Brick Veneer Installation SWMS

Brick veneer installation involves laying an external skin of clay or concrete masonry against a structural timber or steel frame, typically at ground floor and first-floor gable heights on residential dwellings. The work requires bricklayers to handle heavy masonry units, mix and place mortar, cut bricks with abrasive saws, and progressively raise scaffold or trestle platforms as courses rise. It is physically demanding, exposes workers to respirable crystalline silica from cutting and mixing, and — critically — is performed at heights that routinely exceed two metres above ground once first-floor gables, garage returns and rendered eaves lines are reached.

Under the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (NSW), work where a person could fall more than two metres is high risk construction work (HRCW) under section 291(a). A Safe Work Method Statement must be prepared before the work commences under section 299, and must identify hazards, document control measures selected using the hierarchy in section 36, and be maintained on site. This SWMS applies engineered scaffolding, dust suppression and manual handling controls to bring residual risk to as low as reasonably practicable.

Hazards identified

12 hazards covered, sorted by priority.

Control measures

Hierarchy-of-controls order: elimination → substitution → isolation → engineering → administrative → PPE.

1. 1Eliminate work at height where practicable by completing as much of the veneer as possible from the slab before raising platforms; sequence gable and eaves brickwork to minimise total time above 2 m.
2. 2Substitute dry-cutting with wet-cut masonry saws fitted with integrated water suppression, or use pre-cut half-bats and purpose-made corner bricks supplied from the yard to eliminate on-site cutting where feasible.
3. 3Erect compliant modular scaffold to AS/NZS 1576.1 and AS/NZS 1576.3 with double guardrails, mid-rails, toe boards and fully planked platforms; scaffolds with a working platform over 4 m must be erected by a ticketed scaffolder (SafeWork NSW HRW licence) and handover-tagged before use.
4. 4Install brick ties to the frame in accordance with AS 3700 Masonry structures and AS/NZS 2699.1 at the specified spacing before each lift, and do not exceed the maximum unsupported wall height until mortar has achieved initial set.
5. 5Control respirable crystalline silica by using water-fed cutting, on-tool extraction (H-class where dry-cut is unavoidable), and locating cutting stations downwind and away from other trades; air monitoring where WES exceedance is foreseeable, in line with the SafeWork NSW Code of Practice for managing the risks of respirable crystalline silica from engineered stone in the workplace principles and AS/NZS 1715/1716 for RPE selection.
6. 6Deliver bricks in banded packs and position them at working height using a crane or telehandler so bricklayers lift from waist height; rotate labourers loading scaffolds and limit continuous cutting/lifting to reduce cumulative musculoskeletal load.
7. 7Provide hard barricading and exclusion zones beneath elevated bricklaying, with brick guards or containment sheeting on scaffold edges to prevent objects falling to the public or lower levels.
8. 8All 240 V tools inspected, tagged and tested to AS/NZS 3760, connected via a portable RCD, and leads run overhead or protected from mortar and water; damaged leads removed from service immediately.
9. 9PPE issued and enforced: safety helmet, safety glasses to AS/NZS 1337.1, P2 respirator to AS/NZS 1716 during cutting, hearing protection to AS/NZS 1270 during saw/mixer operation, nitrile-lined chemical-resistant gloves for mortar work, and safety footwear to AS/NZS 2210.3.
10. 10Heat management: reschedule cutting and raised-platform work to cooler parts of the day during forecast temperatures over 35 °C, provide shade at the mixing station, potable water on the platform, and mandatory rest breaks under a documented heat stress procedure.
11. 11Daily pre-start briefing covering the day's lift, scaffold status, exclusion zones and emergency response; sign-on required and any refusal or hazard raised recorded.
12. 12All workers hold CPCCWHS1001 (White Card) and have been inducted into this SWMS. The SWMS is developed in consultation with workers under section 47 of the WHS Act and reviewed under section 302 of the WHS Regulation 2025 if a control fails, an incident occurs, or the work method changes.

Applicable Codes of Practice

High-Risk Construction Work triggered

Worked example

A bricklaying subcontractor was engaged to install clay brick veneer to a two-storey dwelling at Kellyville in Sydney's north-west. The scope included ground-floor perimeter veneer, first-floor gable ends reaching approximately 6.8 m at the ridge, and a detached garage. Because gable and first-floor sill work exceeded 2 m, the work was HRCW under section 291(a). The subcontractor issued this SWMS to the principal contractor at induction, engaged a licensed scaffolder to erect a modular scaffold to AS/NZS 1576.1 with a handover tag, and cut all bricks at a wet-fed saw station located at the rear of the block downwind of the neighbouring dwelling. When the crew struck a run of hard face bricks requiring extended cutting, the site supervisor and lead bricklayer reviewed the SWMS under section 302, upgraded RPE from disposable P2 to reusable half-face respirators, and recorded the change on the SWMS review log before resuming work.

Related legislation

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (NSW)
• Home Building Act 1989 (NSW)
• Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (NSW)
• Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 (NSW)
• Workers Compensation Act 1987 (NSW)

Frequently asked questions