Looks like you're in United States. See Chippie for United States, with local pricing and tax.

Safety paperwork

Free SWMS template: download it, or build it on your phone

A blank safe work method statement as a fillable PDF or a Word file, free with no account. Below it: what a SWMS is, what it has to cover, which work needs one, and how long you keep it.

Build your SWMS free in Chippie

Key takeaways

Free blank SWMS template as a fillable PDF or a Word file. No account, no email address.
A SWMS is required before high risk construction work starts. Work that is not high risk construction work does not need one.
It must name the high risk work, the hazards and risks, the controls, and how the controls are put in place, monitored and reviewed.
Keep it at the workplace until the work is finished. After a notifiable incident, Queensland requires it kept for at least 2 years.
A SWMS can be kept electronically if workers can readily get to it.

Download the free SWMS template#

Download for Word Download fillable PDF

Fill the PDF in on screen or print it for the crew; edit the Word file to suit your trade. No account, no email address.

The blank SWMS template
	What the template has
The job	Work description, site, date, who prepared it and who is responsible for the controls
High risk work	All 18 categories of high risk construction work, to tick
Hazards	Rows for each hazard, its risk, the controls and the risk left after them
Monitoring	How the controls are checked and when the SWMS is reviewed
Sign-on	A sheet for the crew to sign once they have been through it

What is a SWMS?#

A safe work method statement (SWMS) sets out the high risk construction work to be done at a workplace, the hazards and risks that work brings, and the measures that control them. The business doing the high risk work must have one prepared before that work starts, and the work must then be done the way the SWMS says.

It is meant to be a simple planning tool for the people on site, not a binder for the office. It must be specific to the site and understood by everyone who uses it.

What a SWMS must include#

SafeWork NSW sets the minimum. A SWMS must:

identify the work that is high risk construction work, such as work with a risk of falling more than 2 metres;
specify the hazards and the risks they bring;
describe the measures that control those risks;
describe how the controls are put in place, monitored and reviewed;
be understood by everyone who uses it.

Think about the site itself while you write it: access in and out, nearby structures and powerlines, ground conditions, other trades working at the same time. Work that is not high risk construction work does not need to be in it.

Which work needs a SWMS#

A SWMS is required for high risk construction work. These are the 18 categories, and the template has a box for each:

Risk of a fall more than 2 metres
Work on a telecommunication tower
Demolition of a load-bearing element
Likely disturbance of asbestos
Structural alteration requiring temporary support
Work in or near a confined space
Excavation, shaft or trench deeper than 1.5 metres
Work in a tunnel
Use of explosives
Work near pressurised gas mains or piping
Work near chemical, fuel or refrigerant lines
Work near energised electrical installations
Work in a contaminated or flammable atmosphere
Tilt-up or precast concrete
Work on or near a road, railway or traffic corridor
Work in an area with movement of powered mobile plant
Work in artificial extremes of temperature
Work in or near water with a risk of drowning

Victoria lists one more: construction work involving diving.

How to fill in the template#

Describe the job

The work, the site, the date, and who is responsible for the controls.
Tick the high risk work

Every category the job involves. One SWMS can cover several, or you can do one per activity.
Hazards, risks and controls

One row per hazard: the risk, the controls, and the risk left once they are in place. Start with removing the hazard, and use PPE last.
Monitoring and review

Who installs each control, who checks it, and what makes you review the SWMS.
Talk the crew through it

Before work starts. Have them sign on, and keep it where they can read it.

Reviewing and keeping a SWMS#

If work is not being done the way the SWMS says, it stops as soon as it is safe to, and does not restart until it can follow the SWMS, reviewed if need be. Review it when the work changes, when the site throws up a hazard you did not plan for, or when an incident shows the controls are not working.

Keeping a SWMS
	Rule
Where	At the workplace, where the people doing the work can read it
How long	Until the high risk construction work is finished
After a notifiable incident	At least 2 years from the incident (Queensland)
Revised versions	Keep every version (Queensland)
Paper or digital	Either, if workers can readily get to it

Checked 26 October 2026 against SafeWork NSW, WorkSafe Victoria and WorkSafe Queensland. A template is a starting point, not a compliance check: your state's regulator has the final word.

Rather not write it out by hand?#

Common questions#

What is a SWMS?

A safe work method statement: a document that sets out the high risk construction work to be done at a workplace, the hazards and risks it brings, and the measures that control those risks. It must be prepared before the high risk work starts.

Is a SWMS a legal requirement?

Yes, for high risk construction work. In NSW it is required by the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025, in Queensland by the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011, and in Victoria by the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2017. Work that is not high risk construction work does not need one.

Who has to prepare the SWMS?

The business carrying out the high risk construction work. A subcontractor prepares the SWMS for its own high risk work, in consultation with the principal contractor, and in Queensland gives the principal contractor a copy before the work starts.

What is the difference between a SWMS and a JSA?

A SWMS is required by law for high risk construction work. A job safety analysis (JSA) or risk assessment is not required by law, though WorkSafe Victoria notes both are useful for spotting hazards, including on work that is not high risk.

Can I use the same SWMS on every job?

A generic SWMS is allowed for work you do regularly, but it must be reviewed against each site's hazards before the work starts, and revised if the site needs different controls.

How long do I keep a SWMS?

Until the high risk construction work it covers is finished, kept where it can be inspected. In Queensland, if a notifiable incident happens on that work, keep it for at least 2 years from the incident, and keep every revised version.

Does a SWMS have to be signed?

None of the three regulator pages this page is checked against requires a signature. They require the hazards and controls to be communicated to the workers doing the work. A crew sign-on sheet, which this template includes, is the usual way to show that happened.

Is the template free?

Yes. The PDF and Word templates are free with no account. If you would rather tick hazards from a list than write them out, the SWMS builder in Chippie is on every plan, including the free one.

Have a play. It is free.

Free while you are small. No card, no lock-in.

Have a play

Free up to 20 jobs a monthWorks on any phone