Hydraulic Rock Breaker SWMS

Suits excavation, demolition, quarry and civil contractors who use a hydraulic rock breaker on an excavator to break rock, concrete and slabs. It covers planning around services and structures, exclusion zones, checking the breaker and quick hitch, breaking, dust and noise control, clearing material and pack-up. Excavator operation in general and hand-held jack hammers are covered by separate SWMS.

Using an excavator with a rock breaker is high risk construction work when powered mobile plant moves in the work area (WHS Regulation s 291(o)), so item 14 is ticked. Breaking concrete or rock is processing a crystalline silica substance, and the silica code treats construction work with a silica exposure risk as high risk under s 291(l), so item 11 is ticked too (the same as the Jack Hammer SWMS); a buyer breaking rock known to hold no crystalline silica may untick it. Tick the other items the job involves, such as energised services or overhead lines, falls over 2 metres, demolition of a load-bearing element, a trench deeper than 1.5 metres or a road in use.

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

What Is Covered In Our Hydraulic Rock Breaker SWMS?

After the standard pre-start checks, the job steps run from “Plan the work: structure, services and material” to “Refuel, shut down, park and pack up”. The hazards and controls include:

• Flying rock, concrete and tool fragments
• Striking underground services and overhead lines
• Breaker or tool falling from the quick hitch
• Hydraulic hose failure and oil injection injuries
• Machine overturning or bogging on unstable ground
• Collapse of the rock face, slab or nearby structure
• Workers entering the exclusion zone
• Respirable crystalline silica dust and slurry
• Noise above the exposure standard
• Whole-body vibration and operator fatigue
• Blank firing and tool binding
• Fire during 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:

• Is carried out in an area that may have a contaminated or flammable atmosphere
• Is carried out in an area at a workplace in which there is any movement of powered mobile plant

Licences, Training and Competency

• General construction induction training card (white card) for construction work, and site induction
• Excavator operator trained and assessed as competent on the machine and the breaker attachment (Schedule 3 of the WHS Regulation has no high risk work licence class for excavators or rock breakers)
• Operator trained in the breaker maker’s instructions, the quick hitch and the machine’s cab controls
• Competent person to review plans, scan for services and check for suspect asbestos and silica
• Spotter or safety observer briefed on hand signals, the exclusion zone and power line distances
• Crystalline silica training (VET accredited course or training approved by the regulator) for workers who may be involved in or at risk from high risk silica processing (WHS Regulation s 529CD)
• Trained traffic controllers where traffic control is needed on or beside a road
• Demolition work licence (WHS Regulation s 143) where the breaking is demolition of a load-bearing element; use a separate SWMS for demolition
• First aid equipment, facilities and trained first aiders (or access to them) as the work needs (WHS Regulation s 42)

Legislation and Codes of Practice Referenced

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld)
• Managing Risks of Plant in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Excavation Work Code of Practice 2021
• Demolition Work Code of Practice 2021 (section 4.12, mechanical demolition and plant attachments)
• 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
• Hazardous Manual Tasks Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Risks of Hazardous Chemicals in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• How to Manage and Control Asbestos in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Managing the Work Environment and Facilities Code of Practice 2021
• Mobile Crane Code of Practice 2024 (section 13: earthmoving plant, including excavators, used as a crane; quick hitches in section 13.5; severe environments in section 13.7)
• Traffic Management for Construction or Maintenance Work Code of Practice 2008
• 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 (16 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 long-sleeve shirt and trousers; hard hat when outside the cab on a construction site; safety glasses with side protection
• Emergency arrangements for: power line contact, damaged gas, fuel or electrical service and person struck or crushed
• 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.