of high risk construction work (WHS Regulation s 299); otherwise this works as a written safe work procedure or task risk assessment that you tailor to your property and your aviation operator’s procedures. If the work is part of construction work, tick the reg 291 items that apply.

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

What Is Covered In Our Helicopter Mustering Ground Crew SWMS?

After the standard pre-start checks, the job steps run from “Plan the muster with the pilot, the operator and the landholder” to “Stand the helicopter down and finish up”. The hazards and controls include:

• Contact with rotors and objects thrown by rotor wash
• People and stock inside the landing zone
• Dust and grit blown by rotor wash
• Hearing damage from aircraft noise
• Unclear or lost radio calls with the pilot
• Being run over by the mob at gates and wings
• Crush and kick injuries in the yards
• Needle-stick and chemical contact when treating stock
• Zoonoses such as Q fever and leptospirosis
• Heat, fatigue and remote paddocks
• Aircraft accident, fire or lost contact

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

• Stock handling experience or supervised training in low-stress livestock handling, recorded by the PCBU
• Briefing and training from the helicopter operator in landing zone duties, safe approach, hand signals and emergency actions, in line with the operator’s and pilot’s procedures
• Training in the radio equipment, channels and call procedure used on the muster
• Driver licence for any vehicle used, and training in the safe use of any quad bike, side-by-side or motorbike (each under its own SWMS)
• First aid equipment and facilities, and an adequate number of workers trained in first aid or access to trained persons (WHS Regulation s 42), with a way to call for help from remote paddocks (s 48)
• Information for workers on zoonoses and hygiene, and on Q fever vaccination as good practice (not a legal requirement), with workers encouraged to ask their doctor
• Aviation licences, approvals and operating rules are the helicopter operator’s and pilot’s responsibility and are not covered by this SWMS

Legislation and Codes of Practice Referenced

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld)
• WHS Act 2011 (Qld) s 46: consult, cooperate and coordinate with other duty holders such as the helicopter operator and the landholder
• WHS Regulation 2011 (Qld) ss 214 and 215: powered mobile plant, general control of risk and specific control measures
• WHS Regulation 2011 (Qld) ss 56 and 57: noise exposure standard and managing the risk of hearing loss
• WHS Regulation 2011 (Qld) ss 42 and 48: first aid and remote or isolated work
• WHS Regulation 2011 (Qld) ss 60 and 351: hazardous manual tasks and hazardous chemical risks
• WHS Act 2011 (Qld) ss 36 and 38 and WHS Regulation 2011 (Qld) s 699: notifying a serious injury or illness, including a zoonosis such as Q fever or leptospirosis
• Chemical Usage (Agricultural and Veterinary) Control Act 1988 (Qld) s 12(4): a person who is not a veterinary surgeon must use a registered veterinary chemical product only in a way stated on the approved label, unless a permit, a regulation or the veterinary surgeon’s written instructions allow otherwise
• Rural Plant Code of Practice 2024 (section 7.16, agricultural aviation activities)
• Managing Risks of Plant in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Hazardous Manual Tasks 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
• Managing the Work Environment and Facilities Code of Practice 2021
• First Aid in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Children and Young Workers Code of Practice 2006
• How to Manage Work Health and Safety Risks Code of Practice 2021
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): overhead power line exclusion zones in sections 10 to 13 and schedule 2
• Safe Work Australia model Code of Practice: Managing the risks of biological hazards at work (model code, not approved in Queensland; guidance only)
• Safe Work Australia model Code of Practice: Managing the risk of fatigue at work (model code, not approved in Queensland; guidance only)

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
• 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: steel-capped safety boots with a non-slip sole; long-sleeved shirt and long trousers that fit closely; secure hats and loose clothing, or leave them behind, at the landing zone
• Emergency arrangements for: aircraft accident, forced landing or fire, person trapped or crushed in the yards or against rails and lost radio contact with the helicopter or the ground crew
• 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 November 2026.