Marquee and Event Tent Erection SWMS

For hire companies, event crews and contractors who erect and dismantle marquees, pagoda tents and event tents. It follows the job from the site check and underground services through unloading, pegging and ballast, assembling and raising the frame, working at height on the roof and walls, temporary power, sign-off and pack-down. Event bump-in and bump-out are covered by a separate SWMS.

A marquee or event tent is a structure, including a temporary one, so erecting and dismantling it is construction work (WHS Regulation s 289), and a SWMS is legally required for high risk construction work (s 299). No item is pre-ticked because none applies to every job. Tick the ones that apply to yours: a fall of more than 2 metres (a large tent, or roof work from a platform), energised electrical installations or services (overhead lines near the site, or underground services where stakes or anchors go in), and movement of powered mobile plant if vehicles or forklifts operate in the work area. If none applies, it works as a written safe work procedure and task risk assessment.

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 Marquee and Event Tent Erection SWMS?

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

• Wind and gusts lifting or collapsing the structure
• Under-ballasted or poorly anchored frames
• Contact with overhead power lines
• Striking underground services when pegging
• Falls from ladders and the frame
• Falling tools and parts
• Crushed fingers in scissor joints and connectors
• Strains from heavy frames and ballast weights
• Reversing vehicles and unloading
• Electric shock from temporary lighting and generators
• Tripping on pegs, ropes and cables
• Collapse during dismantling and pack-down

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

• General construction induction training card (white card) where erecting or dismantling the marquee or tent is construction work
• Crew trained in the supplier’s or manufacturer’s assembly instructions for the structure being erected, led by an experienced crew leader
• Competent person who checks the finished structure against the supplier’s or engineer’s instructions and signs it off
• High risk work licence for the forklift truck class for anyone operating a forklift (Schedule 3); no licence class applies to scissor lifts or to boom-type platforms under 11 m, but operators need training for the model
• High risk work licence for a boom-type elevating work platform with a boom length of 11 m or more (Schedule 3 item 21)
• Dogging high risk work licence for anyone slinging loads for a crane or directing a crane operator who cannot see the load; use a separate SWMS for crane lifts
• Electrical work licence for any electrical work, including connecting lighting or power to a venue supply or distribution board (Electrical Safety Act 2002 s 55)
• Site or venue induction

Legislation and Codes of Practice Referenced

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld): ss 16 and 46 (more than one duty holder, consult, cooperate and coordinate)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): ss 289 to 291 and 299 (construction work, high risk construction work and the SWMS)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): ss 306C, 306D and 306M (falls and ladders in construction work)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): ss 315B to 315M (falling objects in construction work)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): ss 214 and 215 (powered mobile plant)
• How to Manage Work Health and Safety Risks Code of Practice 2021
• Work Health and Safety Consultation, Co-operation and Co-ordination Code of Practice 2021
• 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 the Work Environment and Facilities Code of Practice 2021
• First Aid in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Electrical Safety Act 2002 (Qld): s 55 (electrical work licence)
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): overhead power line exclusion zones in sections 10 to 13 and schedule 2
• Safe Work Australia model Code of Practice: Construction work (model code, not approved in Queensland; guidance only)

What You Get

• An editable Microsoft Word document (13 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.