Tree Dismantling and Rigging SWMS

Suits arborists, tree crews and landscapers who take a tree down in sections with ropes, blocks, friction devices and winches where it cannot be felled whole. It follows the work from assessing the tree and checking for power lines, through the target zone, the rigging plan, access and setting the rigging, to cutting and lowering sections, handling tension and heavy loads, rescue and pack-up. Felling from the ground, climbing, elevating work platforms and crane-assisted removal have their own SWMS.

Dismantling a tree is not high risk construction work by itself. A SWMS is legally required under WHS Regulation s 299 only for high risk construction work, such as tree removal that is part of site clearing near energised overhead lines, beside a road in use or with a fall of more than 2 metres. If that applies, tick the items that fit your job. Otherwise it works as a written safe work procedure and task risk assessment.

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

What Is Covered In Our Tree Dismantling and Rigging SWMS?

After the standard pre-start checks, the job steps run from “Assess the tree, the site and the weather, and plan the dismantle” to “Inspect the gear, pack up and make the site safe”. The hazards and controls include:

• Rigging load far above the weight of the section
• Rope, sling or device failing under load
• Rigging point or anchor breaking in the tree
• Shock loading when sections are dropped or stopped
• Sections swinging into the climber or ground crew
• Hands trapped in rope, blocks and friction devices
• Contact with overhead power lines
• Falls of climbers from the tree or platform
• Sections and stems under tension springing back
• Chainsaw kickback aloft
• Injured climber unable to descend
• Heat, noise and fatigue

High Risk Construction Work

None of the high risk construction work items (WHS Regulation 2011 (Qld) s 291) are pre-ticked, because this job is not high risk construction work by itself. Tick any that apply on your site.

Licences, Training and Competency

• Tree climbing, rigging and aerial rescue training from a nationally recognised course or equivalent, with each climber’s and rigger’s competency checked and recorded before they work unsupervised; Schedule 3 of the WHS Regulation lists no high risk work licence class for rope-and-friction-device rigging of tree sections (the rigging classes are for the equipment and tasks they list, such as structural steel, hoists and cranes)
• Dogging licence (Schedule 3 item 4) for the person who does dogging work as defined in Schedule 19: applying slinging techniques, including the selection and inspection of lifting gear, to safely sling a load, or directing a plant operator in the movement of a load when the load is out of the operator’s view; crane-assisted removal is outside this SWMS, and for rope rigging of tree sections see the permits box
• Competent person (qualified arborist or experienced climber) to assess the tree, plan the sections and the rigging, and decide when a job must be left to a specialist
• A trained rescuer on the ground for every climb, practised in the aerial rescue plan (tree work practice, not a fixed legal number)
• Chainsaw training, with competency for the saw used aloft and on the ground
• Operators of any winch, chipper, loader or truck trained and competent on that plant
• Authorised person for the line, arranged through the person in control of the line, for any work inside an exclusion zone (outside this SWMS)
• Accredited traffic controllers for anyone who stops or directs traffic
• High risk work licence for a boom-type elevating work platform with a boom of 11 m or more (Schedule 3 item 21) if one is used (separate SWMS)
• An adequate number of workers trained in first aid, including control of severe bleeding and CPR (WHS Regulation s 42)
• General construction induction training card (white card) when the work is construction work, for example clearing a site for building

Legislation and Codes of Practice Referenced

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): s 219 (plant that lifts or suspends loads) and Schedules 3 and 19 (high risk work licence classes and dogging work)
• Managing the Risk of Falls at Workplaces Code of Practice 2021 (work positioning systems, rope access systems, rescue and suspension intolerance)
• Forest Harvesting Code of Practice 2007 (felling zone, hung-up trees and chainsaw features; written for forest harvesting and used here as good practice for tree work)
• Mobile Crane Code of Practice 2024 (s 12.4: mobile cranes should not be used for tree lopping unless strict conditions are met; crane-assisted removal is outside this SWMS)
• How to Manage Work Health and Safety Risks Code of Practice 2021
• 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 the Work Environment and Facilities Code of Practice 2021
• First Aid in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Traffic Management for Construction or Maintenance Work Code of Practice 2008 (work beside a road)
• Electrical Safety Act 2002 (Qld)
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): overhead power line exclusion zones (ss 10 to 13 and schedule 2)
• Electrical Safety Code of Practice 2020 – Working near overhead and underground electric lines (chapter 6, clearing vegetation near lines; distances come from the 2026 Regulation)
• Transport Operations (Road Use Management – Accreditation and Other Provisions) Regulation 2015 (Qld): traffic controllers
• AS/NZS 4488 (set) Industrial rope access systems and AS/NZS 1891 (set) Industrial fall-arrest systems and devices, as named in the Managing the Risk of Falls at Workplaces Code of Practice 2021
• AS 2727 Chainsaws – Guide to safe working practices and AS 2726 Chainsaws – Safety requirements – Part 1: Chainsaws for general use, as named in the Forest Harvesting Code of Practice 2007
• Safe Work Australia model Code of Practice: Managing the risks of biological hazards at work (model code, not approved in Queensland; guidance only)
• Safe Work Australia model Code of Practice: Managing the risk of fatigue at work (model code, not approved in Queensland; guidance only)

What You Get

• An editable Microsoft Word document (18 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: climbing helmet with chin strap, face screen and ear muffs; cut-resistant chainsaw trousers and safety boots; safety glasses or a face screen, and gloves suited to rope work and chainsaws
• Emergency arrangements for: climber hurt, unconscious or unable to descend, chainsaw laceration or severe bleeding and tree, section, rope or saw touches a 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 November 2026.