Mobile / On-Site Spray Repair SWMS
Mobile spot repair and spray refinishing performed away from a fixed booth — at client premises, on construction sites, in car parks or roadside — including site assessment, portable containment, spray application, and pack-down and waste removal.
SWMS variants reference your state’s WHS legislation. Instant download after payment.
Mobile spray repair removes the one control the whole trade depends on — the booth — and replaces it with an open environment, bystanders and weather. This Safe Work Method Statement covers spot repair and spray refinishing performed at client premises, on construction sites, in car parks and roadside: site and downwind assessment, portable containment and local extraction, exclusion zones, traffic and public interface controls, weather holds, fall protection where elevated work is required, and controlled pack-down of contaminated containment materials. It is written on the principle that if the public cannot be excluded and overspray cannot be contained, the work does not proceed — because isocyanate drift exposes people who have no idea they are at risk and who are outside any health-monitoring program.
Hazards identified
9 hazards covered, sorted by priority.
Uncontrolled exposure of the public to isocyanate drift
Musculoskeletal injury; struck by vehicle
Ground and stormwater contamination
Sensitisation of workers and uninvolved bystanders
Struck-by vehicle, slips and trips, electrical
Environmental contamination and property damage claims
Dermal and inhalation exposure to settled isocyanate residue
Vehicle fire; dangerous goods incident in transit
Contamination of the client premises and environment
Control measures
Hierarchy-of-controls order: elimination → substitution → isolation → engineering → administrative → PPE.
- 1Complete a downwind assessment identifying receptors before any product is opened
- 2erect containment and confirm extraction before mixing
- 3do not proceed if the public cannot be excluded
- 4Establish and sign the exclusion zone before set-up
- 5traffic control or spotter where the corridor is live
- 6team lift for heavy containment components
- 7Cover or bund nearby drains
- 8lay ground protection beneath the work area
- 9Spray only inside the erected containment with local extraction running
- 10air-supplied respirator worn
- 11maintain the signed exclusion zone
- 12stop if wind changes
- 13Traffic control and physical exclusion maintained
- 14spotter where required
- 15weather hold in wind or rain
- 16manage leads and hoses off access paths
- 17fall protection where working above 2 m
- 18Full containment and masking of adjacent surfaces
- 19suspend spraying in wind
- 20Keep gloves and respiratory protection on during pack-down
- 21fold sheeting inward to trap residue
- 22bag before transport
- 23Secure and segregate dangerous goods in the vehicle
- 24keep quantities within transport thresholds
- 25no ignition sources
- 26Remove all containment, masking and waste from site to segregated dangerous-goods disposal
- 27inspect and clean the work area before leaving
Applicable Codes of Practice
Primary approved code for this work — booth and mixing-room design, ventilation, RPE selection, isocyanate handling and health-monitoring triggers.
Hazardous chemicals register, SDS, labelling, storage segregation and the risk-management process for paints, hardeners and solvents.
Definitive national guidance on isocyanate sensitisation, air-supplied RPE, exposure standards and respiratory health surveillance.
Applies to compressor, spray gun, air-tool and panel-work noise where the 85 dB(A) LAeq,8h exposure standard may be exceeded.
Ventilation, lighting, eyewash and emergency shower provision, and amenities for workers handling hazardous chemicals.
The hierarchy of control this SWMS is structured around — elimination and substitution before engineering, administration and PPE.
Design, airflow, classification and maintenance requirements for the booth and mixing room this SWMS relies on as its primary engineering control.
Fit-testing, facial-seal and maintenance requirements — the basis for the air-supplied respirator program.
Performance standard the air-fed hood and A2P2 respirators must be certified to.
Dangerous-goods store design, quantities, bunding and separation for paints, thinners and solvents.
High-Risk Construction Work triggered
Spraying isocyanate product outside a booth creates an uncontrolled contaminated and flammable atmosphere in an open environment.
Mobile repairs are routinely performed roadside, in car parks and on sites where traffic is live.
Elevated repairs to trucks, plant and high panels can place the worker more than 2 metres above ground.
Where this work is carried out in connection with construction work, Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (NSW) s. 291 requires a SWMS to be prepared BEFORE work starts, the work to be carried out in accordance with it, and the SWMS to be available for inspection and reviewed whenever controls change. Failure to do so is an offence carrying penalties for both the PCBU and its officers.
Who this is for
- →Mobile spray and spot repair operators
- →On-site and roadside refinishing contractors
- →Fleet and dealership mobile repair services
- →Principal contractors engaging mobile refinishers
- →WHS managers approving on-site spray work
What you receive
- ✓Fully editable Microsoft Word (DOCX) SWMS — populate company, ABN, site and worker fields directly
- ✓Task-by-task risk assessment across occupational health, safety and environment, with severity × likelihood scoring before and after controls
- ✓Controls written to the hierarchy of control — elimination and substitution first, PPE last
- ✓High risk construction work classification with the specific s. 291 category and why it is triggered
- ✓Isocyanate health-monitoring and air-monitoring requirements stated as legal duties, not optional extras
- ✓PPE schedule referencing AS/NZS 1715 and 1716, including air-supplied respirator requirements
- ✓Training and competency register covering fit-testing, SDS interpretation and isocyanate awareness
- ✓Emergency procedures for chemical splash, inhalation, sensitisation episode, solvent fire and spill
- ✓Worker sign-on register and review/sign-off block ready for immediate site use
Worked example
A mobile operator sprayed a bumper repair in an open car park on a breezy afternoon. Overspray drifted across nine parked vehicles, generating a property-damage claim that dwarfed the job value — and, more seriously, exposed members of the public walking within metres of the work. Introducing a portable containment tent, a wind-speed hold and a signed exclusion zone eliminated both the claim exposure and the uncontrolled public exposure.
Related legislation
- Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW) — primary duty of care, s.19
- Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (NSW) — Chapter 3 Risk Management
- Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (NSW) — Part 7.1 Hazardous Chemicals (register, SDS, labelling, storage)
- Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (NSW) — Part 7.1 health monitoring provisions; Schedule 14 lists isocyanates
- Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (NSW) — s. 291 High Risk Construction Work and the SWMS duty
- Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 (NSW) — air emission and waste disposal duties
Frequently asked questions
Can mobile spraying ever be done compliantly without a booth?
Yes, but only with engineered containment — a portable spray tent with local extraction, a signed exclusion zone, a downwind assessment and a weather hold — plus air-supplied respiratory protection. If those cannot be established at a given site, the correct decision is to decline the job or move the vehicle to a booth.
Is this SWMS specific to NSW?
Yes. It cites the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW), the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (NSW) and SafeWork NSW guidance. The same document is available for every other state and territory — the legislative references are swapped for that jurisdiction.
Do I legally need a SWMS for spray painting in a workshop?
A SWMS is legally mandatory under s. 291 only for high risk construction work. Fixed-workshop spraying is generally not construction work — but you still have a duty under the WHS Regulation to document how you control a hazardous-chemical risk of this severity, and the Spray Painting and Powder Coating Code of Practice is the benchmark you will be measured against. The moment you spray on a construction site, or in a contaminated or flammable atmosphere, the SWMS becomes mandatory.
Is isocyanate health monitoring really compulsory?
Yes, where there is ongoing use of isocyanates and a significant risk of exposure. Isocyanates are listed in Schedule 14 of the WHS Regulation, which triggers the health-monitoring duty — baseline and periodic respiratory function testing and medical assessment by a registered medical practitioner. It is one of the most commonly missed obligations in Australian panel shops.
Will a cartridge respirator do instead of an air-fed hood?
Not for continuous two-pack spraying. Negative-pressure cartridge respirators are not accepted as adequate protection against isocyanate spray mist — the accepted control is an air-supplied (air-fed) respirator. Air monitoring is how you demonstrate that the RPE you have selected is actually adequate for your process.
How do I know if my booth ventilation is good enough?
Airflow should be verified against the booth specification before each shift, the LEV inspected and tested on a documented schedule under AS/NZS 4114, and the whole control set validated with personal air monitoring. A booth that passed its annual service can still fall below specification as filters load between changes.
Can I edit the document?
Yes — it is a fully editable DOCX written as a site-specific template. You complete the company, ABN, site, plant and worker sign-on fields, and adjust the tasks to match your actual process before use.
Who wrote it?
It is authored by an occupational hygiene team led by a Certified Occupational Hygienist (CIH), which is why the exposure, ventilation and monitoring content goes considerably further than a generic template.