Childcare Nappy-Change & Wet-Area Fit-Out SWMS

Childcare nappy-change and wet-area fit-out is the work that installs the benches and steps, the hand-wash and warm-water plumbing with anti-scald protection, the wet-area electrical and the child-safe finishes in a childcare nappy-change and wet area. The dominant hazards are electric shock in a wet area, a scald and Legionella risk from the warm-water hand-wash system accessible to children, falls fixing high units and overhead services, and working safely in an occupied childcare setting. This SWMS covers the benches, plumbing, wet-area electrical and finishes; it does not cover the service's regulatory approval, the design of the wet area, or the building services beyond the connection, which are documented separately.

Under the model Work Health and Safety Act 2011 and the harmonised Work Health and Safety Regulations adopted in each state and territory, this is high risk construction work because it is carried out on or near energised electrical services in a wet area and where a person can fall more than two metres fixing high units and overhead services; Victoria operates the equivalent provisions under the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 and Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2017. The wet-area electrical follows AS/NZS 3000 for residual current devices and wet-area zoning, the plumbing follows AS/NZS 3500 with a thermostatic mixing valve for child-accessible warm water and Legionella controls, and access follows AS 1428 where applicable.

Failure to meet the primary duty of care is prosecuted under the Category 1 to 3 offences in the Work Health and Safety Act (and the equivalent provisions in Victoria's Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004), with maximum penalties indexed in most jurisdictions, imprisonment available for individuals, and a separate industrial manslaughter offence; current figures follow the prevailing penalty schedule of the responsible state regulator. This document is structured to satisfy the safe work method statement content requirements of the harmonised regulations and documents a controlled wet-area fit-out and commissioning.

Hazards identified

9 hazards covered, sorted by priority.

Control measures

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

1. 1Elimination: Isolate and lock out before work, install a residual current device to AS/NZS 3000 with correct wet-area zoning, and use a licensed electrician under permit; test before touch and use insulated tools.
2. 2Engineering: Use mechanical aids for benches, joinery and fixtures, with two-person handling; wear gloves and footwear.
3. 3Engineering: Use a platform or a rated ladder for the task with edge protection fixing high units and overhead services, with a harness where a residual fall risk remains.
4. 4Engineering: Fit a thermostatic mixing valve at a child-safe set-point, and flush and disinfect new lines to AS/NZS 3500 to control Legionella.
5. 5Engineering: Clean and disinfect a used area before works, treating residue as infectious; wear gloves, eye protection and a respirator.
6. 6Substitution: Use low-volatile-organic-compound products, with ventilation and safety-data-sheet controls; wear a respirator and gloves.
7. 7Engineering: Deburr joinery and trims and handle safely; wear cut-resistant gloves.
8. 8Engineering: Provide spill control, with housekeeping; wear slip-resistant footwear.
9. 9Administrative: Use screening and barriers, staged work, exclusion and coordination with staff where children are present.

Applicable Codes of Practice

High-Risk Construction Work triggered

Worked example

A fit-out contractor is fitting out a childcare nappy-change and wet area: benches and steps, hand-wash and warm-water plumbing with anti-scald protection, wet-area electrical and child-safe finishes, with the room adjoining areas that remain in use. The work is high risk construction work because it is on or near energised electrical services in a wet area and at a height where a person can fall more than two metres fixing high units and overhead services, so the contractor builds the safe work method statement around the wet-area electrical, anti-scald, work at height and working in an occupied setting. The wet-area electrical is worked only after isolation and lock-out by a licensed electrician who tests before touch, with a residual current device and the correct wet-area zoning to AS/NZS 3000, and high units and overhead services are fixed from a platform or a rated ladder for the task with edge protection, with benches, joinery and fixtures handled by mechanical aids and two-person handling. The control that protects the children is the warm-water system: a thermostatic mixing valve is set to a child-safe temperature so the hand-wash cannot scald, and new lines are flushed and disinfected to AS/NZS 3500 to control legionella. Sealant and adhesive vapour is controlled with low-volatile-organic-compound products, ventilation and safety-data-sheet controls, and where an in-use area is refitted it is cleaned and disinfected before works with clinical residue treated as infectious. Slips on wet floors are controlled with spill control and housekeeping, cuts from joinery and trims with deburring and cut-resistant gloves, and the work is screened, barriered, staged and coordinated with staff so it proceeds safely while children are present. Workers sign on to the statement before starting, the electrical and thermostatic-mixing-valve commissioning records are kept, and the signed statement is held on site for the responsible state regulator.

Related legislation

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (harmonised; enacted in all states and territories except Victoria, which applies the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004), s.19 — Primary duty of care to workers and to other persons at or near the workplace
• Harmonised Work Health and Safety Regulations, section 291 — Defines high risk construction work (Victoria: Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2017, Part 5.1)
• Harmonised Work Health and Safety Regulations, section 299 — Content and review requirements for a safe work method statement for high risk construction work (Victoria: regulation 327; Tasmania: regulation 312)
• Harmonised Work Health and Safety Regulations, Part 4.7 — Electrical safety: the prohibition on energised electrical work except where de-energising is not reasonably practicable and the prescribed conditions are met (Victoria applies the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2017 and state electrical-safety legislation)
• Harmonised Work Health and Safety Regulations, Part 4.4 — Managing the risk of falls (work above two metres; Victoria applies the equivalent provisions of the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2017)
• AS/NZS 3500 and AS/NZS 3000, with the Education and Care Services National Regulations — Wet-area electrical zoning, a thermostatic mixing valve for child-accessible warm water, and Legionella controls

Frequently asked questions