Hybrid and Electric Vehicle Servicing SWMS

Suits workshops and mobile mechanics who service hybrid and battery electric vehicles. It covers the pre-start check, identifying the high-voltage system, immobilising and depowering, working while depowered, battery removal, fluids, damaged batteries and re-energising. General workshop work such as brake and clutch servicing uses a separate SWMS.

Servicing hybrid and electric vehicles is not high risk construction work by itself, so no item is pre-ticked and a SWMS is required by law only for high risk construction work (WHS Regulation s 299); this document works as a written safe work procedure or task risk assessment that you tailor to your workshop. If the work is part of construction work, tick the reg 291 items that apply.

Learn More: What Is A Safe Work Method Statement?
Have you ever been asked to provide a SWMS on a project in Queensland? Read our guide to what a Safe Work Method Statement is and when you need one.

What Is Covered In Our Hybrid and Electric Vehicle Servicing SWMS?

The job steps run in the order the work is done, from pre-start checks to finishing up. The hazards and controls include:

• High-voltage electric shock and arc flash
• Unsafe or incomplete depowering
• Silent vehicle moving unexpectedly
• Lithium-ion battery fire and thermal runaway
• Heavy battery pack lifting and crush injuries
• Vehicle falling from a hoist or jack
• Contact with orange high-voltage cables
• Coolant, refrigerant and fluid exposure
• Damaged or crashed vehicle batteries
• Faulty charge equipment and wiring
• Re-energising and charging hazards
• Untrained or unlicensed workers on live systems

High Risk Construction Work

No high risk construction work items (WHS Regulation 2011 (Qld) s 291) are pre-ticked, because this work is not high risk construction work by itself. Tick the items that apply to your job, such as a fall risk of more than 2 metres or work where powered mobile plant is moving.

Licences, Training and Competency

• Technician training and assessment in high-voltage vehicle safety, depowering and re-energising for the makes serviced, recorded by the PCBU (WHS Regulation s 39); the supervisor records who is trained and for which makes
• Verification of competency on the workshop’s insulated tools, test meter and rescue equipment
• Trade qualification or equivalent experience for the mechanical work being done
• No Schedule 3 high risk work licence covers vehicle servicing. A licensed electrical worker is needed for any electrical work on workshop wiring, charge points or equipment above extra low voltage (Electrical Safety Act 2002 s 55). The vehicle’s own propulsion system is outside the Act’s definition of electrical equipment (s 14(2)), so work on it is not electrical work needing that licence, and competence rests on the training and the manufacturer’s procedure above
• Refrigerant handling authorisation for any technician recovering refrigerant
• First aid training with CPR and response to electric shock; at least access to a first aider (WHS Regulation s 42)
• Workshop induction and the manufacturer’s service training for each make

Legislation and Codes of Practice Referenced

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld)
• WHS Regulation 2011 (Qld) ss 36, 39, 42, 44 and 60: hierarchy of controls, training, first aid, personal protective equipment and hazardous manual tasks
• WHS Regulation 2011 (Qld) ss 208, 210, 213 and 214: guarding, operational controls, maintenance and plant risks
• WHS Regulation 2011 (Qld) ss 351 and 357: hazardous chemicals and spills
• WHS Regulation 2011 (Qld) ss 56 and 57: noise exposure standard and managing hearing loss
• Electrical Safety Act 2002 (Qld): s 14(2) (electrical equipment does not include vehicle equipment that is part of the propulsion unit or powered by it) and s 55 (electrical work licence)
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld)
• Electrical Safety Code of Practice 2021 – Managing electrical risks in the workplace
• 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
• How to Manage Work Health and Safety Risks Code of Practice 2021
• Transport Operations (Road Use Management – Dangerous Goods) Regulation 2018 (Qld): carrying batteries or chemicals by road

What You Get

• An editable Microsoft Word document (14 pages), laid out on A4 landscape pages
• Business, client, job and document details typed once and filled in on every page, plus a space for your logo
• The high risk construction work checklist, worded as WHS Regulation s 291, and the construction project question (s 292)
• A worker and health and safety representative consultation record
• Qualifications, plant, PPE, hazardous chemicals, safety equipment, permits, references and emergency arrangements filled in for this work
• A 5 x 5 risk matrix, and job steps with initial and residual risk scores and the people responsible
• Implementing, monitoring and review requirements, an additional controls log, revision history and a worker sign-on sheet

Review and adjust it for your site, your plant and the way your crew does the job, and talk it through with your workers before work starts. If you have any trouble downloading this SWMS, you can contact us at any time. Please make sure you read our Disclaimer before downloading this SWMS.