Cranes, Rigging & Dogging SWMS Templates

Yes. Under WHS Regulation 2025 Schedule 3, work involving powered mobile plant and loads suspended over people is high-risk construction work (HRCW), and a SWMS must be prepared before work starts. Separately, the operator must hold the correct High Risk Work Licence class (e.g. CN for non-slewing mobile crane, CT for tower crane, DG for dogging). The SWMS documents lift planning, exclusion zones and rescue, while the HRWL authorises the individual to operate the plant.

A Dogman (DG) licence covers slinging techniques, load estimation and directing crane movement when the load is out of the crane operator's view. Rigging licences are tiered: Basic (RB) covers structural steel and precast; Intermediate (RI) adds hoists, cantilever crane decks and demolition; Advanced (RA) covers gin poles, flying foxes and tower crane erection. AS 2550.1 and WHS Reg 2025 Schedule 4 require the licence class to match the task — SWMS should specify which class applies for each lift.

Yes. Lifting personnel in a work-box is only permitted in exceptional circumstances where no safer alternative (EWP, scaffold) is reasonably practicable, per AS 2550.1 Appendix and the Managing Risks of Plant CoP. The SWMS must document why alternatives were rejected, the engineer-certified work-box, crane derate factors, communication protocols, emergency lowering and a separate JSA for occupants. A general crane SWMS does not satisfy this duty.

The model WHS Regulation 2025 is harmonised across NSW, Qld, SA, Tas, ACT, NT and Commonwealth jurisdictions, so a SWMS aligned to the model law is broadly accepted. Victoria operates under OHS Regulations 2017 and WA under WHS Regulations 2022 — both impose materially equivalent SWMS duties for HRCW and crane operations. Our templates are written state-neutral against AS 2550, AS 1418 and the Plant CoP, with prompts to insert jurisdiction-specific notification requirements (e.g. tower crane erection notices).

AS 2550.1 Section 5 requires verification that ground or supporting structure can sustain crane outrigger or track loads with an adequate safety margin. The SWMS should reference a lift study or engineer-certified crane pad design, outrigger mat sizing, proximity to excavations, basements and underground services (Dial Before You Dig), and proof loading where required. For crawler cranes and heavy mobile cranes, geotechnical input is typically needed and must be attached to the SWMS pre-start pack.