Internal Strip-Out and Soft Demolition SWMS

Suits strip-out, fit-out, refurbishment and demolition contractors removing non-structural linings, ceilings, partitions, floor coverings, joinery and fixtures inside a building. It covers asbestos checks, isolating services, dust, manual handling, waste removal and handover. Removing load-bearing parts of a structure is outside it and needs a separate demolition SWMS and plan.

Strip-out is high risk construction work only when it involves a trigger in WHS Regulation section 291, such as likely disturbance of asbestos, work on or near energised electrical services, or a risk of falling more than 2 metres, and a SWMS is then required (section 299); otherwise it works as a written safe work procedure.

New to SWMS? Read What is a safe work method statement?

What is covered in our internal strip-out and soft demolition SWMS?

After the standard pre-start checks, the job steps run from “Review the building, asbestos register and scope” to “Clean up, inspect and hand over”. The hazards and controls include:

• Disturbing asbestos in old linings, tiles and adhesives
• Contact with live cables and services
• Cutting gas, refrigerant or water lines
• Silica dust from concrete, tiles and screed
• Engineered stone benchtop dust
• Falls from ladders, platforms and through ceilings
• Falling ceiling sections and fixtures
• Noise and vibration from demolition hammers
• Manual handling of heavy joinery and waste
• Cuts from glass, sheet edges and sharps
• Lead paint, mould and insulation fibres
• Falling debris from chutes and openings
• Heat in ceiling voids

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, or is likely to involve, the disturbance of asbestos
• Is carried out on or near energised electrical installations or services

Licences, training and competency

• General construction induction training card (white card) for construction work
• Site induction, including the building’s asbestos register, emergency procedures and fire safety rules
• Asbestos awareness training for every worker, so they recognise suspect material, stop and report; training under section 445 of the WHS Regulation, with a training record kept, for workers the business reasonably believes may be involved in asbestos removal work or asbestos-related work
• A competent person to identify asbestos or suspect material when there is no register or when material turns up that is not on it (for example a licensed asbestos assessor, or an occupational hygienist with asbestos experience)
• Licensed asbestos removalist for any removal of friable asbestos or more than 10 square metres of non-friable asbestos (class A, or class B for non-friable only); up to 10 square metres of non-friable asbestos may be removed by a competent person trained under section 445 (section 458); asbestos removal is not covered by this SWMS
• Electrical work licence holder (licensed electrical worker) to disconnect, isolate and remove electrical wiring and fittings; gas work licence holder for gas work; licensed plumber for plumbing and drainage lines; refrigerant handling licence holder for refrigerant lines
• Fit-tested respiratory protective equipment for workers who need it, with training in fitting and checking it
• Crystalline silica training (a VET accredited course or training approved by the regulator) for workers who may do, or be exposed to, processing that the written assessment finds high risk (section 529CD)
• High risk work licence for the class of any forklift truck, boom-type elevating work platform (boom length 11 m or more), hoist or crane used on the job

Legislation and codes of practice referenced

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld)
• How to Manage and Control Asbestos in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• How to Safely Remove Asbestos Code of Practice 2021 (for the licensed removalist’s work if asbestos is found)
• Demolition Work Code of Practice 2021
• Managing respirable crystalline silica dust exposure in construction and manufacturing of construction elements Code of Practice 2022
• Managing the Risk of Falls at Workplaces Code of Practice 2021
• Hazardous Manual Tasks Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Risks of Plant in the Workplace 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
• Electrical Safety Act 2002 (Qld): electrical work by a licensed electrical worker
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): energised electrical work
• Electrical Safety Code of Practice 2021 – Managing electrical risks in the workplace
• Petroleum and Gas (Production and Safety) Act 2004 (Qld): gas work licences and authorisations
• Plumbing and Drainage Act 2018 (Qld): plumbing and drainage licences
• Safe Work Australia model Code of Practice: Managing the risks of biological hazards at work (guidance)
• AS/NZS 1716:2012 (Respiratory protective devices) and AS/NZS 1715:2009 (Selection, use and maintenance of respiratory protective equipment), as named in WHS Regulation s 529B

What you get

• An editable Microsoft Word document (18 pages), laid out on A4 landscape pages. Type your business, client and job details once and they fill in on every page, with a space for your logo
• 11 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 with steel or composite toe caps; hard hat; safety glasses or goggles, and a face shield when breaking or grinding; hearing protection for demolition hammers, grinders and saws
• Emergency arrangements for: suspected asbestos found, contact with a live cable or a cut service and ceiling, wall or floor collapse, or a worker trapped
• 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.

Checked against the Queensland laws and codes of practice listed above. Last reviewed November 2026.