Entertainment & Event Rigging SWMS
Entertainment rigging for concerts, theatre, and corporate events — truss assembly, chain motor installation, point load calculations, dead hang, and bridle rigging.
SWMS variants reference your state’s WHS legislation. Instant download after payment.
Entertainment and event rigging covers the suspension of trusses, lighting, audio, video walls and motorised effects above performers, crew and audiences at concerts, theatre productions and corporate events. The work involves overhead loads, working at height on catwalks and Genie lifts, chain motor installation, point load distribution calculations, dead hangs and complex bridle configurations — frequently above occupied space. Under WHS Regulation 2025 r.299, this work is High Risk Construction Work because it involves a risk of a person falling more than two metres and the use of powered mobile plant near workers. The combination of suspended loads over audiences (HRCW section 291 Cat. 4) and working at height above the stage (Cat. 1) makes a documented, consulted and signed-on SWMS mandatory before rigging commences, and it must be available for inspection by the WHS regulator throughout the bump-in.
Hazards identified
7 hazards covered, sorted by priority.
Fatal impact injury, spinal fracture or traumatic brain injury; PCBU prosecution under WHS Act s32 reckless conduct
Multiple fatalities from crushing; Coronial inquest, criminal industrial manslaughter charges and venue licence revocation
Building structural collapse, roof failure, catastrophic load drop causing fatalities and total venue loss
Crew crush injury, severed limbs from chain whip, equipment write-off and event cancellation liability
Hardware failure under amplified tension, sudden load drop, multiple severe crush and impact injuries
Skull fracture, fatal head injury; SafeWork notifiable incident and immediate site shutdown order
Sudden sling rupture under dynamic load, load drop, fatal injury and AS 3569 non-compliance breach
Control measures
Hierarchy-of-controls order: elimination → substitution → isolation → engineering → administrative → PPE.
- 1Elimination — Pre-rig on the ground at low trim where production design permits, eliminating overhead work entirely until final hoist to operating trim.
- 2Elimination — Exclude all non-essential personnel and audience from the rigging zone during bump-in via hard barriers and security marshalling per venue protocol.
- 3Substitution — Substitute manual chain blocks with certified electric chain motors fitted with secondary brakes and load cells for any lift above two metres.
- 4Substitution — Replace shop-fabricated bridles with engineered pre-calculated rigging plots stamped by a structural engineer for all point loads above 250 kg.
- 5Engineering — Install independent secondary safety steels (rated 8:1) on every truss section and motor body in accordance with Entertainment Rigging CoP Section 4.
- 6Engineering — Use load cells on every motor with real-time monitoring to a central rigging console; cease lift if any point exceeds 80% of WLL.
- 7Administrative — Verify holders of HRW Licence RE (Rigging Intermediate) per WHS Reg r.81 before any worker accesses the grid or installs motors.
- 8Administrative — Conduct documented pre-rig brief covering rigging plot, exclusion zones, communication protocol and emergency rescue plan; all workers sign on to this SWMS.
- 9PPE — Issue and enforce full-body harnesses with twin shock-absorbing lanyards rated to AS/NZS 1891.1, tool lanyards on every item, and chin-strapped hard hats below the grid.
- 10PPE — Provide cut-resistant rigging gloves, steel-cap boots, and high-visibility vests for all ground crew within the load path exclusion zone.
Applicable Codes of Practice
Mandates a SWMS before commencing rigging because the work involves falls over two metres and suspended loads above persons.
Sets minimum construction, marking and discard criteria for steel safety bonds and wire rope slings used in entertainment rigging.
Prescribes secondary safety requirements, exclusion zones above audiences, motor inspection regimes and rigger competency for live event rigging.
Requires intermediate rigging licence for installation of cantilevered hoists, mast climbing platforms and complex bridle configurations on entertainment sites.
High-Risk Construction Work triggered
Trusses, motors, lighting and video walls are suspended directly above performers, crew and audience during shows and rehearsals.
Riggers access trusses, grids and catwalks well above stage level to install motors, hangs and bridles during bump-in and bump-out.
PCBU must consult workers, prepare and sign this SWMS before work starts, retain it for the duration of the work and for two years after a notifiable incident; penalties for non-compliance are substantial and indexed, with the current maximum following the prevailing WHS schedule.
Who this is for
- →Head riggers on touring concert productions
- →Technical directors at theatres and performing arts centres
- →Production managers for corporate AV and event companies
- →Venue operations managers at arenas and convention centres
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
At a 5,000-seat regional entertainment centre, a touring head rigger arrives for a one-day bump-in of a corporate keynote with a 12-tonne lighting and video rig. At the 6 am pre-start, the crew of eight gathers on the empty arena floor and the head rigger opens this SWMS on a tablet. They walk through the rigging plot together, identifying the four highest point loads (one at 1.8 tonnes over the catwalk runway) and confirming the venue engineer's stamped capacity certificate. The crew reviews the hazard register, and one ground rigger flags that the planned bridle on point 14 will run at a 45-degree included angle, exceeding the SWMS bridle-angle control threshold. The head rigger consults the control measures, re-plots point 14 as a two-leg bridle at 60 degrees, and updates the rigging plot before sign-on. All eight crew sign the SWMS digitally, including the two up-riggers confirming their HRW RE licences. During the lift, a load cell on motor 7 reads 92% of WLL — above the 80% administrative control trigger. The lift is halted, the SWMS is re-consulted, and a third motor is added to redistribute load. The SWMS sign-on sheet is updated with the variation, countersigned, and the bump-in continues safely.
Related legislation
- WHS Act 2011 (model)
- WHS Regulation 2025
- Managing the Risk of Falls at Workplaces CoP
Frequently asked questions
Is entertainment rigging high risk construction work?
Yes, and the clearest trigger is section 291(a) of the WHS Regulation 2025 — a risk of a person falling more than two metres — because riggers access trusses, grids and catwalks well above stage level to install motors, dead hangs and bridles through bump-in and bump-out. Genie lifts and other powered mobile plant working the floor bring in section 291(o). Section 299 then requires the SWMS prepared and signed before rigging commences and available for regulator inspection throughout. The load hanging over the audience is not itself a section 291 paragraph, but it is why this work carries coronial and industrial manslaughter exposure.
Do our riggers need a licence for this work?
For grid work, yes. The administrative control requires holders of an intermediate rigging high risk work licence to be verified before any worker accesses the grid or installs motors, because complex bridle configurations and cantilevered hoists sit inside that licence class. Verified means the card is sighted at sign-on, not inferred from twenty years on the road. The worked example has both up-riggers confirming their intermediate rigging licences on the sign-on sheet before the lift proceeds, alongside the ground crew who are briefed but not licensed for grid access.
How does it control bridle angles and point loads?
With two thresholds that stop improvisation at the point where it becomes dangerous. Any point load above 250 kg uses an engineered, pre-calculated rigging plot stamped by a structural engineer instead of a bridle worked out on the floor, and the bridle included angle is a documented control in its own right — widening the angle amplifies the resultant force at the rigging point while the load on the truss has not changed at all, which is why it catches experienced crews. The worked example re-plots a planned 45-degree included angle at point 14 as a two-leg bridle at 60 degrees before anyone signs on.
What happens if a motor reads close to its working load limit?
The lift stops at 80 per cent. Load cells sit on every motor reporting to a central rigging console with real-time monitoring, and any point exceeding 80 per cent of working load limit is a cease-lift trigger rather than a note for later. In the worked example motor 7 reads 92 per cent, the lift is halted, a third motor is added to redistribute the load, and the variation is written onto the sign-on sheet and countersigned before the bump-in continues. Independent secondary safety steels rated 8:1 remain on every truss section and motor body regardless of what the cells read.
Doesn't the venue's structural capacity certificate cover us?
It answers a different question. The venue engineer's stamped certificate tells you what each rigging point will carry; it says nothing about how your crew gets a twelve-tonne rig onto those points without someone falling from the catwalk, being struck by dropped hardware or standing under a motor with a slipping brake. The two documents are used together — the worked example cross-references the plot's four highest point loads against the venue certificate at pre-start. You buy an editable Microsoft Word file once and add your own rigging plot, venue certificate reference and grid rescue plan.
Document details
Related SWMS templates
💡Truss & Lighting Grid SWMS
Truss and lighting grid rigging for stages and events — box truss assembly, chain hoist attachment, electrical…
🎪Stage / Truss Load-In (Heavy Touring Events) SWMS
SWMS template for stage / truss load-in (heavy touring events). Covers Stadium / arena tour load-in / strike..…
🎪Event Bump-In / Bump-Out (Non-Entertainment) SWMS
SWMS template for event bump-in / bump-out (non-entertainment). Covers Conference / expo set-up & strike.. 8-s…
🏊Pool Covers / Rollers SWMS
Swimming pool cover and roller installation covers manual roller assembly, cover material handling, anchor poi…
⛱️Shade Sail Installation SWMS
Shade sail installation covers post and footing installation, tensioning hardware setup, anchor point engineer…
🏗️Crane/Lifting SWMS
Mobile, tower, and crawler crane lifting operations including rigging, exclusion zones, and load handling.