Pool Solar Heating Installation SWMS

Suits pool heating installers and plumbers who fit solar collectors to roofs and ground frames. It covers the roof survey, roof access and fall protection, lifting materials, fixing mounts, laying collectors, pipework, connection to the pool plant, testing and handover.

Installing solar collectors and pipework in connection with a house and pool is construction work (WHS Regulation s 289), and a SWMS is required before high risk construction work starts (s 299). The fall of more than 2 metres item is pre-ticked because roof work is the main job; a job on a ground frame only does not need it. Tick the asbestos item where older roof sheeting will be disturbed and the energised electrical item where work is on or near live parts.

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

What Is Covered In Our Pool Solar Heating Installation SWMS?

After the standard pre-start checks, the job steps run from “Survey the roof and plan the layout” to “Hand over, clean up and remove roof access”. The hazards and controls include:

• Falls from the roof edge and ladders
• Brittle roof sheeting and skylights
• Asbestos cement in older roofs
• Roof slope and wet surfaces
• Manual handling of mats and panels
• Wind lift of mats and panels
• Dropped tools and materials
• Heat illness and hot collector surfaces
• Buried services at ground frame footings
• Pool water and solvent cement
• Electric shock from pump and controller
• Pipe pressure and leaks during testing

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

Licences, Training and Competency

• General construction induction training card (white card) for construction work
• Plumbing licence that covers the work, for connections to the water supply and other pipes that carry water within the premises (Plumbing and Drainage Act 2018 s 56); a trainee works under direct supervision (s 58)
• Electrical work licence that authorises the work, for any solar controller, valve actuator or pump wiring (Electrical Safety Act 2002 s 55)
• Workers trained in the roof access, fall prevention and rescue methods set out in this SWMS
• Workers who may carry out asbestos-related work on older roofing trained in the identification and safe handling of, and suitable control measures for, asbestos and asbestos-containing material (WHS Regulation s 445)
• First aid certificate for the person appointed as the job’s first aider
• Site induction

Legislation and Codes of Practice Referenced

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld)
• Electrical Safety Act 2002 (Qld)
• Plumbing and Drainage Act 2018 (Qld)
• Hazardous Manual Tasks Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Risks of Hazardous Chemicals in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• How to Manage and Control Asbestos in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• How to Manage Work Health and Safety Risks Code of Practice 2021
• First Aid in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Managing the Work Environment and Facilities Code of Practice 2021

What You Get

• An editable Microsoft Word document (14 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 with slip-resistant soles; work gloves, including heat-resistant gloves for handling mats in the sun; safety glasses; hard hat in the work area below the roof and during lifts
• Emergency arrangements for: fall from the roof, suspension in a harness and heat illness
• 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.