Shotcrete Application SWMS

Suits civil, ground support and construction contractors who spray wet-mix or dry-mix shotcrete with a hand nozzle or manipulator. It follows the job in order, from design and ground checks through setting up, hoses and pressure, loading the mix, spraying, rebound and falling material, dust and ventilation, accelerator handling, blockages and pack-up. Concrete pumping, pool shells and installing rock bolts or mesh need their own SWMS.

Shotcrete spraying is construction work, and the powered mobile plant item (WHS Regulation s 291(o)) is pre-ticked because trucks, pumps and spray rigs move in the work area. Tick the other items the job involves: the tunnel item (s 291(g)(ii)) for work in or near a tunnel, a fall of more than 2 metres from slopes, benches or platforms, a confined space, energised services, and the contaminated atmosphere item (s 291(l)) when dust creates a silica risk, as the approved silica code advises. A SWMS is required for high risk construction work under s 299.

New to SWMS? Read What Is A Safe Work Method Statement?

What Is Covered In Our Shotcrete Application SWMS?

After the standard pre-start checks, the job steps run from “Plan the work, check the ground and set up emergency arrangements” to “Finish, wash out and pack up”. The hazards and controls include:

• Hose whip and coupling failure under pressure
• Nozzle kick and loss of control of the hose
• Rebound striking the eyes and face
• Falling shotcrete, rock and loose ground
• Silica and cement dust
• Diesel exhaust and poor air in tunnels
• Caustic burns from cement and accelerator
• Overhead power lines and plant contact
• Rig or EWP overturning on soft ground
• Reversing trucks and mixers
• Noise from compressors and spraying
• Blockages releasing stored pressure

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 in an area at a workplace in which there is any movement of powered mobile plant

Licences, Training and Competency

• General construction induction training card (white card) for construction work, and site induction including the emergency and evacuation arrangements
• Nozzle operators and machine operators trained and assessed as competent on the shotcrete system, the mix and the accelerator dosing
• High risk work licence for the concrete placing boom class (Schedule 3 item 22) for the operator of a mobile truck-mounted concrete placing boom with a power-slewing and luffing knuckle boom; the Regulation does not mention shotcrete, so confirm with the regulator whether a shotcrete manipulator boom is a concrete placing boom (Schedule 19)
• High risk work licence for the boom-type elevating work platform class where an EWP boom length of 11 m or more is used as the spray platform; no licence class covers scissor lifts or shorter booms
• Competent person, for example a geotechnical or structural engineer, to specify the ground support and shotcrete and to inspect the ground
• Crystalline silica training (VET accredited course or training approved by the regulator) for workers who may do, or be exposed to, high risk silica processing (s 529CD)
• Respirator training and fit test for each wearer before first use and at least yearly
• Confined space entry and rescue training where the work area meets the confined space definition
• First aid training for an adequate number of workers, including flushing chemical burns and eye injuries (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 (tunnelling and ground support, section 5.2)
• Concrete Pumping Code of Practice 2019 (hose whip, pipelines and blockages)
• Managing Risks of Plant in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Managing the Risk of Falls at Workplaces Code of Practice 2021
• Confined Spaces Code of Practice 2021
• Managing respirable crystalline silica dust exposure in construction and manufacturing of construction elements Code of Practice 2022
• Managing Risks of Hazardous Chemicals in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Noise and Preventing Hearing Loss at Work Code of Practice 2021
• Hazardous Manual Tasks Code of Practice 2021
• Managing the Work Environment and Facilities 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
• Traffic Management for Construction or Maintenance Work Code of Practice 2008 (where plant or trucks work beside a road in use)
• Electrical Safety Act 2002 (Qld)
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): ss 10 to 13 and schedule 2 (overhead line exclusion zones)
• Electrical Safety Code of Practice 2020 – Working near overhead and underground electric lines (distances come from the 2026 Regulation)

What You Get

• An editable Microsoft Word document (16 A4 landscape pages). Type your business, client and job details once and they fill in on every page, with a space for your logo
• 11 job steps for this work, each with its hazards, controls, initial and residual risk scores and the person responsible
• PPE listed for this job: face shield or sealed goggles over safety glasses for the nozzle operator and anyone close to the spray
• Emergency arrangements for: hose whip or burst line, accelerator or cement in the eyes or on the skin and plant or hose touches an overhead power line
• Plus the parts every Work Safety QLD SWMS shares, from the s 291 checklist to the worker sign-on sheet (see the layout in our free SWMS template)

Adjust it for your site, plant and crew, and talk it through with your workers before work starts. Please make sure you read our Disclaimer before downloading this SWMS.

Checked against the Queensland laws and codes of practice listed above. Last reviewed October 2026.