Roof Walkway and Handrail Installation SWMS

For roofing contractors, steel fabricators and building maintenance installers who fit roof walkways and handrails so tradespeople can reach plant and gutters safely. It follows the job from roof assessment and fall protection through material handling, fixing, walkway and handrail installation to inspection and handover, and points to separate SWMS for safety mesh and anchor points.

Ticked for you: a risk of a person falling more than 2 m (reg 291(a)), because roof edge and walkway work is above 2 m on nearly every job. Also tick, where they apply to your job: asbestos disturbance if you drill or cut asbestos-cement roofing (reg 291(d)) and work near energised electrical installations or services (reg 291(k)).

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 Roof Walkway and Handrail 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:

• Falls from the roof edge
• Falls through fragile roofing and skylights
• Falls during roof access
• Asbestos in old roof sheeting
• Overhead power lines near the roof
• Dropped tools and materials
• Drilling kickback and swarf
• Heavy walkway sections
• Handrail failing under load
• Heat and sun on metal roofs
• Slippery or wet sheeting
• Suspension after a fall in a harness

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, and site induction
• Competent person to plan the walkway, supervise the work and inspect the installed walkway and handrail before use
• Engineer to confirm the roof structure can carry the walkway and handrail loads where the supplier’s instructions do not cover the roof
• Training for each worker in the fall protection used and in the rescue plan (WHS Regulation s 306G(2) for travel restraint; s 306I(9) for fall arrest harness systems)
• High risk work licence for a boom-type elevating work platform where the boom length is 11 m or more (Schedule 3 item 21)
• High risk work licence in a scaffolding class (Schedule 3) for anyone erecting scaffolding covered by Schedule 3
• Training in the identification and safe handling of asbestos for workers who may be involved in asbestos-related work (WHS Regulation s 445)
• Trained person or team able to carry out the rescue plan

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
• Scaffolding Code of Practice 2021 (where scaffold is used for access)
• Safe Design of Structures Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Risks of Plant in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Hazardous Manual Tasks Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Noise and Preventing Hearing Loss at Work Code of Practice 2021
• How to Manage and Control Asbestos in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• First Aid in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• How to Manage Work Health and Safety Risks Code of Practice 2021
• Electrical Safety Act 2002 (Qld)
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): overhead power line exclusion zones in schedule 2
• Electrical Safety Code of Practice 2020 – Working near overhead and underground electric lines (distances come from the 2026 Regulation)
• WorkSafe Queensland guidance: Managing fall risks on roofs in housing construction (guidance for housing roofs, not a code)

What You Get

• An editable Microsoft Word document (13 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.