WHS Management Plan Template (Site Safety Management Plan)

A site safety management plan, called a WHS management plan in Queensland law, is the written plan a principal contractor must prepare before work starts on a construction project. This editable Microsoft Word template is laid out so each thing the WHS Regulation 2011 (Qld) requires has its own part, with short guidance notes, registers and checklists, so you can fill it in for your project instead of writing it from scratch.

A WHS management plan for a Queensland construction project, laid out so every item the WHS Regulation requires of a principal contractor has its own part. It suits builders, head contractors and project managers on projects where the construction work costs $250,000 or more, and contractors who want a site plan for their own part of a project. It points to your policies, procedures, forms and registers by name instead of repeating them.

When is a WHS management plan required in Queensland?

A construction project is a project involving construction work that costs $250,000 or more (section 292). The business that commissions the project is the principal contractor, unless it engages another business to be the principal contractor and gives it management or control of the workplace (section 293). The principal contractor must prepare a written WHS management plan for the workplace before work on the project starts (section 309).

What the plan must include

Under section 309, the plan must set out:

• the names, positions and health and safety responsibilities of everyone with a specific safety role on the project
• how the businesses on site will consult, co-operate and co-ordinate their activities
• how work health and safety incidents will be managed
• any site-specific safety rules, and how everyone on site will be told about them
• how safe work method statements will be collected, assessed, monitored and reviewed

The principal contractor duties that go with the plan

• Tell workers about it: make sure everyone carrying out construction work knows what is in the plan, and that they can inspect it, before they start (section 310).
• Keep it up to date: review and revise it as the project changes, and tell workers about any revision (section 311).
• Get the SWMS: take all reasonable steps to obtain a copy of the SWMS for high risk construction work before that work starts (section 312).
• Keep it: keep a copy until the project is completed, or for at least 2 years after a notifiable incident on the project (section 313).
• Put up signs showing the principal contractor’s name, phone numbers including after hours, and where the site office is (section 308).
• Manage the site-wide risks: materials and waste, plant that is not in use, traffic near the site, and essential services (section 315).

Projects under $250,000

A WHS management plan is only mandatory for construction projects of $250,000 or more. On smaller jobs, many builders and contractors still use a cut-down site safety plan because clients, councils and head contractors ask for one, and it is the easiest way to show how you induct people, manage SWMS and control site hazards.

Documents that go with your site safety plan

• SWMS templates for every high risk construction work activity, or the full General Construction SWMS Bundle
• Site Safety Audit Checklist for your regular site inspections
• WHS Manual with the policies and procedures your plan refers to
• Free SWMS template for Queensland to see the layout before you buy

What is included in our site safety management plan?

• When a plan is required, and a table showing where each WHS Regulation requirement sits in the document
• Project and contact details, principal contractor signs, client information and a description of the work
• Roles and health and safety responsibilities, with names and contact details
• Consultation, cooperation and coordination between businesses, including how issues are resolved
• Site induction content, general construction induction card checks and an induction record
• SWMS arrangements and a SWMS register with review dates
• High risk construction work checklist, with the permits, licences and notices each one needs
• Site hazards and a project risk register with starter hazard prompts
• Site rules, with starter rules to keep, change or delete
• Site set-up, security, amenities, falls, excavation and falling objects checks, a site layout sketch box and the principal contractor’s further duties in WHS Regulation s 314
• Plant, electrical, hazardous chemicals, asbestos and silica dust checks
• Traffic summary, emergency plan, first aid, incident notification, inspections, subcontractor and licence registers, review and sign-off

What you get

• An editable Microsoft Word plan (21 pages), A4 portrait, to fill in on screen or print
• Short guidance notes on what Queensland law requires in each part
• Tables, tick boxes and date pickers that work in Word
• Business details typed once and filled in on every page, plus a space for your logo
• Amendments, sign-off and document control

Review it and adjust it to suit your business, your sites and the way your team works, and talk it through with your workers.

Site safety management plan: frequently asked questions

This is general information, not legal advice. Check the current law or talk to Workplace Health and Safety Queensland for your situation.