Parcel Sorting and Conveyor SWMS

For parcel and freight depots, courier hubs and warehouses that run conveyors, sorters and manual sorting stations. It follows the work from start-up checks and feeding the line through sorting, clearing jams under isolation, damaged parcels, forklifts and roll cages, to peak-period fatigue and shutdown. Conveyor belt changeout and splicing, dock work and container unpacking are covered by separate SWMS.

Parcel sorting is not high risk construction work by itself, so a SWMS is legally required only if the work is part of high risk construction work (WHS Regulation s 299). Otherwise this works as a written safe work procedure and task risk assessment, and no item is pre-ticked. If the work is construction work, for example installing or altering the sorting system, tick the items that apply, such as movement of powered mobile plant or a fall of more than 2 metres.

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

What Is Covered In Our Parcel Sorting and Conveyor SWMS?

After the standard pre-start checks, the job steps run from “Pre-start check of the line, guards and emergency stops” to “Shut down, housekeeping and handover”. The hazards and controls include:

• Hands and clothing drawn into conveyor nip points
• Conveyor or sorter starting during a jam clear
• Stored energy in belts and sorters after the power is off
• Manual handling of heavy and awkward parcels
• Repetitive sorting and scanning strain
• Forklifts and tugs striking pedestrians
• Hearing loss from the line
• Damaged and leaking parcels
• Lithium battery fires in parcels
• Falls from platforms and mezzanines
• Machine-paced work and peak-season fatigue
• Slips on packaging and strapping

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

• Site induction covering the line layout, emergency stops, pull-cords, pedestrian crossings, mobile plant routes, evacuation points and the stop-work rule
• Training in the site’s isolation and lock-out procedure for anyone who clears jams, cleans or works on conveyors and sorters (WHS Regulation s 39; operator controls must be lockable in the off position, s 210)
• Competent person to maintain, inspect and test conveyors, sorters, guards, interlocks and emergency stops (WHS Regulation s 213)
• High risk work licence for the forklift truck class (Schedule 3 item 24) for anyone who operates a forklift truck; order-picking forklift trucks have their own class (item 25)
• Verified competence on the specific unit for pallet jacks, tow tugs, roll cage movers and other mobile plant that has no licence class
• Licensed electrical worker for work on motors, controls, sensors and switchboards (Electrical Safety Act 2002 s 55)
• Training in hazardous manual tasks, team lifts and the lifting aids provided on site
• First aid facilities and trained first aiders, or access to them, suited to the size and layout of the site (WHS Regulation s 42)

Legislation and Codes of Practice Referenced

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): ss 205 to 213 (plant: unauthorised alterations, proper use, plant not in use, guarding, operational controls, emergency stops and maintenance and inspection)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): ss 214 and 215 (powered mobile plant)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): ss 56 to 58 (noise exposure standard, managing hearing loss and audiometric testing)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): s 60 (hazardous manual tasks), ss 78 and 79 (falls) and s 40 (workplace facilities, including lighting, ventilation and heat)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): Schedule 3 items 24 and 25 (forklift truck and order-picking forklift truck licence classes)
• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld): ss 35 to 39 (notifiable incidents and preserving the site)
• 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 Risks of Hazardous Chemicals in the Workplace 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
• Managing the risk of psychosocial hazards at work Code of Practice 2022
• 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): s 55 (only licensed electrical workers do electrical work)
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): s 17 (unsafe electrical equipment is disconnected or isolated)
• Safe Work Australia model Code of Practice: Managing the risk of fatigue at work (model code, not approved in Queensland; guidance only)
• AS/NZS 4024 (series) Safety of machinery, conveyors (named only as Appendix D of the Managing Risks of Plant in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021 lists it)

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: safety boots with toe protection and non-slip soles; close-fitting clothing and tied-back hair; no loose cuffs, scarves, lanyards or dangling jewellery near moving parts
• Emergency arrangements for: person caught in a conveyor, sorter or nip point, fire or smoke from a parcel, such as a damaged lithium battery and person struck or crushed by a forklift, tug or roll cage
• 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.