Pool Plastering and Finishing SWMS

Suits pool plasterers and finishers applying plaster, quartz or pebble finishes inside new or renovated pool shells. It follows the work from checking the shell and entry, through surface preparation, mixing, application and finishing, to filling and pack-up. It does not cover tiling, which has its own Tiling SWMS.

A SWMS is required by law for high risk construction work (WHS Regulation s 299), and a pool shell is not by itself a shaft or trench. Tick the ‘shaft or trench deeper than 1.5 m’ item only if the excavation meets that definition, the ‘fall of more than 2 m’ item if a person could fall that far, and the confined space or contaminated atmosphere items if they apply. Otherwise this works as a written safe work procedure.

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

What Is Covered In Our Pool Plastering and Finishing SWMS?

After the standard pre-start checks, the job steps run from “Check the shell and set up safe entry and exit” to “Clean up, waste disposal and pack-up”. The hazards and controls include:

• Falls into the open pool shell
• Unstable shell walls or shotcrete
• Caustic burns from wet cement and plaster
• Silica dust from grinding and mixing
• Heat stress in a reflective shell
• Fumes and poor air in a deep shell
• Working alone or being unable to get out
• Wet leads and electric shock
• Hose whip and blockage release
• Acid wash and surface chemical burns
• Slippery wet plaster and steps
• Alkaline slurry reaching drains

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

• General construction induction training card (white card)
• Experience or training in applying pool plaster and pool finishes
• Silica training where the work is high risk silica processing (s 529CD)
• Training in the pump and mixer used
• Site induction

Legislation and Codes of Practice Referenced

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld)
• Managing the Risk of Falls at Workplaces Code of Practice 2021
• Managing respirable crystalline silica dust exposure in construction and manufacturing of construction elements Code of Practice 2022
• Managing Risks of Hazardous Chemicals in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Confined Spaces Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Noise and Preventing Hearing Loss at Work 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

What You Get

• An editable Microsoft Word document (12 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: safety boots or rubber boots; alkali-resistant gloves; safety glasses, face shield or goggles; long sleeves and long pants; waterproof knee protection
• Emergency arrangements for: caustic or acid contact and person unwell or collapsed in the shell
• 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.