Palm Tree Trimming SWMS

Suits arborists, palm and tree trimmers, landscapers and gardeners who remove dead fronds, fruit and seed heads from palms at homes, parks and businesses. It follows the job in order: assessing the palm, power lines, the drop zone, checking the crown for snakes and nests, trimming from the ground, an EWP or by climbing, lowering fronds and clearing up. Tree climbing in general, EWP operation and chainsaw work each have their own SWMS.

Palm trimming is not high risk construction work by itself, so no item is pre-ticked and a SWMS is required by law only for high risk construction work (WHS Regulation s 299); this document works as a written safe work procedure or task risk assessment that you tailor to your job. If the work is part of construction work, such as clearing a site for building, tick the reg 291 items that apply, such as a fall of more than 2 m, energised electrical installations or powered mobile plant.

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

What Is Covered In Our Palm Tree Trimming SWMS?

After the standard pre-start checks, the job steps run from “Plan the job, assess the palm and choose the access method” to “Handle green waste, clean up and pack up”. The hazards and controls include:

• Heavy fronds and seed heads falling
• Contact with overhead power lines
• Falls from the EWP basket or the palm
• Suspension trauma after a fall
• Spines and sharp frond edges
• Snake bites and insect stings
• Wasp and bee nests in the crown
• EWP overturning on soft ground
• Pole saw and chainsaw injuries
• Loose frond bases and weak stems
• Heat, fatigue and strains
• Vehicles and the public beside the work

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

• Training and verified competence in palm trimming and the access method used (pole saw from the ground, boom-type EWP or climbing), checked and recorded by the PCBU; no high risk work licence class covers tree or palm trimming or chainsaws (WHS Regulation Schedule 3)
• High risk work licence for a boom-type elevating work platform where the boom length is 11 m or more (WHS Regulation Schedule 3, item 21); a trainee is supervised by a licence holder (s 82); no licence class applies to scissor lifts or shorter booms, which need documented training on the model used
• Climbers trained in the climbing system, work positioning and aerial rescue (see the Tree Climbing SWMS)
• Chainsaw and pole saw training for the saws used, with competence checked for use aloft
• Ground person trained in the drop zone, signals, lowering ropes, the EWP ground controls and the rescue plan
• Authorised person for the line, arranged through the person in control of the line, for any work that has to go inside an exclusion zone (Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 Sch 2 s 1; outside this SWMS)
• Accredited traffic controllers where traffic is stopped or directed beside the work
• Workers trained in first aid, including control of severe bleeding and snake bite, or access to trained persons (WHS Regulation s 42)
• General construction induction training card (white card) if the work is construction work, for example clearing a site for building

Legislation and Codes of Practice Referenced

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld)
• WHS Regulation 2011 (Qld) ss 78 to 80: falls; ss 54 and 55: falling objects; s 48: remote or isolated work
• WHS Regulation 2011 (Qld) ss 81 and 82 and Schedule 3 item 21 (boom-type EWP licence), s 213 (plant maintenance and inspection) and s 219 (plant that lifts people)
• WHS Regulation 2011 (Qld) ss 56, 57 and 60: noise and hazardous manual tasks; ss 40, 41 and 42: heat, drinking water and first aid
• Managing the Risk of Falls at Workplaces Code of Practice 2021 (work positioning systems, rescue and suspension intolerance)
• Managing Risks of Plant in the Workplace 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 Work Environment and Facilities Code of Practice 2021
• First Aid in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Risks of Hazardous Chemicals in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• How to Manage Work Health and Safety Risks Code of Practice 2021
• Traffic Management for Construction or Maintenance Work Code of Practice 2008 (work beside a road)
• Forest Harvesting Code of Practice 2007 (chainsaw features and protective equipment; written for forest harvesting and used here as good practice for tree work)
• Electrical Safety Act 2002 (Qld)
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): ss 10 to 13 and schedule 2 (exclusion zones for overhead electric lines), ss 292 and 296 (serious electrical incidents)
• Electrical Safety Code of Practice 2020 – Working near overhead and underground electric lines (chapter 6, clearing vegetation near lines; distances come from the 2026 Regulation)
• Safe Work Australia model Code of Practice: Elevating work platforms (model code, not approved in Queensland; guidance only)
• Safe Work Australia model Code of Practice: Managing the risks of biological hazards at work (model code, not approved in Queensland; guidance only)
• Safe Work Australia model Code of Practice: Managing the risk of fatigue at work (model code, not approved in Queensland; guidance only)

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: climbing helmet or hard hat with a chin strap, and a face screen or safety glasses (spines and falling debris can cause eye injuries)
• Emergency arrangements for: snake bite or serious sting, fall, or a climber or worker suspended in a harness and contact with a power line
• 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.