Hydrodemolition SWMS

Suits concrete repair, bridge and civil contractors who remove concrete with ultra-high-pressure water jets using a robot or hand-held lance. It covers the removal plan, asbestos and lead checks, exclusion zones, the high-pressure system, robot set-up, hand lancing, noise, slurry and pack-up. General demolition and ordinary water blasting are covered by the separate Demolition SWMS and Water Blaster SWMS.

The robot is powered mobile plant, so item 14 is ticked. If the job removes a load-bearing element or needs temporary support to stop collapse, tick items 2 and 4 and make sure the business holds a demolition work licence. Tick items 3, 10 and 11 if the job involves asbestos, live electrical services or silica dust.

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

What Is Covered In Our Hydrodemolition SWMS?

After the standard pre-start checks, the job steps run from “Plan the job: structure, concrete, coatings and removal depth” to “Depressurise, clean up and pack up”. The hazards and controls include:

• High-pressure injection from the water jet
• Flying concrete and debris
• Hose, fitting or lance failure under pressure
• Robot sliding or tipping at edges
• Structural collapse as concrete is removed
• Struck embedded services or tendons
• Asbestos or lead in the concrete or coatings
• Alkaline slurry burns
• Slurry entering drains
• Hazardous noise
• Electric shock on a wet site
• Silica dust from dried slurry

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 at a workplace in which there is any movement of powered mobile plant

Licences, Training and Competency

• Hydrodemolition operator trained and assessed as competent on the robot, the high-pressure unit and any hand-held lance used (no high risk work licence class applies)
• Demolition work licence held by the business where the removal takes out a load-bearing element or a part related to the physical integrity of the structure (WHS Regulation s 143)
• General construction induction training card (white card) for construction work
• Site induction
• Competent person, such as a structural engineer, for removal depth, sequence and temporary support
• Competent person to check the structure for asbestos and lead before work starts
• Licensed electrician to isolate circuits in or near the work area
• First aider briefed on high-pressure injection injuries
• 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
• Abrasive Blasting Code of Practice 2021 (water jetting as an alternative method)
• 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
• Hazardous Manual Tasks 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
• Electrical Safety Act 2002 (Qld)
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld)

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: safety boots (waterproof); waterproof coveralls or wet-weather clothing; face shield and safety glasses for anyone near the jets
• Emergency arrangements for: high-pressure injection injury, hose or fitting failure and slurry contact with eyes or skin
• 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.