Livestock Truck Wash-Down SWMS

Suits truck wash operators, stock transport companies, saleyards, feedlots, processors and farm businesses that wash out livestock trucks and trailers. It follows the job in order: planning, positioning and isolating the truck, clearing manure, working on ramps and decks, pressure washing, low deck spaces, chemicals, effluent, hygiene and pack-up. Loading and unloading stock needs its own SWMS.

Washing down livestock trucks is not high risk construction work, so no item is pre-ticked and a SWMS is required by law only for high risk construction work (WHS Regulation s 299). If the work is part of construction work, for example building or repairing a wash bay, tick the reg 291 items that apply, such as a fall of more than 2 metres or movement of powered mobile plant. Otherwise the document works as a written safe work procedure and task risk assessment that you tailor to your site and your trucks.

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

What Is Covered In Our Livestock Truck Wash-Down SWMS?

After the standard pre-start checks, the job steps run from “Plan the wash and assess the wash bay” to “Finish, release pressure and secure the truck”. The hazards and controls include:

• High-pressure injection and hose failure
• Slippery ramps, decks and wash bays
• Falls from ramps, decks and side rails
• Truck moving or reversing near people
• Hydraulic ramps and decks dropping
• Zoonoses such as Q fever and leptospirosis
• Spray and dust carrying manure bacteria
• Cramped, hot and humid deck spaces
• Detergent and disinfectant exposure
• Mixing incompatible chemicals
• Effluent and wash water runoff
• Electric shock in wet areas
• Noise, heat and fatigue
• Scalds from hot water and steam

High Risk Construction Work

None of the high risk construction work items (WHS Regulation 2011 (Qld) s 291) are pre-ticked, because this job is not high risk construction work by itself. Tick any that apply on your site.

Licences, Training and Competency

• Workers trained and assessed as competent on the pressure washer, including the trigger lock, pressure release and the first response to a high-pressure injection injury
• Training in the wash-down procedure, truck and ramp isolation, and the wash facility’s or property’s biosecurity rules
• Training in the hazards of the detergents and disinfectants used (SDS), safe dilution, and first aid for chemical splashes
• Information for workers on zoonoses and hygiene, and on Q fever vaccination as good practice (not a legal requirement), with workers encouraged to ask their doctor
• Driver licence of the class that suits the truck for anyone who moves it into or out of the wash bay; no high risk work licence class covers a livestock truck or a wash bay
• First aid arrangements for the wash bay (WHS Regulation s 42) and, for lone or remote work, a way to call for help (s 48)
• Site or property induction covering the wash bay, truck movements, no-go areas and emergency arrangements

Legislation and Codes of Practice Referenced

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld)
• WHS Regulation s 699 and WHS Act ss 36 and 38: notifying a serious illness, such as Q fever or leptospirosis, caught through contact with animals or animal waste
• WHS Regulation Part 7.1 ss 341 to 344, 351, 354 and 357: labels, safety data sheets, managing risks, the risk of reaction between chemicals and spill containment
• WHS Regulation ss 56 and 57 (noise), s 60 (hazardous manual tasks), ss 78 to 80 (falls and rescue)
• WHS Regulation ss 214 and 215 (powered mobile plant), s 210(1)(d) (lockable operator controls)
• WHS Regulation ss 42 and 48 (first aid and remote or isolated work), s 41 (facilities and drinking water)
• WHS Regulation ss 62 to 67 and Schedule 19 (confined spaces: only if a deck or tank meets the definition)
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): safety switch and testing rules depend on the type of work, so ss 123 and 125 (definitions of service work and rural industry work) with ss 137 to 139 (service work or office work) and s 141 (rural industry work); overhead line exclusion zones in sections 10 to 13 and schedule 2
• Managing Risks of Plant in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Risks of Hazardous Chemicals in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Labelling of Workplace Hazardous Chemicals Code of Practice 2021
• Hazardous Manual Tasks Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Noise and Preventing Hearing Loss at Work Code of Practice 2021
• Managing the Risk of Falls at Workplaces Code of Practice 2021
• Managing the Work Environment and Facilities Code of Practice 2021
• Confined Spaces Code of Practice 2021 (if a space meets the definition)
• First Aid in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• How to Manage Work Health and Safety Risks Code of Practice 2021
• Safe Work Australia model Code of Practice: Managing the risks of biological hazards at work (model code, not approved in Queensland; guidance only)

What You Get

• An editable Microsoft Word document (15 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: waterproof, non-slip safety boots; waterproof jacket and trousers or overalls; face shield or goggles for high-pressure spray, rebound and splash
• Emergency arrangements for: high-pressure injection injury, fall from the ramp or deck and person collapses or is trapped in a deck space
• 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.