High Reach Demolition Excavator SWMS

Suits demolition contractors and plant operators who use a high-reach demolition excavator to dismantle tall structures. It covers the demolition licence and notice checks, exclusion zones, machine set-up and stability, top-down dismantling, debris handling, dust and noise, and shutdown. General demolition planning and ordinary excavator work are covered by the separate Demolition SWMS and Excavator SWMS.

Demolishing a load-bearing part of a structure is high risk construction work (WHS Regulation s 291(c)), and the machine is powered mobile plant (s 291(o)), so both items are ticked. Tick asbestos (3), energised electrical installations or services (10) and the contaminated atmosphere item (11) when the structure has asbestos, live services nearby or silica dust.

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

What Is Covered In Our High Reach Demolition Excavator SWMS?

After the standard pre-start checks, the job steps run from “Plan the high-reach job: structure, licence, notice and hazardous materials” to “Refuel, change attachments and shut down”. The hazards and controls include:

• Collapse of the structure onto the machine or people
• Falling and flying debris
• Excavator tip-over at height
• Machine working on a suspended floor
• Contact with overhead power lines
• Striking underground services
• Asbestos and hazardous materials in the structure
• Unauthorised entry to the exclusion zone
• Attachment or component falling from the arm
• Stored energy in post-tensioned members
• Respirable silica dust and noise
• Hydraulic injection and fire when refuelling

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:

• Involves demolition of an element of a structure that is load-bearing or otherwise related to the physical integrity of the structure
• Is carried out in an area at a workplace in which there is any movement of powered mobile plant

Licences, Training and Competency

• Demolition work licence held by the business doing or commissioning the demolition (WHS Regulation s 143), with a named competent supervisor readily available whenever demolition is under way (ss 144, 144D)
• High reach excavator operator trained and assessed as competent on the machine type, the high-reach boom and the attachments used (no high risk work licence class applies to operating an excavator)
• General construction induction training card (white card) for construction work
• Site induction
• Competent person, such as a structural engineer, for the demolition plan, sequence and stability advice
• Asbestos removal licence held by the removalist where licensed asbestos removal is needed first (class A or B, ss 485 to 487)
• Spotter or safety observer briefed on hand signals, the exclusion zone and overhead power line distances
• Dogging class high risk work licence, or a higher rigging class, for anyone who slings a load or directs the operator in moving a load that is out of the operator’s view (Schedule 19, dogging work)
• Crystalline silica training where the dust assessment finds the work high risk

Legislation and Codes of Practice Referenced

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld)
• Demolition Work Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Risks of Plant in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Managing respirable crystalline silica dust exposure in construction and manufacturing of construction elements Code of Practice 2022
• Managing Noise and Preventing Hearing Loss at Work Code of Practice 2021
• How to Safely Remove Asbestos Code of Practice 2021
• How to Manage and Control Asbestos in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Risks of Hazardous Chemicals in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Safe Design of Structures Code of Practice 2021
• How to Manage Work Health and Safety Risks Code of Practice 2021
• Electrical Safety Act 2002 (Qld)
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): overhead and underground electric lines, exclusion zones in schedule 2
• Electrical Safety Code of Practice 2020 – Working near overhead and underground electric lines

What You Get

• An editable Microsoft Word document (15 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; high-visibility clothing; hard hat when outside the cab; safety glasses
• Emergency arrangements for: structure movement or collapse, power line contact and machine fire or hydraulic fluid injection
• 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.