Rainwater Tank Installation SWMS

For plumbers, landscapers, builders and tank installers who place rainwater tanks at homes and small commercial sites. It follows the job from site checks and the agreed lift through excavation, base preparation, lifting and securing the tank, and setting up the pump, to backfill and making the site safe. The water pipework, drainage, and roof and gutter work are covered by separate SWMS.

Rainwater tank installation is not high risk construction work by itself. A SWMS is legally required under WHS Regulation s 299 only when the job is high risk construction work (s 291), so tick the powered mobile plant item when a crane truck or excavator works in the area, the trench item when a trench is deeper than 1.5 metres, the energised electrical item when the work is on or near live services, and the contaminated atmosphere item if cutting pavers or concrete creates silica dust, as the Queensland silica code advises. For a small tank installed by hand this document works as a written safe work procedure and task risk assessment, because excavation and lifting risks must still be managed (ss 305 and 219).

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 Rainwater Tank Installation SWMS?

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

• Tank dropping or swinging during the lift
• Crane or truck tipping beside the excavation
• Crane, boom or tank touching overhead power lines
• Wind blowing an empty tank over
• Base failing under the weight of a full tank
• Hitting underground services when digging
• Trench and excavation collapse
• Undermining footings and retaining walls
• Wet concrete and cement burns
• Silica dust from cutting pavers and concrete
• Electric shock from the pump and leads
• Strains from heavy tanks, pavers and rock
• Heat, sun, and bites and stings
• Children and animals falling into the tank or holes

High Risk Construction Work

No high risk construction work items (WHS Regulation 2011 (Qld) s 291) are pre-ticked, because this work is not high risk construction work by itself. Tick the items that apply to your job, such as a fall risk of more than 2 metres or work where powered mobile plant is moving.

Licences, Training and Competency

• General construction induction training card (white card) for construction work, and the site or owner induction (WHS Regulation s 316)
• Plumbers licence for the water connections between the tank, pump and building (Plumbing and Drainage Act 2018 ss 12, 13 and 56; Regulation 2019 s 13 and sch 4); excavating or backfilling a trench incidental to plumbing work is unregulated work (sch 3 item 3), but laying pipe is not; the business also holds a QBCC contractor licence in the Plumbing and drainage class, needed at any job value (QBCC Regulation 2018 sch 1 item 2(b) and sch 2 pt 18)
• Electrical work licence for connecting supply wiring to the pump or any fixed wiring (Electrical Safety Act 2002 ss 18(1) and 55); plugging the pump into a socket outlet by its flexible cord and plug is not electrical work (s 18(2)(a))
• High risk work licence for a vehicle loading crane of 10 metre tonnes or more: the vehicle loading crane class (Schedule 3 item 13, includes slinging) or a slewing mobile crane class (items 15 to 18, excludes slinging); the matching class for any other mobile crane (items 14 to 18); a smaller truck crane has no licence class, and the Mobile Crane Code of Practice 2024 (s 14.7) says operators of any vehicle loading crane should be given familiarisation training on that make and model
• High risk work licence in the dogging class, or a higher rigging class (Schedule 3 items 4 to 7), for anyone who slings a tank or directs a plant operator in moving it when it is out of the operator’s view (Schedule 19, dogging work)
• Operators of any excavator, skid steer loader or compaction plant used are trained and verified competent (Schedule 3 of the WHS Regulation has no high risk work licence class for excavators or skid steer loaders)
• Competent person to confirm the ground and base can carry the full tank (an engineer where the tank is large, the ground is sloping or poor, or the base is near a footing, retaining wall or excavation)
• Crystalline silica training (VET accredited course or training approved by the regulator) where cutting pavers or concrete is assessed as high risk (WHS Regulation s 529CD)
• First aid equipment, facilities and trained first aiders (or access to them) as the work needs (WHS Regulation s 42)

Legislation and Codes of Practice Referenced

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld)
• Excavation Work Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Risks of Plant in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Mobile Crane Code of Practice 2024 (vehicle loading cranes and cranes near excavations)
• Hazardous Manual Tasks 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
• Managing Risks of Hazardous Chemicals in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Managing the Work Environment and Facilities Code of Practice 2021
• Managing the Risk of Falls at Workplaces Code of Practice 2021 (ladders and platforms)
• Confined Spaces Code of Practice 2021 (a tank can be a confined space)
• 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
• Plumbing and Drainage Act 2018 (Qld) and Plumbing and Drainage Regulation 2019 (Qld) (the Regulation prescribes Queensland Development Code part MP 4.2, Rainwater tanks and other supplementary water supply systems)
• Electrical Safety Act 2002 (Qld)
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): overhead and underground electric lines (ss 10 to 15, schedule 2) and construction electrical equipment (s 140)
• Electrical Safety Code of Practice 2020 – Working near overhead and underground electric lines
• Safe Work Australia model Code of Practice: Elevating work platforms (guidance); its power line contact advice is applied by analogy

What You Get

• An editable Microsoft Word document (17 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.