Drone & UAV Site Operations SWMS
CASA-licensed RPA/drone operations on construction sites — inspection, surveying, and aerial photography. Airspace approval, exclusion zones, LiPo battery handling, and emergency procedures.
SWMS variants reference your state’s WHS legislation. Instant download after payment.
Drone and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) operations on Australian construction sites have become a standard tool for progress photography, volumetric surveying, thermal roof inspections and confined-space reconnaissance. The work is regulated concurrently under CASA's Civil Aviation Safety Regulations Part 101 (CASR 2021) and the model WHS Act, meaning the Remote Pilot, the operating PCBU and the principal contractor share overlapping aviation and workplace safety duties. Because RPA flight introduces falling-object risk, lithium polymer (LiPo) battery thermal runaway, radio-frequency interference with site telemetry and the potential for collision with cranes, scaffolds or members of the public, the activity meets multiple triggers for high-risk construction work under the WHS Regulations 2025. A Safe Work Method Statement is mandatory before any flight commences, must be developed in consultation with the Remote Pilot and ground crew, and must be available on-site for the duration of operations. This SWMS consolidates CASA airspace, operational and maintenance obligations with WHS hierarchy-of-control requirements into a single field-ready document.
Hazards identified
7 hazards covered, sorted by priority.
Severe head, spinal or fatal blunt-force trauma; criminal negligence exposure under WHS Act s.31 and CASA enforcement action
Class D lithium fire releasing toxic hydrogen fluoride vapour, structural fire spread and severe respiratory and burn injuries
Mid-air collision with manned aircraft, CASA prosecution under CASR Part 101.073 and operator certificate suspension
Flyaway event, uncontrolled descent outside exclusion zone, third-party property damage and public injury liability
Deep lacerations to hands, forearms and face requiring surgical repair; potential tendon and ocular injury
Loss of attitude control, sensor failure, water-induced electrical short and unrecoverable descent into work area
Breach of CASR 101.245 30-metre separation rule, public injury, civil claim and immediate CASA suspension
Control measures
Hierarchy-of-controls order: elimination → substitution → isolation → engineering → administrative → PPE.
- 1Elimination — replace aerial inspection with fixed pole-mounted cameras, scaffold-based survey or tethered balloon imagery wherever line-of-sight access from ground level satisfies the inspection brief.
- 2Elimination — cancel and reschedule any flight where wind, rain, visibility or NOTAM conditions fall outside the manufacturer's published envelope or the Remote Pilot's ReOC operations manual.
- 3Substitution — deploy a sub-250g micro-RPA under CASR 101.237 excluded category in place of a 2kg+ platform when payload and resolution permit, reducing kinetic energy at impact.
- 4Substitution — use lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) battery chemistry on compatible airframes instead of LiPo to reduce thermal runaway risk and flammability rating.
- 5Engineering — fit propeller guards, ADS-B IN receivers, geofencing firmware and return-to-home failsafe configured to a pre-surveyed clear landing zone before each flight.
- 6Engineering — store and charge LiPo batteries in a UN38.3-certified LiPo-safe bag inside a steel cabinet with smoke detection, located at least 5 metres from combustible materials.
- 7Administrative — complete CASA-compliant pre-flight checklist, OzRunways/AvPlan airspace check, site-specific JSA and verbal toolbox brief with all persons within the 30-metre operating radius.
- 8Administrative — maintain a documented exclusion zone using bollards, bunting and a dedicated spotter in radio contact with the Remote Pilot for the duration of every flight segment.
- 9PPE — Remote Pilot and spotter wear high-visibility vest, safety glasses rated to AS/NZS 1337.1, sun protection and closed-toe safety footwear compliant with AS/NZS 2210.3.
- 10PPE — ground crew handling post-flight or damaged batteries wear nitrile gloves, face shield and have a Class D lithium extinguisher or dry sand bucket within arm's reach.
Applicable Codes of Practice
Mandates Remote Pilot Licence, ReOC operator certification, 30-metre separation, visual line-of-sight and area approval for controlled airspace flights.
Imposes PCBU duty to eliminate or minimise risk to workers and other persons from aerial work, including third parties on adjoining land.
Governs safe handling, quarantine and disposal of damaged or end-of-life LiPo flight batteries to prevent thermal events in waste streams.
Applies to overhead RPA operations as a falling-object source; requires exclusion zones, catch protection and consultation with affected trades below.
High-Risk Construction Work triggered
RPA operating overhead constitutes powered mobile plant interacting with cranes, EWPs and ground vehicles, creating collision and falling-object exposure.
Inspection flights routinely operate within proximity of overhead powerlines, rooftop solar arrays and high-voltage switchyards triggering electrical proximity risk.
PCBU must prepare, consult on and retain this SWMS for the duration of the work plus two years post-incident; penalties for non-compliance are substantial and indexed annually under the prevailing WHS schedule.
Who this is for
- →CASA-licensed Remote Pilots on commercial construction sites
- →Survey and inspection PCBUs holding a ReOC
- →Principal contractors engaging aerial subcontractors
- →Site safety officers managing airspace exclusion zones
What you receive
- ✓Editable DOCX template — Microsoft Word compatible
- ✓State-specific WHS legislation schedule (NSW/VIC/QLD/SA/WA/TAS/NT/ACT)
- ✓Hazard register with risk ratings + hierarchy-of-control mapping
- ✓Worker sign-on register, pre-start checklist, and incident escalation flow
Worked example
A surveying contractor is engaged to capture a fortnightly volumetric scan of a stockpile yard on a regional civil earthworks project. At the 6:30am pre-start brief, the Remote Pilot opens this SWMS on a tablet alongside the day's JSA. Working through the hazard register with the site supervisor and two ground crew, they identify that today's flight path crosses within 40 metres of an active 30-tonne excavator and a temporary concrete batch plant — both noisy RF sources. The team selects the engineering control of enabling ADS-B IN and reducing flight altitude to maintain visual contact, and the administrative control of requesting the excavator operator pause swing operations during the 12-minute flight window via UHF channel 8. Each crew member signs the SWMS sign-on sheet, including the excavator operator who is briefed on the exclusion zone bunting layout. Mid-flight, wind gusts climb to 32 knots — above the airframe's 25-knot rating noted in the SWMS weather control. The Remote Pilot initiates return-to-home, lands at the surveyed clear zone, and annotates the SWMS field-change log with the abort reason and revised flight time. The document is uploaded to the project management system before the crew demobilises, satisfying the consultation and record-keeping duties under the WHS Regulations 2025.
Related legislation
- WHS Act 2011 (model)
- WHS Regulation 2025
- Managing the Risk of Falls at Workplaces CoP