Trestle Scaffold and Low-Level Working Platform SWMS

Suits painters, renderers, plasterers, electricians and other trades who work from trestle ladder platforms, trestle scaffolds and low-level working platforms. It covers choosing the platform, setting it up, edge protection, working and moving materials on it, and dismantling it. Mobile and fixed scaffolds are covered by separate SWMS.

Work from a trestle or low-level platform is high risk construction work only when it involves a risk of a person falling more than 2 metres (WHS Regulation s 291(a)), so no item is ticked by default. Tick that item if the platform is higher than that, and tick any other items the job involves; a SWMS is required before high risk construction work starts (s 299). Otherwise use it as a written safe work procedure.

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 Trestle Scaffold and Low-Level Working Platform SWMS?

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

• Platform collapse or tipping
• Falls from open sides and ends
• Gap between the platform and the wall
• Unstable ground and sloping floors
• Overloading the platform
• Planks slipping or whipping
• Overreaching and loss of balance
• Tools and materials falling onto people
• Floor openings and stair voids
• Contact with overhead lights and lines
• Pinch and crush injuries when setting up
• Moving the platform with people on it

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

• General construction induction training card (white card) for construction work, and site induction
• A competent person assembles the platform and inspects it before use; the person is trained in the maker’s system and the rules for platforms supported by trestle ladders
• No scaffolding licence is needed for a trestle or low-level platform from which a person or object could fall 4 m or less; if anyone could fall more than 4 m from the platform or structure, erecting or dismantling it is scaffolding work that needs the matching scaffolding licence class, so use a scaffold SWMS instead (Schedule 19, Schedule 3 items 1 to 3)
• Workers briefed on the maximum load, the number of people allowed and the platform height limit
• First aid equipment, facilities and trained first aiders (or access to them) as the work needs (WHS Regulation s 42)

Legislation and Codes of Practice Referenced

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld)
• Managing the Risk of Falls at Workplaces Code of Practice 2021
• Scaffolding Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Risks of Plant in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Hazardous Manual Tasks Code of Practice 2021
• Managing the Work Environment and Facilities Code of Practice 2021
• How to Manage Work Health and Safety Risks Code of Practice 2021
• First Aid in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): overhead electric line exclusion zones in schedule 2

What You Get

• An editable Microsoft Word document (13 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.