Rope Access and Abseiling SWMS

Suits rope access teams, facade cleaners and building maintenance and repair contractors who work from ropes to clean, inspect and repair buildings and structures. It follows the job from planning and anchor approval through rigging, going over the edge, working on the ropes and rescue, to de-rigging and pack-up. Swing stages and general work at height from ladders and scaffolds need their own SWMS.

A SWMS is required under WHS Regulation s 299 when rope access is part of construction work (such as alteration, repair or maintenance of a structure; testing, maintenance or repair of a minor nature is excluded, s 289) and a person could fall more than 2 metres (s 291), so that is the item ticked; for other rope access tasks the document works as a written safe work procedure; you can also tick energised electrical installations if power lines are near the work, and the contaminated atmosphere item if drilling or cutting masonry creates silica dust, as the Queensland silica code advises.

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 Rope Access and Abseiling SWMS?

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

• Anchors that fail or were never checked
• Falls at the roof edge while rigging
• Ropes cut or worn over edges and corners
• Faulty or incompatible ropes, connectors and descenders
• Uncontrolled descent and pendulum swing
• Dropped tools and materials striking people below
• Contact with overhead power lines
• Wind, rain, lightning and heat on the ropes
• Suspension intolerance and delayed rescue
• Chemicals, silica dust and noise while working suspended
• Stings and nests at the work face
• Damaged equipment returned to use

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
• Rope access operators trained and assessed as competent in the techniques and equipment used on this job (Schedule 3 of the WHS Regulation has no high risk work licence class for rope access work)
• Rope access supervisor with the experience and competence to supervise the work and any rescue on this project
• Rescue training for every operator and the rescue team, repeated often enough to keep the skills current
• Engineer to design, or competent person to inspect and approve, each anchor point before first use; competent person to check every fixed anchor point before ropes are attached
• Competent person to inspect ropes, harnesses, descenders and backup devices at regular intervals and after any fall
• Competent person to install any travel restraint system used at the roof edge, and to inspect it at least every 6 months
• Site induction, including roof access, exclusion zones and the site’s emergency and rescue arrangements
• Ground person trained in the exclusion zone, the radio signals and the rescue plan
• Licensed electrician where cables, lights or other live parts on the structure must be isolated before work
• Crystalline silica training (VET accredited course or training approved by the regulator) where the dust assessment finds drilling or cutting masonry or concrete high risk
• Trained first aider on site

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 (section 6.2 covers industrial rope access systems)
• Managing Risks of Plant in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• First Aid in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Hazardous Manual Tasks Code of Practice 2021
• Managing the Work Environment and Facilities Code of Practice 2021
• 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 respirable crystalline silica dust exposure in construction and manufacturing of construction elements Code of Practice 2022
• 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)
• AS/NZS 4488.1 Industrial rope access systems – Specifications (named in the Falls Code)
• AS/NZS 4488.2 Industrial rope access systems – Selection, use and maintenance (named in the Falls Code)
• AS/NZS 1891.4 Industrial fall-arrest systems and devices – Part 4: Selection, use and maintenance (named in the Falls Code for fall arrest systems)
• AS/NZS 1716:2012 (Respiratory protective devices) and AS/NZS 1715:2009 (Selection, use and maintenance of respiratory protective equipment), as named in WHS Regulation s 529B
• Safe Work Australia model Code of Practice: Elevating work platforms (guidance)

What You Get

• An editable Microsoft Word document (18 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.