Shearing Shed Operations SWMS
SWMS template for shearing shed operations. Covers Shearing handpiece, wool handling, pen-up.. 8-state AU coverage, CIH-reviewed editable DOCX, available as an instant download.
SWMS variants reference your state’s WHS legislation. Instant download after payment.
Shearing shed operations combine high-tempo manual handling, powered cutting equipment, live animal restraint and slippery lanolin-coated floors — a hazard profile that consistently produces serious back, hand and crush injuries across the Australian wool industry. This SWMS template covers the full shed workflow including pen-up and drafting, catching and dragging, shearing handpiece operation, wool throwing and classing, and shed cleanup. Under WHS Regulation 2025 and the harmonised model laws, a PCBU running a shearing shed (whether a pastoral company, contract shearing team or owner-operator) must document control measures for tasks that expose workers to musculoskeletal disorder risk, plant with cutting blades, and unpredictable livestock. A SWMS is mandatory where the work meets High Risk Work criteria or where the PCBU's risk assessment identifies serious injury potential, and it must be developed in consultation with shearers, shed hands and woolclassers before work commences.
Hazards identified
7 hazards covered, sorted by priority.
Falls causing wrist fractures, knee ligament tears, head strikes against down-tube or counting-out pen rails
Chronic lumbar disc injury, sciatica and career-ending musculoskeletal disorder requiring surgical intervention
Deep tendon and digital nerve lacerations to non-dominant hand requiring microsurgical repair and extended rehabilitation
Rib fractures, facial injuries, groin strain and crush injury when animal collapses on shearer's leg
Acute lumbar strain, shoulder rotator cuff tears and hernias during throwing, rolling and bale shifting
Febrile illness, chronic fatigue syndrome, dermatological infection and in rare cases endocarditis from untreated Q fever
Occupational asthma, allergic rhinitis and exacerbation of pre-existing respiratory conditions in shed hands and pressers
Control measures
Hierarchy-of-controls order: elimination → substitution → isolation → engineering → administrative → PPE.
- 1Elimination — Remove dead, cast or heavily fly-blown sheep from the catching pen before the run starts so shearers never handle non-viable animals on the board.
- 2Elimination — Eliminate manual bale shifting by scheduling forklift or front-end loader collection at the press rather than rolling pressed bales by hand across the shed floor.
- 3Substitution — Substitute traditional rigid down-tubes with sprung or articulated down-tube systems to reduce shoulder load and eliminate the strike hazard from a swinging handpiece cord.
- 4Substitution — Replace solid timber board sections with purpose-designed slip-resistant rubber matting rated for lanolin contamination and tested to AS/NZS 4586 slip resistance.
- 5Engineering — Install overhead shearer's back-support harness or sheep-handler cradle (e.g. upright shearing platforms) to reduce sustained lumbar flexion below the 60-degree threshold.
- 6Engineering — Provide mechanical ventilation extracting at the wool table and press to control dust per AS 1668.2, with HEPA-filtered recirculation during cold months.
- 7Administrative — Implement run-length scheduling (two-hour runs, smoko and lunch breaks) consistent with the Pastoral Award and rotate shed hands between throwing, sweeping and penning duties.
- 8Administrative — Mandate Q fever vaccination screening and immunisation records for all new shed workers per the Australian Immunisation Handbook before they enter the shearing shed.
- 9PPE — Issue cut-resistant chainmail or Kevlar shearer's singlet, steel-cap slip-resistant moccasins, P2 respirators for pressers and wool classers, and impervious gloves for crutching tasks.
- 10PPE — Provide eye protection during dagging and grinding, hearing protection (SLC80 class 4) around the wool press and shearing plant, and lanolin-barrier hand cream for dermatitis prevention.
Applicable Codes of Practice
Directly governs the assessment and control of sustained awkward postures and high-force exertion that define shearing handpiece operation and fleece throwing.
Sets guarding, isolation and emergency stop requirements for the overhead drive shaft, down-tubes and hydraulic wool press operating in the shed.
Requires risk assessment, isolation procedures and competency for operating the shearing handpiece, grinding machine and wool press under WHS Reg Part 5.1.
Underpins the zoonotic disease control program and respirator fit-testing for wool dust exposure during pressing and classing tasks.
High-Risk Construction Work triggered
Lanolin-coated board surfaces, wet grating in the catching pen and oil-contaminated steps create persistent slip exposure throughout every shearing run.
Repetitive bent-over shearing posture, dragging 60–80 kg sheep from the catching pen and throwing wet fleeces meet the sustained-force and awkward-posture criteria.
Operation of high-speed handpiece combs and cutters combined with restraint of unpredictable 50–90 kg sheep generates combined laceration and crush risk.
PCBU must consult shearers and shed staff during SWMS development, retain the signed document for two years (or duration of any notifiable incident), and provide on-site to inspectors on request; penalties are substantial and indexed, with the current maximum following the prevailing WHS schedule.
Who this is for
- →Contract shearing team principals and overseers
- →Pastoral company woolgrowers running owner-operated sheds
- →Woolclassers and shed managers coordinating shed hands
- →Agricultural labour-hire PCBUs supplying rouseabouts and pressers
What you receive
- ✓Editable DOCX template — Microsoft Word compatible
- ✓State-specific WHS legislation schedule (NSW/VIC/QLD/SA/WA/TAS/NT/ACT)
- ✓Hazard register with risk ratings + hierarchy-of-control mapping
- ✓Worker sign-on register, pre-start checklist, and incident escalation flow
Worked example
At a 12-stand shed on a Riverina merino property, the shed manager runs a pre-start brief at 7:25 am with five shearers, three rouseabouts, a presser and a woolclasser before the first run. She opens the Shearing Shed Operations SWMS on a tablet and walks through the hazard register against the day's flock — wet hoggets brought in overnight, meaning higher slip risk on the board and heavier fleeces. The team agrees to deploy additional rubber matting at three stands where the board joins the catching pen, and the presser confirms his P2 respirator fit-check before opening the first bale-bin. The SWMS control for sustained spinal flexion prompts the manager to confirm two-hour run discipline and to roster a mid-run rotation of the youngest rouseabout off wool-throwing onto sweeping. Each worker signs the SWMS sign-on sheet, with the new shed hand noting his Q fever vaccination certificate on file. Mid-morning, a shearer reports the grating at stand 6 is shifting underfoot; the manager halts that stand, records the change on the SWMS dynamic risk review section, secures the grating with additional fasteners, and the shearer signs the amendment before resuming. At smoko the team reviews the adjustment, confirming the SWMS reflects current shed conditions and remains the live working document, not a filing-cabinet formality.
Related legislation
- WHS Act 2011 (model)
- WHS Regulation 2025
- Managing the Risks of Plant in Rural Workplaces CoP; AS 2789 — Quad bikes