Cattle & Livestock Handling SWMS
Cattle and livestock handling — yard work, drenching, pregnancy testing, branding, loading and unloading trucks, and mustering on horseback or motorbike.
SWMS variants reference your state’s WHS legislation. Instant download after payment.
Cattle and livestock handling covers yard work, drenching, pregnancy testing, branding, truck loading and mustering on horseback or motorbike. Under WHS Regulation 2025 and the Hazardous Work in Agriculture Code of Practice, PCBUs must document controls for crush, kick, zoonotic and confined yard risks before work begins.
Hazards identified
3 hazards covered, sorted by priority.
Fractures, internal injury or fatality
Serious illness, hospitalisation, chronic infection
Spinal injury, head trauma or death
Control measures
Hierarchy-of-controls order: elimination → substitution → isolation → engineering → administrative → PPE.
- 1Use compliant race, crush and force yards; never enter pen with unrestrained cattle.
- 2Mandatory Q fever vaccination, gloves, eye protection and hand hygiene after stock contact.
- 3Helmets, ROPS-fitted bikes, competency training and no-go terrain zones for all mustering.
Applicable Codes of Practice
Yard design, race operation and cattle handling controls
Livestock, quad bike and zoonotic risk management
High-Risk Construction Work triggered
Direct contact with large unpredictable animals capable of crushing or kicking workers.
Restricted egress in pens and races increases struck-by and crush severity.
SWMS required before livestock handling under WHS Reg 2025.
What you receive
- ✓Editable DOCX SWMS tailored to cattle and livestock handling
- ✓State-specific WHS legislation and Code of Practice schedule
- ✓Hazard register covering crush, zoonotic, mustering and yard risks
- ✓Worker sign-on register for SWMS consultation and acknowledgement
Related legislation
- WHS Act 2011 s.19 — primary duty of care
- WHS Regulation 2025 — risk management and PPE
- State animal welfare and biosecurity legislation