Tree Felling SWMS

Suits tree felling and land clearing crews, builders and landscapers who fell and remove trees by chainsaw from the ground. It follows the work from assessing the tree and checking for overhead lines, through the drop zone, traffic control, the scarf and back cut and hung-up trees, to cutting up and removing the timber. Basic chainsaw handling is covered by the separate Chainsaw SWMS, and tree climbing and crane-assisted removal need their own SWMS.

A SWMS is legally required only for high risk construction work (WHS Regulation s 299), and felling a tree is not itself high risk construction work, but it can become so when it is part of construction work such as site clearing near energised overhead lines or beside a road in use; otherwise this works as a written safe work procedure and task risk assessment.

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 Tree Felling SWMS?

The job steps run in the order the work is done, from pre-start checks to finishing up. The hazards and controls include:

• Tree falling in an unplanned direction
• Trunk splitting and kicking back at the feller
• Dead limbs and dry stags falling during the cuts
• Contact with overhead power lines
• People inside the drop zone struck by the tree
• Vehicles and pedestrians near the line of fall
• Hung-up trees releasing without warning
• Limbs and stems under tension springing back
• Logs rolling or falling when cut and stacked
• Hinge failure, pinched bars and kickback
• Heat illness, noise and fatigue
• Snake bites and insect stings
• Injured worker unable to call for help

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

• Chainsaw and tree felling training from a nationally recognised course or equivalent, with each feller’s competency for the size and type of tree checked and recorded before they fell unsupervised (no high risk work licence class applies to chainsaw use or tree felling)
• Trainees fell only under the direct supervision of a competent feller
• Competent person (a qualified arborist or an experienced feller) to assess each tree and decide whether it can be felled from the ground
• Spotter or ground worker briefed on the drop zone, the hand signals or radio calls and the stop signal
• Authorised person for the line, arranged through the person in control of the line, for any vegetation work that has to go inside an exclusion zone (not covered by this SWMS)
• Accredited traffic controllers (Queensland traffic controller accreditation) for anyone who stops or directs traffic
• Operators of any winch, tractor or other pulling plant used on a hung-up tree trained and competent on that plant
• An adequate number of workers trained in first aid, including control of severe bleeding and CPR, with at least one at the felling site at all times (WHS Regulation s 42; the First Aid in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021 sets out numbers)
• General construction induction training card (white card) when the felling is construction work, for example clearing a site for building, and site induction

Legislation and Codes of Practice Referenced

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld)
• Forest Harvesting Code of Practice 2007 (felling zone, scarf and back cut, hung-up trees and chainsaw features; written for forest harvesting and used here as good practice for tree work)
• 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 (heat, UV and remote or isolated work)
• First Aid in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Risks of Hazardous Chemicals 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 2727 Chainsaws – Guide to safe working practices, and AS 2726 Chainsaws – Safety requirements – Part 1: Chainsaws for general use (both named in the Forest Harvesting Code of Practice 2007)
• Safe Work Australia model Code of Practice: Managing the risks of biological hazards at work (guidance)
• Safe Work Australia model Code of Practice: Managing the risk of fatigue at work (guidance)

What You Get

• An editable Microsoft Word document (18 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.