House Restumping SWMS

Suits restumping and house repair contractors who replace stumps, including work under the house, jacking and propping, footings and manual handling. It covers assessing the house, set-up and isolation, subfloor work, jacking, stump removal, footings and fixing. Bearer and joist replacement and house raising are covered by other SWMS.

Jacking and propping a house to replace stumps is structural repair that needs temporary support to prevent collapse (WHS Regulation s 291(e)), and removing load-bearing stumps is demolition of a load-bearing element (s 291(c)), which is demolition work needing a demolition licence under s 143. Both items are ticked. Tick the other items the job involves, for example asbestos disturbance, a confined space, energised electrical services, or a trench deeper than 1.5 metres.

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

What Is Covered In Our House Restumping SWMS?

After the standard pre-start checks, the job steps run from “Assess the house, stumps and subfloor” to “Pack up and clean the site”. The hazards and controls include:

• Collapse of the house or floor during jacking
• Jack or prop kick-out and crush injuries
• Working in a crawl space with low headroom
• Hidden asbestos and lead paint in old houses
• Striking buried services when digging footings
• Falling into open holes
• Manual handling of heavy stumps
• Wet concrete burns and silica dust
• Contact with electrical cables in the subfloor
• Heat, pests and fumes under the house

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
• Involves structural alterations or repairs that require temporary support to prevent collapse

Licences, Training and Competency

• General construction induction training card (white card) for construction work
• Licence to carry out demolition work (WHS Regulation s 143), held by the person doing the work or the business it is done for: removing a load-bearing part of a structure, such as a stump, is demolition work as defined in Schedule 19; confirm with Workplace Health and Safety Queensland if unsure whether your job fits the definition
• Competent person with experience in house jacking and propping who plans and supervises the lift
• Written method, jacking points and sequence from the engineer or designer for each house
• Training in the jacks, props and hydraulic equipment used
• Licensed electrician, and licensed plumber or gas fitter, to isolate and reinstate services
• Asbestos identification and handling training for workers who may meet asbestos (WHS Regulation s 445)
• Site induction

Legislation and Codes of Practice Referenced

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld)
• Excavation Work Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Risks of Plant in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Hazardous Manual Tasks Code of Practice 2021
• Confined Spaces Code of Practice 2021
• Demolition Work Code of Practice 2021
• How to Manage and Control Asbestos in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• How to Safely Remove Asbestos Code of Practice 2021
• Managing respirable crystalline silica dust exposure in construction and manufacturing of construction elements Code of Practice 2022
• 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
• How to Manage Work Health and Safety Risks Code of Practice 2021
• First Aid in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Electrical Safety Act 2002 (Qld)
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): electrical work and exclusion zones (schedule 2)

What You Get

• An editable Microsoft Word document (13 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; hard hat; safety glasses; gloves for handling stumps, concrete and sharp debris
• Emergency arrangements for: jack or prop failure and worker trapped or unwell under the house
• 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.