Access Ramp Construction SWMS
This Safe Work Method Statement covers the construction of a compliant access ramp to the entry of a dwelling, residential aged-care unit or Specialist Disability Accommodation dwelling, so that an occupant using a wheelchair, walker or scooter can enter and leave independently. The work covers site
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Access ramp construction is the most commonly commissioned accessible home modification in Australia, and the one most often built wrong. A ramp that exceeds a 1:14 gradient is not a marginal compliance issue — it is unusable by a person self-propelling a wheelchair and dangerous on descent, so the set-out that fixes the gradient also fixes whether the work has any value to the occupant at all. This SWMS covers the full activity: site measure and set-out from the finished floor level of the entry, footing or screw-pier excavation, formwork, reinforcement and concrete placement, or alternatively the assembly of a proprietary modular aluminium or galvanised steel ramp on adjustable footings, followed by handrail and kerb-rail installation and a slip-resistant surface finish.
The work sits at the intersection of three hazard sets that most residential builders handle separately. There is the fall risk created by the ramp itself — the deck, the landings and the open edges rise as the run climbs, and a ramp to a high-set or split-level entry will exceed 2 m long before the crew notices. There is the excavation risk of footings dug hard against a dwelling in a residential frontage where water, gas, power, telecommunications and sewer all converge on the front door. And there is the occupied-dwelling risk: the person who needs the ramp is usually living in the house while it is built, often with impaired mobility or vision, and cannot be directed like a worker.
Where the work involves a risk of a person falling more than 2 metres, or excavation deeper than 1.5 metres, it is high risk construction work under section 291 of the Work Health and Safety Regulation and a Safe Work Method Statement is required under section 299 before work commences. Because the trigger is conditional on the ramp geometry, this document is written so the purchaser resolves it at set-out rather than guessing — the control set requires the 2 m threshold to be marked on the set-out drawing rather than judged by eye on site.
Hazards identified
12 hazards covered, sorted by priority.
Fall onto concrete, reinforcement or projecting starter bars; spinal and head injury, impalement on exposed steel
Burial and crush asphyxia; a collapse of even 1 m of soil is sufficient to prevent breathing
Electrocution, arc flash burns, gas ignition and explosion, sewage exposure; the residential frontage is the most service-dense ground on site
Crush injury between a module and a fixed structure; fractures and internal injury
Accelerated silicosis, progressive massive fibrosis and lung cancer; the damage is cumulative and irreversible
Chronic lumbar and shoulder injury; the leading cause of lost time in residential concreting
Full-thickness alkaline burns that develop without early pain, often requiring grafting; permanent sensitisation
Occupant cannot self-propel or loses control on descent; runaway wheelchair, tipping and the ramp being abandoned as unusable
Occupant falls from the ramp edge while relying on the rail for balance
Fall by an occupant with impaired balance, on a graded surface, often while carrying or transferring
Fall into an open excavation, contact with plant, or entrapment in wet concrete
Crush injury between plant and structure; footpath and driveway convergence gives little clearance
Control measures
Hierarchy-of-controls order: elimination → substitution → isolation → engineering → administrative → PPE.
- 1Set out the ramp run from the finished floor level of the entry and calculate the full run before any excavation begins, so the gradient is fixed on paper rather than discovered in concrete.
- 2Mark the finished deck height at every point on the set-out drawing, so the crew knows exactly where the 2 m fall threshold is reached instead of judging it by eye.
- 3Install edge protection to every open edge and landing before that surface is used as a working platform; build from the low end upward so the deck is not worked from while an open edge exceeds 2 m.
- 4Prefer screw piers or bored piers that require no person to enter the excavation, and place reinforcement and concrete from outside the hole.
- 5Obtain a current Dial Before You Dig enquiry, interpret the plans on site, and prove every service by hand or vacuum excavation before mechanical plant approaches the tolerance zone.
- 6Never excavate mechanically within 500 mm of a located service, and treat gas and electrical services as live until the asset owner confirms otherwise in writing.
- 7Deliver pre-assembled ramp modules to the setting position with a vehicle-mounted crane or telehandler, and prop or brace each module before any person releases it.
- 8Eliminate dry cutting entirely; use on-tool water suppression or H-class on-tool extraction, and contain slurry rather than washing it to stormwater.
- 9Clean by H-class vacuum or wet method only — never compressed-air blow-down and never dry sweeping — and remove coveralls before entering the dwelling or a vehicle.
- 10Order pre-mixed concrete placed by chute or pump rather than bagged product mixed on site, and use long-handled tools so no one kneels or reaches into wet concrete.
- 11Provide a wash-down point with clean running water at the work face from the moment concrete arrives, and remove saturated clothing rather than working in it.
- 12Hold a documented gradient check before concrete is placed or the deck is fixed, recorded by the supervisor against AS 1428.1 and the occupational therapist's recommendation.
- 13Design the handrail and its post embedment as part of the ramp structure, proof load the completed rail to the specified imposed load, and record the result.
- 14Specify the slip-resistant finish before the concrete is placed — broomed, tined or a proprietary coating across the direction of travel — and grade the deck so water cannot pond.
- 15Agree an alternative entry to the dwelling in writing before work starts, confirm it is usable with the occupant's mobility aid, and inspect it every evening before leaving.
- 16Never leave an excavation open overnight unless covered and barricaded; use hard barriers rather than tape where an occupant has impaired mobility or vision.
Applicable Codes of Practice
Governs edge protection to the ramp deck, landings and open edges, and the preference for fall-prevention devices over fall arrest.
Governs footing and pier excavation, ground support, service location and the prohibition on entering an unsupported excavation deeper than 1.5 m.
Sets the framework for SWMS preparation, high risk construction work and site consultation on a residential construction site.
Applies to handling modular ramp sections, reinforcement mesh, bagged cement and sustained kneeling formwork.
Applies where existing concrete, brick or paving is cut or ground to form the ramp junction and threshold.
Covers heat, shade, drinking water and amenities during external work on an unshaded residential frontage.
The technical standard for ramp gradient, clear width, landing dimensions, handrails and kerb rails — the design the SWMS is verified against.
High-Risk Construction Work triggered
Engaged where the ramp deck, a landing or the approach to a high-set or split-level dwelling entry is elevated more than 2 m above the surface beneath. A ramp to a slab-on-ground entry may never reach this; a ramp to a high-set entry certainly will, so the trigger is resolved at set-out and marked on the drawing.
Engaged where footing or pier excavation extends deeper than 1.5 m, which occurs with mass-concrete or bored footings in reactive clay. Screw piers avoid the trigger entirely and are the preferred option in the control set.
Engaged where footing excavation approaches an underground electrical service. The residential frontage is the most service-dense ground on any dwelling, because every utility converges on the front entry.
Where any of these categories applies, the work is high risk construction work under section 291 of the Work Health and Safety Regulation and a Safe Work Method Statement must be prepared before the work commences under section 299. The SWMS must be readily accessible to every worker who performs the work, must set out the hazards and control measures and how they are implemented and monitored, and must be reviewed under section 302 whenever the method changes, a new hazard is identified or a notifiable incident occurs. A principal contractor may not allow the work to start without it.
Who this is for
- →Builders and carpenters delivering NDIS, Home Care Package or My Aged Care funded home modifications
- →Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) builders delivering to Livable Housing Design Silver, Improved Liveability or Fully Accessible standards
- →Concreters and landscapers subcontracted to install accessible entries and paths of travel
- →Modular and proprietary ramp suppliers whose installers work in occupied dwellings
- →Occupational therapists and case managers who require a compliant SWMS from a contractor before approving a modification
What you receive
- ✓Editable Microsoft Word (.docx) document delivered as an instant download.
- ✓Fourteen identified hazards, each with an initial risk rating, a full control set written to the hierarchy of control, a residual rating and a nominated responsible person.
- ✓Nine regulatory reference bullets citing the governing sections verbatim, so the statutory basis renders in the document rather than sitting in metadata.
- ✓A completed risk matrix using 5×5 likelihood × consequence scoring with both initial and residual ratings.
- ✓A PPE matrix mapping each task to the required protective equipment and the actual AS/NZS standard it must comply with.
- ✓Emergency response provisions covering falls, excavation collapse, service strike, concrete burns, crush injury and heat illness.
- ✓The notifiable incident duty with the regulator's notification number stated in the document.
- ✓A worker sign-on register for recording that each person has read and understood the statement before starting.
- ✓Fully editable text so your PCBU details, site address, personnel, plant and site-specific controls can be inserted.
- ✓State-specific variants available for all eight Australian jurisdictions with the correct Act, Regulation and regulator for each.
Worked example
A builder is engaged to install a ramp to the front entry of a 1970s high-set brick dwelling in an outer suburb, funded under an NDIS home modification. The finished floor level is 900 mm above the path, so a compliant 1:14 gradient requires a 12.6 m run with an intermediate landing — far longer than the client expected, and the first genuine decision on the job. At set-out the builder marks the deck height along the run and finds that the upper 4 m sits more than 2 m above the sloping side yard. That single measurement converts the job into high risk construction work under section 291, and the SWMS is now mandatory rather than good practice. Edge protection is installed to the upper deck and both landings before any crew member works from them, and the build sequence is reversed to start from the low end. The Dial Before You Dig plans show a gas service entering near the proposed second pier. The builder relocates that pier at design stage rather than hand-digging beside a live gas line, and screw piers are specified for the remainder so no one enters an excavation at all. The occupant is a wheelchair user living alone. Before work starts the builder agrees in writing that the rear entry will be the access route for the full three weeks, confirms the wheelchair can reach it, and installs a temporary light along that path. Each evening the front excavation is covered and barricaded, and the rear route is walked before the crew leaves. Before concrete is placed the supervisor records the gradient at five points against the occupational therapist's specification. One reading is out by 30 mm over the run; the formwork is adjusted rather than accepted. That check is what makes the ramp usable — and it is the difference between a modification that returns the occupant's independence and $18,000 of concrete they cannot use.
Related legislation
- Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW) — section 19 primary duty of care, section 47 consultation, sections 35–38 notifiable incidents
- Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (NSW) — section 291 high risk construction work, section 299 SWMS required, section 302 review
- Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (NSW) — Part 4.4 Managing the risk of falls in the workplace
- Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (NSW) — Part 4.2 Hazardous manual tasks and Chapter 7 Hazardous chemicals
- National Construction Code — Livable Housing Design Silver level provisions for accessible dwelling entries
- Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth) — the policy basis for accessible design standards referenced by AS 1428.1
Frequently asked questions
Do I always need a SWMS to build an access ramp?
Not always — the trigger is conditional. A ramp to a slab-on-ground entry with no elevated deck, built on screw piers with no excavation deeper than 1.5 m and clear of underground services, may not engage any section 291 category. But a ramp to a high-set or split-level entry will exceed a 2 m fall height on the upper run, and footings in a residential frontage frequently approach services. Resolve it at set-out by marking the deck height along the run. In practice most principal contractors and many funding bodies require a SWMS regardless.
What gradient does the ramp actually have to be?
AS 1428.1 sets a maximum 1:14 gradient for a ramp, with landings at the top, the bottom and at maximum intervals along the run, and a maximum 1:8 for a short threshold ramp. The practical consequence is that every 1 metre of rise needs 14 metres of ramp plus landings — which is why the set-out must be calculated before excavation, not after. Where the site cannot accommodate a compliant run, the answer is a platform lift or a different entry, not a steeper ramp.
Does this SWMS cover a proprietary modular aluminium ramp as well as a concrete one?
Yes. The scope covers both construction methods — cast in-situ concrete on footings or piers, and proprietary modular aluminium or galvanised steel ramp assembly on adjustable footings. The hazard set covers the module handling, crush and rigging risks specific to modular systems as well as the concrete, silica and formwork risks of an in-situ ramp.
The occupant lives in the house. How does the SWMS handle that?
It treats the occupant as a person who cannot be directed like a worker, so the site must be made safe for them rather than relying on their compliance. The controls require an alternative entry agreed in writing before work starts and confirmed usable with their actual mobility aid, hard barriers rather than tape, no excavation left open overnight, and a documented end-of-day condition check. This is also a life-safety matter — an occupant who cannot leave cannot evacuate.
Is asbestos covered?
Asbestos is included as a hazard consideration where the existing entry, path or dwelling fabric disturbed at the ramp junction may contain it, which is common in dwellings built or renovated before 1990. The document directs you to identify and resolve it before this work starts. It does not authorise asbestos removal — that is licensed work performed under its own control plan with clearance issued before other trades resume.
Which states does this cover?
The document is available for all eight Australian jurisdictions. The NSW version cites the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW) and Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (NSW) with SafeWork NSW as the regulator. Each state variant carries the correct Act, Regulation and regulator for that jurisdiction — including Victoria, which operates under the OHS Act 2004 and OHS Regulations 2017 with Compliance Codes rather than the harmonised section 291 framework. AS 1428.1 and the Livable Housing provisions are national and do not change.