Shopfitting and Fixture Installation SWMS

Suits shopfitters, joiners and fit-out contractors who install shelving, counters, partitions, fixtures and glass in shops and commercial tenancies, often in occupied centres after hours. It follows the job from planning with the centre and setting up the work area through deliveries, drilling and fixing, cutting and bonding, installing fixtures, glass and signs, working at height and mounting lights, to clean-up and handover. Ceiling grid installation and licensed electrical work are covered by separate SWMS.

Shopfitting is construction work (fitting-out, WHS Regulation s 289), but it is not high risk construction work by itself. A SWMS is legally required under s 299 only when the job includes high risk construction work (s 291), for example a risk of a person falling more than 2 metres from platforms or an elevating work platform, disturbing asbestos or work near energised services; for floor-level jobs this document works as a written safe work procedure or task risk assessment. No item is ticked by default: tick the fall item when it applies, and also asbestos, energised electrical installations, powered mobile plant, or 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 Shopfitting and Fixture 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:

• Asbestos in older centres and tenancies
• Hitting live cables, pipes and sprinkler lines when drilling
• Silica dust from drilling concrete and masonry
• Dust from MDF, particleboard and laminates
• Falls from ladders, trestle platforms and mobile scaffolds
• Falling tools and fixings onto shoppers and workers
• Blocked exits and disabled fire equipment
• Being struck by vehicles and pallet trucks at the loading dock
• Strains from heavy counters, shelving and glass
• Cuts from glass, mirrors and sheet metal
• Tall shelving and partitions tipping over
• Fumes and fire from adhesives, sealants and finishes
• Engineered stone benchtops, whose installation is prohibited
• Working alone or out of hours

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 shopping centre’s or building manager’s site induction, including after-hours access and evacuation rules
• Trade qualification or verified competency in the work each person does (carpentry, joinery, glazing, fixture assembly)
• Electrical work licence that authorises the work, for any wiring, connection to supply, isolation or testing: shopfitters only locate, mount and fix electrical equipment (Electrical Safety Act 2002 ss 18 and 55)
• High risk work licence for the forklift truck class for anyone driving a forklift truck (a pedestrian-operated truck or pallet truck needs training, not a licence)
• High risk work licence for the boom-type elevating work platform class where the boom length is 11 m or more; training and verified competency on the model for scissor lifts and shorter booms
• High risk work licence for the scaffolding class that matches the scaffold for anyone erecting, altering or dismantling a scaffold from which a person or object could fall more than 4 m
• Training in the safe use of the ladders, trestle platforms or mobile scaffold used
• Training and verified competency on powered saws, nail guns and any cartridge (powder-actuated) fixing tool used
• Asbestos awareness training (identification and safe handling) for workers who may disturb existing walls, ceilings or floors
• Crystalline silica training (VET accredited course or training approved by the regulator) where the dust assessment finds the drilling or cutting high risk
• Respirator fit test and training for workers who wear P2 respirators

Legislation and Codes of Practice Referenced

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld)
• How to Manage Work Health and Safety Risks Code of Practice 2021
• Work Health and Safety Consultation, Co-operation and Co-ordination Code of Practice 2021
• Managing the Risk of Falls at Workplaces Code of Practice 2021
• Scaffolding Code of Practice 2021 (mobile scaffold)
• 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
• 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 and Control Asbestos in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Managing the Work Environment and Facilities Code of Practice 2021
• First Aid in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Electrical Safety Act 2002 (Qld): licensing for electrical work (ss 18, 24 and 55)
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): electrical equipment for construction work (s 140) and work on or near energised equipment (ss 195 to 204)
• Building Fire Safety Regulation 2008 (Qld): evacuation routes and fire safety installations (ss 7 and 54)
• Explosives Regulation 2017 (Qld): storing power device cartridges (s 99)
• Safe Work Australia model Code of Practice: Construction work (guidance)
• Safe Work Australia model Code of Practice: Elevating work platforms (guidance)
• Safe Work Australia model Code of Practice: Managing the risk of fatigue at work (guidance)

What You Get

• An editable Microsoft Word document (21 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.