Powerline Corridor Vegetation Clearing SWMS

Suits utility vegetation crews, tree contractors and their supervisors clearing trees and growth around overhead lines. It follows the job from the electricity entity’s requirements and the risk assessment, through zones, safety observers, tree grouping, cutting, EWP work, chipping and the emergency steps for a line contact. Tree felling, chainsaw handling and general work near overhead lines have their own SWMS.

Clearing vegetation to keep a power line clear is treated here as construction work in connection with maintaining a structure (poles, towers and lines, WHS Regulation s 289); that reading is arguable and depends on the job, and the energised electrical services item (item 10) is pre-ticked because the work is always on or near live lines. Tick the falls item (item 0) if anyone works more than 2 m above the ground, for example climbing or in an EWP basket, tick the powered mobile plant item (item 14) if plant moves in the work area, and tick the road in use item if the work is beside a road. If your clearing is not connected to the construction or maintenance of a line, a SWMS is not required by law (WHS Regulation s 299) but still works as a written safe work procedure and risk assessment.

Learn More: What Is A Safe Work Method Statement?
Have you ever been asked to provide a SWMS on a project in Queensland? Read our guide to what a Safe Work Method Statement is and when you need one.

What Is Covered In Our Powerline Corridor Vegetation Clearing SWMS?

The job steps run in the order the work is done, from pre-start checks to finishing up. The hazards and controls include:

• Entering an exclusion zone around an overhead line
• Authorised, instructed and untrained persons
• Safety observers for EWPs and plant
• Trees, limbs, saws and ropes near live lines
• Hazard trees and wind moving trees into zones
• Falls from EWP baskets and tree climbing
• Access tracks and plant rollover
• Chipping, mulching and handling cut material
• Fire, heat, wildlife and remote work
• Line contact and fallen line emergency response

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:

• Is carried out on or near energised electrical installations or services

Licences, Training and Competency

• General construction induction training card (white card) for construction work, and a site induction that shows the position and voltage of every line, the exclusion zones and the stop signal
• Authorised person status for each line where a person must work inside the untrained-person exclusion zone: enough technical knowledge and experience, and approved by (or authorised to act for) the person in control of the line (Electrical Safety Regulation 2026, Schedule 2 section 1)
• Instructed persons working under the supervision of an authorised person for that line; all other workers are untrained persons for the line
• Safety observers trained and competent for the role (units such as RIIRTM203E Work as a safety observer/spotter, as named in the Mobile Crane Code of Practice 2024)
• Tree workers competent in chainsaw use, felling, rope access and aerial rescue for the tasks they do, verified by the PCBU; no high risk work licence class covers tree work, chainsaws, chippers or mulchers (WHS Regulation Schedule 3)
• High risk work licence for a boom-type elevating work platform where the boom is 11 m or more (Schedule 3, item 21); trained and verified operators for other EWPs
• Operators competent on the excavator, mulcher, chipper, truck or loader they use
• Trained traffic controllers where traffic is stopped or directed on or beside a road
• Ground person trained in EWP ground controls and emergency lowering, and workers trained in the rescue plan
• An adequate number of workers trained in first aid and CPR, or access to them (WHS Regulation s 42), with a plan for remote work (s 48)
• Licence for any vehicle driven on a public road

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)
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): ss 10 to 13 and schedule 2 (exclusion zones for overhead electric lines)
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): s 23 (trimming of trees near a private overhead line) and s 265 (trimming of trees near an overhead line of an electricity entity)
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): ss 14 and 15 (underground electric lines)
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): ss 292 and 296 (serious electrical incidents and dangerous electrical events)
• Electrical Safety Code of Practice 2020 – Working near overhead and underground electric lines (chapter 6, clearing vegetation near overhead electric lines; distances come from the 2026 Regulation)
• Electrical Safety Code of Practice 2021 – Managing electrical risks in the workplace
• Forest Harvesting Code of Practice 2007 (felling, hung-up trees and power lines; written for forest harvesting and used here as good practice)
• Managing Risks of Plant in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Managing the Risk of Falls at Workplaces 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
• Managing Risks of Hazardous Chemicals in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Traffic Management for Construction or Maintenance Work Code of Practice 2008
• First Aid in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• How to Manage Work Health and Safety Risks Code of Practice 2021
• Mobile Crane Code of Practice 2024 (safety observer training named in section 9.1.2)
• Safe Work Australia model Code of Practice: Elevating work platforms (guidance)
• Safe Work Australia model Code of Practice: Managing the risks of biological hazards at work (guidance)
• Safe Work Australia model Code of Practice: Managing the risk of fatigue at work (guidance)

What You Get

• An editable Microsoft Word document (19 pages), laid out on A4 landscape pages
• Business, client, job and document details typed once and filled in on every page, plus a space for your logo
• The high risk construction work checklist, worded as WHS Regulation s 291, and the construction project question (s 292)
• A worker and health and safety representative consultation record
• Qualifications, plant, PPE, hazardous chemicals, safety equipment, permits, references and emergency arrangements filled in for this work
• A 5 x 5 risk matrix, and job steps with initial and residual risk scores and the people responsible
• Implementing, monitoring and review requirements, an additional controls log, revision history and a worker sign-on sheet

Review and adjust it for your site, your plant and the way your crew does the job, and talk it through with your workers before work starts. If you have any trouble downloading this SWMS, you can contact us at any time. Please make sure you read our Disclaimer before downloading this SWMS.