Slew Crane SWMS

For crane hire companies, builders and civil contractors who run hydraulic slewing mobile cranes on outriggers. It follows the work from pre-start checks, site assessment and lift planning through travel, set-up, rigging, lifting and counterweight handling to loading transport and packing up, with Queensland licence classes and power line exclusion zones. Crawler cranes on tracks are covered by the separate Crawler Crane SWMS.

A SWMS is legally required when slewing crane work is part of high risk construction work, for example where powered mobile plant moves on a construction site or work is near energised power lines (WHS Regulation s 299); otherwise it works as a written safe work procedure or task risk assessment.

Similar job: if it is closer to your work, see the Franna Crane SWMS (Non-Slewing Crane).

New to SWMS? Read What is a safe work method statement?

What is covered in our slew crane SWMS?

After the standard pre-start checks, the job steps run from “Pre-start crane check” to “Refuel, pack up and leave site”. The hazards and controls include:

• Crane overturning from soft ground or overloading
• Outriggers sinking or crushing hands and feet
• Contact with overhead power lines
• Dropped or swinging loads over people
• Wind, lightning and storms
• People crushed by the counterweight while slewing
• Falls from the crane deck or carrier
• Dual and multiple crane lifts
• Lifting people in a work box
• Collisions with pedestrians and site plant
• Underground services struck during set-up
• Fuel spills and hydraulic leaks

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

• High risk work licence for the slewing mobile crane class that matches the crane’s capacity (up to 20 t, 60 t, 100 t or over 100 t)
• High risk work licence in the dogging class, or a higher rigging class (Schedule 3), for anyone who slings a load or directs a plant operator in the movement of a load when the load is out of the operator’s view (Schedule 19, dogging work); the operator does not sling their own load
• Intermediate or advanced rigging licence for the person directing a dual or multiple crane lift; intermediate for tilt slabs
• Verified competency on the crane model, attachments and lifting gear; familiarisation training before first use on a new crane
• Refresher training for operators, doggers and riggers at least every three years (recommended)
• Driver licence of the heavy vehicle class the crane needs, where it is driven on a road
• Trained safety observer where the crane works near overhead power lines
• White card (general construction induction) for construction work; site induction

Legislation and codes of practice referenced

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld)
• Mobile Crane Code of Practice 2024
• Managing Risks of Plant in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Managing the Risk of Falls at Workplaces Code of Practice 2021
• Hazardous Manual Tasks Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Noise and Preventing Hearing Loss at Work Code of Practice 2021
• Managing the Work Environment and Facilities Code of Practice 2021
• Traffic Management for Construction or Maintenance Work Code of Practice 2008 (work on or next to a road)
• Tilt-up and Pre-cast Construction Industry Code of Practice 2003 (if used for panel lifts)
• Electrical Safety Act 2002 (Qld)
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): overhead power line exclusion zones, Schedule 2
• Electrical Safety Code of Practice 2020 – Working near overhead and underground electric lines (distances come from the 2026 Regulation)
• Transport Operations (Road Use Management) Act 1995 (Qld): driver licence classes for driving a crane on a road

What you get

• An editable Microsoft Word document (17 pages), laid out on 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: safety boots; high-visibility clothing with long sleeves; hard hat; safety glasses
• Emergency arrangements for: crane contacts a power line, overturned crane, structural failure or dropped load and worker suspended in a harness
• 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.

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