Doorway Widening / Structural Opening SWMS
This Safe Work Method Statement covers widening an existing doorway or forming a new structural opening in a dwelling so that an occupant using a wheelchair, walker or hoist can pass through — typically enlarging a 720 mm door to a clear opening width of 850 mm or more. The work covers verification
SWMS variants reference your state’s WHS legislation. Instant download after payment.
Widening a doorway to admit a wheelchair, walker or ceiling hoist is the one accessible home modification that is unambiguously high risk construction work. Every other modification in this category has a conditional trigger — this one does not. Removing a section of wall above and beside an opening requires the load above to be picked up by temporary support before it is released, and structural alteration requiring temporary support to prevent collapse is caught by section 291 of the Work Health and Safety Regulation regardless of height, depth or dwelling type. A Safe Work Method Statement is mandatory under section 299 before the work commences.
The work covers verification of whether the wall is load bearing, design and certification of the replacement lintel or bressummer, installation of temporary propping, removal of the existing frame and the masonry or stud section, installation and bedding of the new lintel, transfer of load from the props back to the lintel, reinstatement of reveals and linings, and hanging the wider door and hardware.
The fatal risk is a collapse of the wall, floor or roof above the opening, and it has a small number of well-documented causes: an assumption that a wall is non-load-bearing; propping that is undersized, wrongly positioned or bearing onto floorboards rather than a proven load path; and props struck too early — to gain working room, or at the end of a shift, before the lintel has been bedded and reached strength. This document treats the order of operations as a control rather than a preference. The load must be picked up before it is released, and both ends of that sequence are documented sign-offs rather than judgement calls.
The second failure mode costs money rather than lives but ends the project just as completely: an opening framed to the wrong clear width. The structural opening must be calculated backwards from the required clear width after allowing for frame, reveals, linings, door thickness and hardware. Getting that arithmetic wrong produces a structurally perfect opening the occupant's wheelchair still cannot pass through.
Hazards identified
12 hazards covered, sorted by priority.
Fatal crush injury; a masonry wall section above a door weighs several hundred kilograms and falls without warning
Structural failure onto the crew and into the room below; the most common propping-related fatality mechanism
Crush and impact injury to anyone in or below the opening; foot and leg fractures from dropped units
Cardiac arrest and arc flash burns; wiring commonly runs vertically above and beside a door opening
Mesothelioma and asbestosis decades later; opening a wall is a direct disturbance of the most common domestic asbestos location
Accelerated silicosis and lung cancer; enclosed internal cutting concentrates exposure and spreads dust through the home
Hand, head and torso crush injury; a steel lintel is a concentrated load handled above shoulder height
Flooding of the dwelling, damage to the occupant's belongings, and an electrical hazard where water reaches a circuit
Total project failure; the structural work is complete and correct but the occupant still cannot pass through
Noise-induced hearing loss and hand-arm vibration syndrome; enclosed rooms amplify levels well above outdoor equivalents
Crush injury if the props are disturbed or the structure moves; props used as a handhold by an unsteady occupant
Contamination of living areas, damage to belongings, and an unsecured dwelling overnight where the opening is external
Control measures
Hierarchy-of-controls order: elimination → substitution → isolation → engineering → administrative → PPE.
- 1Have a competent person determine the load path and an engineer design both the replacement lintel and the temporary support before any material is removed — never start an opening on an assumption that a wall is non-load-bearing.
- 2Install propping strictly to the designed layout, spacing and capacity, bearing onto a surface proven to carry the load rather than onto floorboards, tiles or a suspended floor without spreader plates.
- 3Continue the load path through every level below to a solid bearing; a prop that stops on an unsupported floor has moved the problem rather than solved it.
- 4Hold a documented inspection and sign-off of the propping by the engineer or a competent person before the first brick is cut.
- 5Hold a second documented sign-off before props are struck, confirming the lintel is installed, bedded on the designed bearing length and has achieved the specified mortar or grout strength.
- 6Never strike props to gain working room or at the end of a shift; release them gradually and symmetrically only on the supervisor's or engineer's written authority.
- 7Remove the wall in small controlled increments from the top of the opening downward, so no large section is ever left unsupported.
- 8Maintain an exclusion zone below and in front of the opening, with a spotter watching the wall above for movement or cracking while the operator cuts.
- 9Isolate every circuit serving the wall and adjacent rooms at the switchboard, test for dead at the point of work, and lock and tag before cutting.
- 10Locate cables and pipework by non-destructive means across the full extent of the intended opening and a margin beyond it before the first cut.
- 11Establish the age of the dwelling and identify every material within the intended opening before any tool is used; presume asbestos until sampled.
- 12Eliminate dry cutting; use on-tool water suppression or H-class extraction, seal the work zone and place it under negative pressure discharging outside.
- 13Place the lintel with a mechanical aid — genie lift, material hoist, engine crane or lintel lifter — or specify multiple lighter sections; never hold a lintel by hand while it is packed.
- 14Calculate the structural opening backwards from the required clear width after allowing for frame, reveals, linings, door thickness and hardware, and verify with the occupant's own equipment or a template.
- 15Measure and record the finished clear opening with the door in the fully open position, and refer any constraint back to the designer rather than accepting a narrower result.
- 16Barricade the opening and the propped zone with hard barriers, brief the occupant daily that props must never be touched or used as a handhold, and check the props each morning for disturbance.
Applicable Codes of Practice
Governs the removal of a structural element, the sequence of removal, temporary support and exclusion zones.
Sets the framework for SWMS preparation and high risk construction work involving structural alteration requiring temporary support.
Governs identification and presumption of asbestos in wall linings, backing boards and insulation opened by the work.
Applies to cutting brick, block, concrete and fibre-cement to form the opening inside an occupied dwelling.
Governs isolation, testing for dead and lock-out before cutting into a wall that may contain concealed wiring.
Applies to overhead lintel placement and the handling of masonry debris through a dwelling with restricted access.
Sets the clear opening width and circulation criteria the structural opening must be calculated to deliver.
High-Risk Construction Work triggered
Engaged unconditionally whenever a load-bearing wall is opened. The load above the opening must be carried by temporary propping while the existing lintel is removed and the new one installed. This is the trigger that makes a SWMS mandatory for this activity in every case, regardless of dwelling type or opening height.
Engaged by the removal of the wall section, existing lintel and frame. This category applies even where the wall is confirmed non-load-bearing, so a SWMS is required for a stud-wall opening as well as a masonry one.
Engaged in any dwelling built or renovated before 1990. Opening a wall directly disturbs linings, backing boards and insulation — the most common locations of domestic asbestos.
Engaged because wiring runs vertically above and beside door openings to reach switches. Cutting a wider opening extends into that zone.
This work is high risk construction work under section 291 of the Work Health and Safety Regulation and a Safe Work Method Statement must be prepared before it commences under section 299. Unlike most accessible modifications the trigger is not conditional — structural alteration requiring temporary support applies in every case. The SWMS must be readily accessible to every worker, must set out the hazards, controls and how they are implemented and monitored, and must be reviewed under section 302 whenever the propping or lintel design changes, a new hazard is identified or a notifiable incident occurs. Separately, the uncontrolled collapse or partial collapse of any part of a structure is a notifiable dangerous incident whether or not anyone is injured.
Who this is for
- →Builders and carpenters delivering NDIS, Home Care Package or My Aged Care funded home modifications
- →Structural alteration and renovation contractors widening openings for wheelchair or hoist access
- →Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) builders retrofitting existing dwellings to Fully Accessible or High Physical Support standards
- →Bricklayers and masons engaged to install lintels and make good structural openings
- →Occupational therapists and case managers requiring a compliant SWMS before approving a structural modification
What you receive
- ✓Editable Microsoft Word (.docx) document delivered as an instant download.
- ✓Fourteen identified hazards, each with an initial risk rating, a full control set written to the hierarchy of control, a residual rating and a nominated responsible person.
- ✓Nine regulatory reference bullets citing the governing sections verbatim, so the statutory basis renders in the document rather than sitting in metadata.
- ✓A completed risk matrix using 5×5 likelihood × consequence scoring with both initial and residual ratings.
- ✓A PPE matrix mapping each task to the required protective equipment and the actual AS/NZS standard it must comply with.
- ✓Emergency response provisions covering structural collapse, signs of imminent collapse, electric shock, suspected asbestos, crush injury and water release.
- ✓The notifiable incident duty with the regulator's notification number, including the duty to notify a structural collapse whether or not anyone is injured.
- ✓A worker sign-on register for recording that each person has read and understood the statement before starting.
- ✓Fully editable text so your PCBU details, site address, personnel, plant and site-specific controls can be inserted.
- ✓State-specific variants available for all eight Australian jurisdictions with the correct Act, Regulation and regulator for each.
Worked example
A builder quotes to widen a hallway doorway from 720 mm to admit a wheelchair in a 1950s double-brick cottage. The client wants it done in a day and believes the wall is 'just a partition'. The builder engages a structural engineer for a half-day assessment first. The wall carries a ceiling joist bearing and part of the roof load — it is load bearing, and the client's assumption would have been fatal. The engineer designs a galvanised steel lintel with a specified bearing length at each end, and a propping layout of four adjustable props on spreader plates, positioned to carry the load through the timber floor to the brick piers below rather than onto the floorboards. The clear width required is 850 mm. Working backwards, the builder allows for the door frame, reveals, linings and the door hardware, and arrives at a structural opening of 1,010 mm — 160 mm wider than the number the client had in mind. Getting this arithmetic right at design stage is the difference between one demolition and two. The propping goes in and the engineer inspects and signs it off before a single brick is cut. Cutting is done with on-tool water suppression behind a sealed zip barrier under negative pressure, because the occupant is home. Wall linings are sampled first; they are pre-1990 fibro and come back positive, so a licensed removalist takes that portion and issues clearance before the builder returns. The lintel is placed with an engine crane, bedded, and packed. The props stay in for four days while the mortar reaches strength. On day five the engineer authorises the strike in writing, and the props come out gradually and symmetrically. The finished clear width is measured with the door fully open: 852 mm. The occupant's chair passes through with the actual clearance they need — and the record of that measurement goes in the file alongside the engineer's certificate.
Related legislation
- Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW) — section 19 primary duty of care, section 47 consultation, sections 35–38 notifiable incidents
- Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (NSW) — section 291 high risk construction work, section 299 SWMS required, section 302 review
- Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (NSW) — Chapter 7 Hazardous chemicals including asbestos and respirable crystalline silica provisions
- Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (NSW) — Part 4.7 Electrical safety and Part 4.2 Hazardous manual tasks
- AS 3700 Masonry structures, AS 4100 Steel structures and AS 1684 Residential timber-framed construction
- National Construction Code — structural provisions and Livable Housing Design door width requirements
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a SWMS even if the wall is not load bearing?
Yes. Two separate categories apply. Structural alteration requiring temporary support catches every load-bearing opening unconditionally. But demolition of an element of a structure applies regardless — so a stud-wall opening still requires a SWMS. In practice you should not proceed on an assumption either way: have a competent person determine the load path, because a mistaken assumption is the single most likely path to a fatality on this activity.
How long do the props have to stay in?
Until the new lintel is installed, fully bedded on its designed bearing length at both ends, and the mortar or grout has achieved the specified strength — and until that is confirmed in writing. The document makes the strike a documented hold point authorised by the engineer or supervisor against a recorded bedding date and strength, precisely because the common real-world failure is a crew striking props early to gain working room or to clear the site at the end of a shift.
Why is the structural opening so much wider than the clear width I need?
Because the clear opening is what remains after the door frame, reveals, linings, door leaf thickness and door hardware have all taken their share. A required 850 mm clear width typically needs a structural opening around 1,000 mm or more depending on the frame and hardware detail. The controls require the structural opening to be calculated backwards from the clear width, and the finished clear width measured with the door fully open — this is the most common dimensional error on the activity.
The dwelling is from the 1960s. What do I do about asbestos?
Identify before you cut. Obtain a hazardous materials survey or asbestos register, and presume any lining of unknown composition contains asbestos until a competent person samples it. If it is asbestos, a licensed removalist removes that portion under an asbestos removal control plan and issues a clearance certificate before your crew returns. If suspect material is uncovered mid-demolition, stop, withdraw, secure the area and refer — do not upgrade PPE and continue.
What counts as a notifiable incident on this work?
In addition to a death or a serious injury requiring immediate hospital treatment, the uncontrolled collapse or partial collapse of any part of a structure is itself a notifiable dangerous incident — whether or not anyone is injured. So is an uncontrolled electrical contact and an uncontrolled release of asbestos fibre. Notification is immediate, by telephone, and the site must not be disturbed except to make it safe, assist an injured person or preserve evidence.
Which states does this cover?
All eight Australian jurisdictions. The NSW version cites the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW) and Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (NSW) with SafeWork NSW as the regulator. Each state variant carries the correct Act, Regulation and regulator — including Victoria, which operates under the OHS Act 2004 and OHS Regulations 2017 with Compliance Codes rather than the harmonised section 291 framework. AS 3700, AS 4100, AS 1684 and AS 1428.1 are national standards and do not change.