Aluminium Composite Panel Installation SWMS

Aluminium Composite Panel (ACP) installation involves fixing prefabricated sandwich panels — two aluminium skins bonded to a polymer or mineral core — to building facades using cassette, rivet or tray systems. The work is performed at height on scaffolds, EWPs or swing stages, requires on-site cutting and routing that generates aluminium swarf and combustible dust, and frequently follows or overlaps with the removal of non-compliant polyethylene-core panels under the NSW Cladding Product Safety Standard. The combination of working at height, edged panels handled in wind, hot works near combustible cores and confined cavity access creates a compounded risk profile.

Under the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (NSW), this work engages section 291 as high risk construction work — specifically risk of a fall greater than two metres and, where PE-core panels or combustible dust are present, work in an area with a flammable atmosphere. Section 299 therefore requires a Safe Work Method Statement to be prepared before work commences, applied throughout the task and reviewed under section 302. Controls follow the hierarchy in section 36, prioritising elimination of hot works over facades and engineered edge protection over PPE-only measures.

Hazards identified

12 hazards covered, sorted by priority.

Control measures

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

1. 1Eliminate hot works on the facade by pre-fabricating and cutting panels off-site in a controlled workshop; where on-site cutting is unavoidable, use cold-cutting methods (shears, routers, nibblers) in a designated ground-level cutting bay away from combustibles.
2. 2Substitute non-compliant polyethylene-core panels with A2 or non-combustible mineral-core products verified against the NSW Cladding Product Safety Standard and the NCC 2022 Volume One deemed-to-satisfy provisions for external walls.
3. 3Design out working at height where practicable by installing panels from within the building envelope; where fall risk remains, provide compliant perimeter scaffold with edge protection to AS/NZS 4576 or use MEWPs operated to AS 2550.10 with harness anchor points inside the basket.
4. 4Implement engineered fall arrest and travel restraint systems to AS/NZS 1891.4, with anchor points certified by a competent person and independently rated for the loads imposed by ACP handling.
5. 5Establish a hot works exclusion zone and permit-to-work system in accordance with AS 1674.1 whenever grinding, welding or oxy-cutting occurs within 15 m of installed or stockpiled ACP; provide a dedicated fire watch and 9 kg dry chemical extinguishers to AS 2444.
6. 6Control silica dust from cement-fibre substrates using on-tool H-class extraction to AS/NZS 60335.2.69 and water suppression, supported by air monitoring against the WES of 0.05 mg/m³ 8-hour TWA.
7. 7Undertake an asbestos survey to AS 4964 prior to any disturbance of pre-2004 sealants or backing materials; licensed removal in accordance with the How to Safely Remove Asbestos Code of Practice where identified.
8. 8Manage lifting and wind exposure by using mechanical panel lifters, vacuum grabs and taglines; suspend external panel installation when wind speed exceeds 36 km/h at the workface or as specified by the EWP manufacturer.
9. 9Isolate electrical services behind the cladding line under a permit to AS/NZS 4836, with lockout-tagout and voltage verification before penetration of substrates; treat all lightning protection and PV cabling as live until proven otherwise.
10. 10Establish exclusion zones below the facade with A-class hoarding and catch fans designed to AS/NZS 1892.1 loadings, and enforce chinstrapped hard hats to AS/NZS 1801 and cut-5 gloves to AS/NZS 2161.3 for all personnel handling panels.
11. 11Provide respiratory protection to AS/NZS 1716 (P2 minimum for aluminium swarf and solvent vapours, half-face with A1P2 for sealant application) with fit testing to AS/NZS 1715.
12. 12Verify all workers hold CPCCWHS1001 (White Card) and task-specific EWP/scaffold competencies; consult the SWMS with workers under section 47 of the WHS Act 2011 (NSW) and review under section 302 of the WHS Regulation 2025 (NSW) whenever the facade system, weather conditions or hot-works scope changes.

Applicable Codes of Practice

High-Risk Construction Work triggered

Worked example

A tier-two facade contractor is engaged to remove and replace non-compliant PE-core panels on a 14-storey residential tower in Parramatta. The scope involves stripping 2,400 m² of existing cladding from a mast-climber platform and installing A2-rated mineral-core replacements. Fall distances range from 4 m at the podium to 47 m at the parapet, engaging s291(1). On-site cutting of the legacy panels during strip-out generates combustible polyethylene dust, and sealant priming in the cavity produces solvent vapours, engaging s291(12). The principal contractor requires the SWMS to be finalised, workers consulted under section 47, and hot works permits issued daily before oxy-cutting of the existing subframe commences. Following a wind event that dislodged a stockpiled panel, the SWMS is reviewed under section 302 and wind-speed suspension thresholds are reduced from 40 to 32 km/h at the workface.

Related legislation

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (NSW)
• Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (NSW) — cladding rectification provisions
• Design and Building Practitioners Act 2020 (NSW)
• Residential Apartment Buildings (Compliance and Enforcement Powers) Act 2020 (NSW)
• Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 (NSW) — waste and dust controls

Frequently asked questions