Multi-Trade Building Maintenance SWMS

This Safe Work Method Statement covers reactive and preventive building maintenance by a multi-skilled technician or small crew moving between short tasks and sites in one shift — minor carpentry and hardware repairs, plasterboard patching and paint touch-ups, ceiling tile replacement, minor plumbing and lamp changes within licence limits, gutter and roof-access checks, graffiti removal, pressure cleaning, rubbish removal, grounds touch-ups and furniture moves. It sets out the recurring hazards of that work pattern, a job-by-job check the technician completes before every task to decide whether the task is inside the SWMS, and the control measures in hierarchy-of-control order, with clear referral points for asbestos, electrical wiring work, licensed plumbing, confined spaces and unprotected roofs.

Hazards identified

10 hazards covered, sorted by priority.

Control measures

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

1. 1Elimination — Complete the job-by-job check before every task and decline or refer out any task outside the SWMS; work from the ground with extension tools instead of climbing; leave asbestos, electrical wiring work, licensed plumbing and confined spaces to the right specialists.
2. 2Substitution — Use a platform ladder or mobile scaffold with guardrails instead of a step or extension ladder, battery tools instead of corded tools, and water-based, low-hazard cleaners instead of solvent products.
3. 3Isolation — Barricade and sign the work area in occupied premises; isolate the lighting circuit with lock-out and tag-out before lamp changes and isolate water before minor plumbing tasks; never enter or lean into pits and tanks.
4. 4Engineering — On-tool dust extraction to an H-class vacuum for drilling; RCD protection on all mains-powered tools; roof access only with installed edge protection or an inspected fall-arrest anchorage system; trolleys and dollies for furniture moves; cargo barrier and restrained loads in the service vehicle.
5. 5Administrative — Check the building asbestos register before drilling, cutting or removing building material in buildings constructed before 31 December 2003; follow a check-in system for lone and remote work with escalation for missed check-ins; sign in and complete each site induction; keep SDS for every product carried.
6. 6PPE — Safety boots, safety glasses or face shield, task-appropriate and puncture-resistant gloves, fit-tested P2 respirator for dusty work, hearing protection, hi-vis outdoors, and sun protection for outdoor tasks.

Applicable Codes of Practice

Worked example

A technician has five jobs in one shift across three sites. At a 1980s office building the first job is a sticking fire door closer and a damaged plasterboard patch. Before starting, the technician completes the job-by-job check, finds the building was constructed before 31 December 2003, and checks the asbestos register at reception, which records the wall as plasterboard with no asbestos. The patch is cut back with a battery tool and the area barricaded from staff. At a bank branch the work order asks for a lamp change, but the fitting is damaged and needs replacing; that is electrical wiring work, so the technician stops and refers it to a licensed electrician. At a school the last job is a gutter check: the technician inspects it from a secured ladder at the eave instead of going onto the roof, and checks in with the supervisor on arrival and departure at each site.

Related legislation

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (NSW) — s48 remote or isolated work, s289 and s291 construction work and high risk construction work, s299 SWMS
• WHS Regulation 2025 (NSW) — Chapter 8 asbestos and Chapter 8A crystalline silica
• Managing the risk of falls at workplaces — Code of Practice

Frequently asked questions