Plumbing Installation SWMS

Suits licensed plumbers, plumbing contractors and apprentices who install water, sanitary, drainage and gas pipework in new and existing buildings. It covers set-up, locating services and asbestos, trenching, work at height, cutting and chasing, pipe installation, brazing, gas pipework, chemicals, fixtures, testing and pack-up.

A SWMS is legally required under s 299 of the WHS Regulation only when the plumbing job is high risk construction work, for example a risk of a fall of more than 2 metres, work in or near a trench deeper than 1.5 metres, work on or near gas or fuel lines, work on or near energised services or cutting, drilling or chasing that creates silica dust (tick the contaminated atmosphere item, s 291(l)); for other jobs this document works as a written safe work procedure and task risk assessment.

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

What is covered in our plumbing installation SWMS?

After the standard pre-start checks, the job steps run from “Set up the work area and receive materials” to “Pack up and complete”. The hazards and controls include:

• Trench collapse and falls into trenches
• Falls from ladders, platforms and roofs
• Striking underground electrical, gas and water services
• Disturbing asbestos in older buildings
• Respirable crystalline silica dust from cutting and chasing
• Electric shock from damaged tools and leads
• Fire and burns from brazing and soldering
• Gas leaks and unlicensed gas work
• Solvent cement, primer and flux fumes
• Gas cylinders falling or flashing back
• Pressure release during testing
• Hot water scalds when commissioning
• Sewage contact and infection
• Manual handling of pipes, baths and hot water units

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 a risk of a person falling more than 2m
• Is carried out in or near a shaft or trench with an excavated depth greater than 1.5m, or a tunnel
• Is carried out on or near chemical, fuel or refrigerant lines

Licences, training and competency

• Plumber’s licence (plumbing work) or drainer’s licence (sanitary drainage below ground), or a restricted licence for the work, under the Plumbing and Drainage Act 2018 (Qld); apprentices work under a licensee’s direct supervision
• QBCC contractor licence for the business in the Plumbing and drainage class, needed at any job value because plumbing and drainage work is not covered by the $3,300 exemption (Queensland Building and Construction Commission Regulation 2018 sch 1 item 2(b) and sch 2 pt 18)
• Gas work licence or authorisation for the type of gas work (Petroleum and Gas (Production and Safety) Act 2004)
• Licensed electrician for hard-wired connections to hot water units and other appliances
• High risk work licence for the boom-type elevating work platform class where the boom length is 11 m or more (no licence class applies to scissor lifts)
• High risk work licence for the scaffolding class that matches the scaffold (basic, intermediate or advanced) for anyone erecting, altering or dismantling a scaffold from which a person or object could fall more than 4 m
• General construction induction training card (white card) for construction work
• Site induction, and training in the fall protection, trench support and brazing equipment used
• Crystalline silica training (VET accredited or regulator-approved) where the dust assessment rates the cutting high risk

Legislation and codes of practice referenced

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld) (including chapter 8A, crystalline silica)
• Plumbing and Drainage Act 2018 (Qld)
• Plumbing and Drainage Regulation 2019 (Qld)
• Petroleum and Gas (Production and Safety) Act 2004 (Qld) and Petroleum and Gas (Safety) Regulation 2018 (Qld) (gas work)
• Excavation Work Code of Practice 2021
• Managing the Risk of Falls at Workplaces Code of Practice 2021
• Scaffolding Code of Practice 2021
• Confined Spaces Code of Practice 2021
• How to Manage and Control Asbestos in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Managing respirable crystalline silica dust exposure in construction and manufacturing of construction elements Code of Practice 2022
• Managing Noise and Preventing Hearing Loss at Work Code of Practice 2021
• Hazardous Manual Tasks Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Risks of Hazardous Chemicals in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Welding Processes Code of Practice 2021
• Managing the Work Environment and Facilities Code of Practice 2021
• Electrical Safety Act 2002 (Qld) and Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld) (underground electric lines, overhead line exclusion zones, electrical equipment on construction sites)
• Electrical Safety Code of Practice 2020 – Working near overhead and underground electric lines
• Electrical Safety Code of Practice 2021 – Managing electrical risks in the workplace
• Safe Work Australia model Code of Practice: Elevating work platforms (guidance; Queensland has no EWP code)
• Safe Work Australia model Code of Practice: Managing the risks of biological hazards at work (guidance)

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 toe protection; long-sleeve high-visibility clothing; safety glasses with side shields; face shield when grinding or cutting
• Emergency arrangements for: trench collapse, gas leak and cable strike
• 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 October 2026.